Multi-channel Measurement System Research Articles

Multichannel Measurement System for Data Acquisition From Silicon Photomultiplier Arrays

The MMIS-32 scaled multichannel measurement system, which is based on 32-channel charge-to-digital converters and has been developed and built, is described here. This system is intended for data acquisition from arrays of silicon photomultipliers used as multichannel photosensors in scintillation detectors. The basic parameters of the measurement system are presented.

Experience in Designing Multi-Channel Time-To-Digital Converter

Objectives: The article presents the results of the development of multi-channel timeslot measurement system for laser radar for space application. Methods: FPGA Spartan-6 system (Xilinx, USA) was used for the development of our system. Vernier method was applied for timeslot measurement that enabled to obtain high accuracy of the results without using high-frequency signals. Findings: The result of our work was the development of time-to-digital converters (TDC) with extremely low sensitivity to temperature changes. At the same time our TDC was a complete digital device and had lower sensitivity to electromagnetic interference and noise in the supply chain. The results of this development could be interesting to a wide range of specialists focusing on the development of digital systems for both ground and space application. Improvements: A 64-channel TDC has been developed. Due to the self-measurement of characteristics in real time the developed TDC does not require additional correction and adjustment before use. Keywords: Programmable Logic Device (PLD), Time-to-Digital Converters (TDC)

Analysis and compensation of synchronous measurement error for multi-channel laser interferometer

Dual-frequency laser interferometer has been widely used in precision motion system as a displacement sensor, to achieve nanoscale positioning or synchronization accuracy. In a multi-channel laser interferometer synchronous measurement system, signal delays are different in the different channels, which will cause asynchronous measurement, and then lead to measurement error, synchronous measurement error (SME). Based on signal delay analysis of the measurement system, this paper presents a multi-channel SME framework for synchronous measurement, and establishes the model between SME and motion velocity. Further, a real-time compensation method for SME is proposed. This method has been verified in a self-developed laser interferometer signal processing board (SPB). The experiment result showed that, using this compensation method, at a motion velocity 0.89 m s−1, the max SME between two measuring channels in the SPB is 1.1 nm. This method is more easily implemented and applied to engineering than the method of directly testing smaller signal delay.

Ultrasonic method for monitoring the clotting process during whole blood coagulation

The purpose of this work was to develop a multichannel ultrasonic measurement method for monitoring a spatially non-uniform blood clotting process. This novel method is based on simultaneous multi-channel measurements of ultrasound propagation velocities in different horizontal cross-sections of clotting blood.The most common method used for determining blood-clotting time is the capillary tube method. For this purpose ultrasonic methods based on measurements of the velocities of ultrasound waves in clotting blood are also used. Measurement results essentially depend on the propagation path of the ultrasonic wave in a blood sample. The ultrasound velocity changes as fresh blood transforms into clot plus serum. The objective of this work was to develop a measurement method that allows one to measure ultrasound velocity and its evolution in time and space in an evolving clot while avoiding the influence of serum.To achieve this objective, a novel method has been proposed that is based on ultrasound propagation velocity measurements in different horizontal cross-sections of clotting blood using a pulse-echo mode. Such a technique enables researchers to monitor the clotting process and a clot’s spatial structure, which are different in different layers due to the influence of gravity. The four-channel measurement chamber utilizing this method has been designed and manufactured. For the generation and reception of ultrasonic waves of high frequency, wide band (3–20MHz at −6dB) ultrasonic transducers were developed. To verify that the multi-channel measurement system was operational, a special procedure based on monitoring of a polymerisation process in the acrylamide solution was proposed.Performance of the developed method was investigated by measuring clotting blood (sample volumes of less than 0.6ml) at the frequency of 12MHz. The results revealed that a clot structure indeed varies within a blood sample due to the influence of gravity; clotting times are different in different horizontal layers of the clot and range from 9 to 15min, defined by the standard capillary method. Clotting times are determined precisely from abrupt increases in ultrasound velocity. Uncertainty of the ultrasound velocity measurements was less than ±0.05m/s. The experiments were performed at 36.90±0.01°C.The proposed method may be exploited for monitoring polymerisation reactions in the chemistry field, as well.

Design of wireless temperature measurement system for piston based on CC2530

Temperature measurement of piston is important to analysis its temperature field. Since it is difficult to extract the temperature signal in the piston by hard line, a multi-channel wireless measurement system of piston temperature is developed. The wireless SOC CC2530 is used. NTC thermistors with glass package are selected as temperature sensors. The realization of hardware and the design of software flowchart are explained in detail. The actual test demonstrates that the system has high measurement accuracy and strong practical value.

