Method of instantaneous signal synchronization of measuring pulse generators

In this study, issues regarding testing and tuning electronic equipment using pulse generators with precisely maintained timing parameters of output signals synchronized with the device under testing are presented. The dependence of the error in the timing parameters of the output pulses of the generators on the selected synchronization method is described, while the time interval required for synchronization can limit the maximum frequency of the testing signals. It is demonstrated that the main source of errors in the formation of time intervals during external triggering (operating mode with external synchronization) of measuring pulse generators of the G5 group is the variation in the position of the reference pulses of the clock-signal generator relative to the external triggering pulses. An analytical review of synchronization methods based on the sampling of time intervals by a multitap delay line (MDL) when a pulse signal propagates through it is presented. The method of instantaneous synchronization of output pulses is studied, which uses sampling of the period of the reference pulses of the clock-signal generator with a MDL and fixing by triggering the position of the front of the external trigger pulse within the period of the reference frequency. Triggers control a multiplexer that connects the output of a MDL to the output of the device, at which the front of the next reference pulse of the clock-signal generator lags by a minimum time from the front of the external trigger pulse. A device is presented that can be used to implement this method. Computer simulations to illustrate the details of the device functioning are performed. Jitter is estimated on a prototype device using integrated five-tap delay lines at a total delay of 20 ns. The proposed method can be applied in measuring pulse generators and other pulse technologies. Overall, this study is useful to developers of devices for generating synchronization signals in computing and measuring systems operating in asynchronous mode.