How does Ti help the world's largest radio telesco

How does Ti help the world's largest radio telescope achieve accuracy and synchronization

when we develop a high-speed data conversion and time synchronizer, engineers and scientists can create the world's largest array of radio telescopes, enabling the world to obtain more deep space data than ever before

in 2018, Dr. Krzysztof caputa faced a severe challenge: the astronomical instrument project led by him for the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada needed to achieve time synchronization between key electronic components separated by hundreds of miles

if the distant signal time is not synchronized to 2.5 billionths of a second, astronomers will not be able to accurately read more technical articles and knowledge about the friction and wear experimental machine. Please refer to the information of Shandong Sida high tech station or call the sales technician of crowdsource to give you a detailed introduction of relevant technical knowledge and insight into the deeper depths of the universe. As we all know, complex engineering projects are always delayed. In particular, this groundbreaking project has great risks. Solving this challenge will give caputa's team an opportunity to open up a new Xintiandi

"time synchronization is a major obstacle to the radio telescope project." Philip Pratt, business development manager of Texas Instruments, said

square kilometer array (ska) Radio Telescope project is a cooperative project of scientists and engineers from more than a dozen countries around the world, which aims to combine the signals sent by thousands of relatively small radio antennas into one or more large signals

together, these ska antennas will provide signal detection capability equivalent to a large radio antenna with a collection area of 1 square kilometer, and will become the world's largest radio telescope

after the project is launched in 2027, due to high-speed data transmission and the breakthrough of the world's largest radio telescope array, astronomers will obtain unprecedented deep space data in the history of radio astronomy. These combined antennas will have the sensitivity to change the rules of the game to obtain new details about a series of weak and distant astronomical objects and phenomena, including the first black holes and stars born after the big bang, clues about how galaxies formed, the properties of dark matter and dark energy, and even the molecular components of life

but on earth, 2.5 billionths of a second hinders this process

pursuit of speed

the first phase of the ska project began in 2019 and will last until 2027. About 130 radio antennas will be located in the Kalu desert in South Africa. The signals from each antenna will be quickly transmitted to the global central processing center thousands of miles away through optical fiber cables, where the signals will be combined

but before the antenna signal is sent to the center, it must first convert from analog signal to digital data. The initial signal processing is carried out inside the antenna, and the design of its electronic equipment is a key part of this project. In 2014, this fell to the NRC and the NRC engineering team in the UK

by 2016, caputa and his team, with the help of TI's high-speed data converter team, proposed a solution, initially based on the latest and most advanced analog-to-digital converter (ADC) adc12j4000 at that time

synchronization decides everything

but in 201, the reason is that a design review of ska has raised a new challenge in 7 years

"we must keep perfect synchronization for hours." Caputa said. "If we miss a clock cycle, we lose continuity."

this problem seems to require the installation of two independent ADC systems on each antenna, so that when one system transmits the signal from the current frequency to the center, the other system can tune to the next required frequency. Switching to another conversion, China's plastic machine enterprises have frequently expanded their exploration of emerging markets for extruders, which can be completed without losing synchronization. However, a dual ADC solution also needs to double all connections and digital signal processing components, which requires a thorough redesign of the system, which may set back the development of the team for several years

caputa said, "we are really trying to avoid doubling each system. We tried many different ideas, but there seems to be no way. At that time, I contacted Ti and we worked together to study solutions."

extremely high speed and unprecedented accuracy

Pratt and the company's engineers outlined to caputa the key to solving this problem: a new and faster chip, which can achieve almost impossible 10 Gigabit sampling per second

caputa said, "if this technology works, it means that we don't need additional communication lines. We can process two signals through the same system."

it is hoped that the chip can produce the required speed. Caputa proposed this solution to the leadership of ska in 2018 and was praised. Pratt said that the team did everything for this

in addition to redesigning and manufacturing the chip to complete the efficiency of doubling the processing speed, the team also introduced new techniques to determine the clock timing on the chip, so as to ensure that the chip can lock each cycle of several billionths of a second with unprecedented accuracy

after the first four months of discussion, Pratt brought the prototype of adc12dj5200rf to caputa, and the chip passed all tests of caputa

pratt said, "the product has proved that it can run at the target rate of 5.2 Gigabit samples per second in each channel without losing a cycle."

back on track

in 2019, the second detailed design of ska system verified the new device

due to the close connection between China's extruder products and strategic new industries, caputa said, "we no longer need to redesign the system, but simply replace the chip."

the new chip not only keeps the perfect synchronization of time, but also improves the frequency response of the system, which means that the signal of ska is clearer. His team is now ready to start manufacturing the first batch of equipment

"as the project returned to normal, astronomers began to get excited." Caputa said, "ska is really great. It's really satisfying that we can work with Ti to find a solution."

live your passion and create a better world

promoting high-speed data conversion and synchronization is an example of Texas Instruments' making electronic products more affordable to create a better world through semiconductor technology. Today, when Ti continues to explore the development of integrated circuits, this enthusiasm still exists. Each generation of innovation is based on the latest generation of technology, making the technology smaller, more efficient, more reliable and more affordable, so as to open up new markets and enable semiconductors to enter the field of electronic products anywhere. This is the progress of engineering technology and the consistent adherence of Texas Instruments for decades