TABLE OF CONTENTS Rex Chappell [*]
Agilent Technologies
Santa Clara, California
For measurements of frequency, time interval, phase, event counting, and many other related signal parameters, the ideal instrument to use is an electronic counter or its cousin, the frequency and time-interval analyzer. These instruments offer high precision and analysis for research and development applications, high throughput for manufacturing applications, and low cost and portability for service applications.
This chapter describes several classes of counters, including the basic frequency counter, the universal counter, and the microwave and pulsed microwave counter. In addition, frequency and time-interval analyzers are presented, describing this measurement technology and illustrating its application to solving tough measurement problems. Also, several different architectures are covered, showing how each of the types of counters works.
[*] Adapted from Chapter 19, Electronic Instrument Handbook, 2nd Edition by Gary D.Saski, McGraw-Hill, 1995.
Electronic counters come in a variety of forms. This section provides a short explanation of some of the more-common types and outlines several of their applications.
The earliest electronic counters were simply that-counters that were used to count such things as atomic events. Before counters were invented, frequency measurement was accomplished with a frequency meter, a tuned device with very low accuracy. Frequency counters were one of the first instruments to digitally measure a signal parameter for a more precise measurement. Today, they are still one of the most precise instruments. Whereas a seven-digit digital voltmeter (DVM) is a relatively precise...