Identification of Location Specific Feature Points in a Cardiac Cycle Using a Novel Seismocardiogram Spectrum System.

Seismocardiogram (SCG) or mechanocardiography is a noninvasive cardiac diagnostic method; however, previous studies used only a single sensor to detect cardiac mechanical activities that will not be able to identify location-specific feature points in a cardiac cycle corresponding to the four valvular auscultation locations. In this study, a multichannel SCG spectrum measurement system was proposed and examined for cardiac activity monitoring to overcome problems like, position dependency, time delay, and signal attenuation, occurring in traditional single-channel SCG systems. ECG and multichannel SCG signals were simultaneously recorded in 25 healthy subjects. Cardiac echocardiography was conducted at the same time. SCG traces were analyzed and compared with echocardiographic images for feature point identification. Fifteen feature points were identified in the corresponding SCG traces. Among them, six feature points, including left ventricular lateral wall contraction peak velocity, septal wall contraction peak velocity, transaortic peak flow, transpulmonary peak flow, transmitral ventricular relaxation flow, and transmitral atrial contraction flow were identified. These new feature points were not observed in previous studies because the single-channel SCG could not detect the location-specific signals from other locations due to time delay and signal attenuation. As the results, the multichannel SCG spectrum measurement system can record the corresponding cardiac mechanical activities with location-specific SCG signals and six new feature points were identified with the system. This new modality may help clinical diagnoses of valvular heart diseases and heart failure in the future.

New analog electronics for the new challenges in the synthesis of superheavy elements

A new series of experiments aimed at the synthesis and study of decay properties of the most neutron-deficient isotopes of element Fl (Z = 114) and of the heaviest isotopes of 118 element is planned at the DGFRS (FLNR JINR). An appropriate registering system is to be implemented to transfer spectrometric data from double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSD). New analog modules were designed that allow to simplify existing multi-channel measurement system and to improve the real-time method of “active correlations” in search for the rare events of SHE formation and decay. The main features of the new modules the 16-channel charge-sensitive preamplifier, the 16-channel analog multiplexer and the 1.25 MSPS 12-bit Parallel ADC are presented.

Characterization and calibration techniques for multi-channel phase-coherent systems

Electronic Warfare (EW) and Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) are two of the many applications that rely on multi-channel and phase-coherent configurations for signal processing. We provide an overview of the complexities and requirements of a multi-channel phase-coherent measurement system. Multiple Input Multiple Output [MIMO] systems have to overcome key technical challenges related to phase, time, and frequency synchronization to coherently receive and process the data acquired/ generated from each input/output. In practical MIMO systems, the radio hardware should be capable of acquiring and/or generating such phase coherent signals across the multiple channels. Further, the systems need to be able to sustain the phase coherence over considerable duration of time, depending on the sensitivity of the system. However, drifts will occur, owing to the effects of, e.g., temperature, thermal expansion, mismatched cable lengths, uncorrelated phase noise, ADC sample, clock phase noise, and quantization noise. Thus, a calibration process is required to compensate for the drift, whenever it crosses a particular threshold value that defines the accuracy of the phase-coherent system. In this paper, an FPGA based software-defined calibration method is presented for synchronizing the phase and magnitude across multiple channels of a system. This method allows the phase/magnitude drift over time to be periodically monitored and calibrated when there is a need. With the FPGA built into the system, the calibration can take place remotely without the need of connecting the system to an external calibration kit. Also, measurement results are provided for a state of the art super heterodyne receiver system to show that the phase drift is lesser than ± 1 degree across a 500 MHz to 26.5 GHz frequency range at 23 °C ± 5 °C for two and four channel configurations. Such systems can be useful in a variety of real-world MIMO implementations such as Direction Finding, Beam Steering, Passive Radars, MIMO and Phased-Array Radar Systems, where phase coherence, alignment, and/or synchronization has added advantages to multi-channel systems.

Verification of the Adequacy of an Algorithm for Estimating the Polycomposition of Gaseous Media Applied to a Multichannel Measurement System

A technique of verifying the adequacy of an algorithm for estimating the polycomposition of gaseous media in terms of the adequacy of a corresponding mathematical model of a multichannel system is developed. The mathematical model is based on a previously proposed iterational process (algorithm) for estimating the parameters of a model that takes into account the totality of data in all the channels. A technique for more precise verification of the adequacy of the mathematical model, by means of which a result in the form of the confidence limits of the parameters may be obtained, is developed with the use of a dispersion approach.

