{"id":42,"date":"2012-10-18T07:55:46","date_gmt":"2012-10-18T07:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mtnstormdaq.com\/blog\/?p=42"},"modified":"2012-10-18T07:55:46","modified_gmt":"2012-10-18T07:55:46","slug":"fpga-based-daq-part-1-introduction-and-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mtnstormdaq.com\/blog\/fpga-based-daq-part-1-introduction-and-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"FPGA based DAQ part 1: Introduction and Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

A quick introduction to FPGA based technology for building DAQ systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n

What is an FPGA based DAQ system ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many way to build up a DAQ (data acquisition system).\u00a0 The goal of a DAQ system is generally to take an electrical signal of some kind and convert it into digital data for further procession.\u00a0 The simplest DAQ systems are a microcontroller with a built-in ADC (analog to digital converter) and some sort of digital interface or storage device.\u00a0 An example would be a simple temperature logger with a USB port or serial output port.<\/p>\n

An FPGA based DAQ system uses an FPGA chip for handling the digital data from an ADC.\u00a0 The FPGA can incorporate its own microcontroller or interface to an external one.\u00a0 An FPGA is a microchip in which the logical functionality can be defined by the user using a special programming language called an HDL<\/a> such as Verilog<\/a> or VHDL<\/a>.\u00a0 Newer high level languages and graphical methods are also emerging such as: LabVIEW FPGA<\/a>, Simulink HDL coder<\/a>, and System C<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/strong>A more detailed description of an FPGA can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What Benefits does FPGA technology bring to a DAQ system ?<\/strong><\/p>\n