Design suite controls space-based atomic clocks
Published Jul 11 2005 [Printer friendly version] [Email article to a friend] [More Design & Manufacture articles]
Design and synthesis solutions specialist, Celoxica, has announced the
successful completion of critical design work for the Atomic Clock Ensemble
in Space (ACES) programme. Working to stringent deadlines and design
criteria, scientists and engineers at Kayser Threde and Steinbeis
Transferzentrum Raumfahrt (Transfer Centre Spaceflight, TZR) used Celoxica´s
DK Design Suite and C-based hardware design methodology to implement in FPGA
a state-of-the-art frequency control and distribution package (FCDP) to
connect next generation atomic clocks.
Kayser Threde built a qualification model as part of the FCDP verification
process using special radiation hardened FPGA devices mounted onto a board.
The code generated from the DK Design Suite was directly synthesized to the
board and the system proved itself to be first-time correct.
"ACES´s severe restrictions on power consumption and weight moved us away
from microprocessor-only technology," said Felix Huber, scientific director
at TZR. "Using the DK tool we were able to balance automation at the
C-level of design abstraction with complete designer control over critical
areas of the design. In days, not weeks, we took software algorithms and
descriptions and turned them into very efficient hardware designs that were
high performance but also low in power. The productivity gain was
enormous."
Sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA) the ACES programme tests the
performance of a new type of atomic clock that exploits and depends upon
microgravity
conditions. Approved to fly on the International Space Station, the
programme supports fundamental physics experimentation, new experiments
testing general relativity within the solar system and will provide an
ultra-high performance global time-scale.
The global time-scale supports much wider applications that depend upon the
absolute accuracy of atomic clocks. Telecommunication networks rely upon
atomic clocks to ensure that time stamped voice, data and VoIP packets are
re-assembled in the correct order. Atomic clocks ´glue´ together the world´s
financial markets through accurate time stamping of electronic transactions.
Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are heavily dependent upon atomic
clocks to provide accurate positioning information.
"This project clearly demonstrates the very advanced features and
predictable quality of results that make our C-synthesis technology the
worlds most proven and widely used. Enormous demands were placed on the
design and every criteria was met," said Phil Bishop, president and CEO,
Celoxica.
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