Quartz Crystal Microbalance Holder Design for On-Line Sensing in Liquid Applications

In this paper, the design of a QCM sensor for liquid media measurements in vertical position is described. A rugged and low-cost proof holder has been designed, the cost of which is significantly lower than those of traditional commercial holders. The crystal is not replaceable but it can be easily cleaned. Its small volume permits to be used by dipping it in the liquid with the desired location and orientation. The developed design has been experimentally validated by measuring changes in the resonance frequency and resistance of the QCM sensor immersed vertically in different calibrated aqueous glycerol solutions. The obtained results show a great agreement with the Kanazawa theoretical expression. Consequently, the designed QCM sensor would be appropriate for sensing applications in liquids, and might take part of a future on-line multichannel low-cost QCM-based measurement system.

Data processing for soft X-ray diagnostics based on GEM detector measurements for fusion plasma imaging

The measurement system based on GEM – Gas Electron Multiplier detector is developed for X-ray diagnostics of magnetic confinement fusion plasmas. The Triple Gas Electron Multiplier (T-GEM) is presented as soft X-ray (SXR) energy and position sensitive detector. The paper is focused on the measurement subject and describes the fundamental data processing to obtain reliable characteristics (histograms) useful for physicists. So, it is the software part of the project between the electronic hardware and physics applications. The project is original and it was developed by the paper authors. Multi-channel measurement system and essential data processing for X-ray energy and position recognition are considered. Several modes of data acquisition determined by hardware and software processing are introduced. Typical measuring issues are deliberated for the enhancement of data quality. The primary version based on 1-D GEM detector was applied for the high-resolution X-ray crystal spectrometer KX1 in the JET tokamak. The current version considers 2-D detector structures initially for the investigation purpose. Two detector structures with single-pixel sensors and multi-pixel (directional) sensors are considered for two-dimensional X-ray imaging. Fundamental output characteristics are presented for one and two dimensional detector structure. Representative results for reference source and tokamak plasma are demonstrated.

Fst-Filter: A flexible spatio-temporal filter for biomedical multichannel data denoising.

In this paper, we present the noise reduction method for a multichannel measurement system where the true underlying signal is spatially low-rank and contaminated by spatially correlated noise. Our proposed formulation applies generalized singular value decomposition (GSVD) with signal recovery approach to extend the conventional subspace-based methods for performing the spatio-temporal filtering. Without necessarily requiring the noise covariance data in advance, the implemented optimization scheme allows users to choose the denoising function, F(·) flexibly satisfying for different temporal noise characteristics from a variety of existing efficient temporal filters. An effectiveness of proposed method is demonstrated by yielding the better accuracy for the brain source estimation on simulated magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiments than some traditional methods, e.g., principal component analysis (PCA), robust principal component analysis (RPCA) and multivariate wavelet denoising (MWD).

Multichannel reconfigurable measurement system for hot plasma diagnostics based on GEM-2D detector

In the future magnetically confined fusion research reactors (e.g. ITER tokamak), precise determination of the level of the soft X-ray radiation of plasma with temperature above 30keV (around 350mlnK) will be very important in plasma parameters optimization. This paper presents the first version of a designed spectrography measurement system. The system is already installed at JET tokamak. Based on the experience gained from the project, the new generation of hardware for spectrography measurements, was designed and also described in the paper. The GEM detector readout structure was changed to 2D in order to perform measurements of i.e. laser generated plasma. The hardware structure of the system was redesigned in order to provide large number of high speed input channels. Finally, this paper also covers the issue of new control software, necessary to set-up a complete system of certain complexity and perform data acquisition. The main goal of the project was to develop a new version of the system, which includes upgraded structure and data transmission infrastructure (i.e. handling large number of measurement channels, high sampling rate).

Комплексирование датчиков в многоканальной измерительной системе на основе инверсной и винеровской фильтрации

Комплексирование датчиков в многоканальной измерительной системе на основе инверсной и винеровской фильтрации

Application of visible bremsstrahlung to Z(eff) measurement on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak.

The multi-channel visible bremsstrahlung measurement system has been developed on Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). In addition to providing effective ion charge Zeff as a routine diagnostic, this diagnostic can also be used to estimate other parameters. With the assumption that Zeff can be seen as constant across the radius and does not change significantly during steady state discharges, central electron temperature, averaged electron density, electron density profile, and plasma current density profile have been obtained based on the scaling of Zeff with electron density and the relations between Zeff and these parameters. The estimated results are in good coincidence with measured values, providing an effective and convenient method to estimate other plasma parameters.

Karier multichannel measurement system for deep open pit walls monitoring

Karier multichannel measurement system is fitted with wireless displacement sensors that communicate via radiochannel and have independent supply, which greatly improves their portability and performance. The data transmission channel between an operator in the Information Acquisition Center and the open pit mine survey service facilitates on-line analysis and relevant decision-making toward safer mining.

Multi-channel absolute distance measurement system with sub ppm-accuracy and 20 m range using frequency scanning interferometry and gas absorption cells.

We present an implementation of an absolute distance measurement system which uses frequency scanning interferometry (FSI). The technique, referred to as dynamic FSI, uses two frequency scanning lasers, a gas absorption cell and a reference interferometer to determine the unknown optical path length difference (OPD) of one or many measurement interferometers. The gas absorption cell is the length reference for the measurement system and is traceable to international standards through knowledge of the frequencies of its absorption features. The OPD of the measurement interferometers can vary during the measurement and the variation is measured at the sampling rate of the system (2.77 MHz in the system described here). The system is shown to measure distances from 0.2 m to 20 m with a combined relative uncertainty of 0.41 × 10⁻⁶ at the two sigma level (k = 2). It will be shown that within a scan the change in OPD of the measurement interferometer can be determined to a resolution of 40 nm.

A Novel 16-Channel Wireless System for Electroencephalography Measurements With Dry Spring-Loaded Sensors

Understanding brain function using electroencephalography (EEG) is an important issue for cerebral nervous system diseases, especially for epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Many EEG measurement systems are used reliably to study these diseases, but their bulky size and the use of wet sensors make them uncomfortable and inconvenient for users. To overcome the limitations of conventional EEG measurement systems, a wireless and wearable multichannel EEG measurement system is proposed in this paper. This system includes a wireless data acquisition device, dry spring-loaded sensors, and a size-adjustable soft cap. We compared the performance of the proposed system using dry versus conventional wet sensors. A significant positive correlation between readings from wet and dry sensors was achieved, thus demonstrating the performance of the system. Moreover, four different features of EEG signals (i.e., normal, eye-blinking, closed-eyes, and teeth-clenching signals) were measured by 16 dry sensors to ensure that they could be detected in real-life cognitive neuroscience applications. Thus, we have shown that it is possible to reliably measure EEG signals using the proposed system. This paper presents novel insights into the field of cognitive neuroscience, showing the possibility of studying brain function under real-life conditions.

Multichannel acoustic control of pneumatic impact machine movement in soil and measurement information processing algorithm

The acoustic data measurement system and processing algorithm are developed to position a pneumatic impact machine in soil. The method is based on recording lag time of entry of acoustic signal generated on interaction between the pneumatic impact machine and soil in the receiver of multichannel measurement system relative to reference signal of the machine. The measurement system and the algorithm have been trialed in full-scale conditions.

Sub-seafloor resistivity sensing using a vertical electrode configuration

There is growing interest in marine direct current (DC) resistivity methods for sub-seafloor exploration of a broad range of geophysical and geological targets. To address this, we have developed a new marine DC method with a vertical electrode configuration (VEC). Compared to conventional marine DC methods that use a horizontal electrode configuration, the shape and position of our VEC cable can be controlled relatively easily. Therefore, the VEC is suitable for operations in regions of steep bathymetry and for expeditious sub-seafloor resistivity exploration. In this study, we introduce a water-resistant electrode array cable and an onshore multichannel DC measurement system for stable and rapid data acquisition. To evaluate the performance and efficiency of the new system, we conducted field experiments in the shallow water zone at Shimizu Port, Suruga Bay, Japan. In order to quantitatively analyze the VEC-DC data, we adopt a 1-D numerical modeling code that computes the electric potential and apparent resistivity generated by a point and dipole current source used in the VEC-DC measurement. These can be placed at any position with an arbitrary electrode configuration in a multilayered space, including seawater and sub-seafloor layers. We also develop an inversion code for the VEC-DC data based on a simulated annealing (SA) optimization and applied this to the field data. The observed data is of sufficiently good quality to be used for inversion, and the SA result demonstrates that the proposed VEC-DC system is able to estimate the sub-seafloor resistivity structure.