A Very Low Power, Highly Integrated Multi-Channel Scaler

ASRC Aerospace Corporation

Greenbelt, MD

Developed several very low power, highly integrated multi-channel scaler (MCS) cards with multiple detector inputs, USB interface, and various peripheral functions. These features make these products suitable for ground-based, airborne, and space-based lidar photon counting applications where small size, low power, and high performance are key requirements. The MCS cards have many applications including atmospheric studies such as clouds, wind, and aerosols.

• Developed a commercially available, high performance, four/eight input, USB-based MCS printed circuit board (size 4" x 4"). Power is approximately 800 mW per channel.
• Further development led to a 10-input, USB 2.0 based photon counting system including MCS functions, microcontroller, hard-drive interface, housekeeping A/D, and serial ports. A complete data system resides on a single card. A daughtercard connector provides 5 channels of 1GHz resolution.
• Designs include double-buffered memory (prevents loss of data for continuous acquisition and transfer) and MCS control circuitry for independent MCS channels in a single programmable device.
• Multiple cards can be used together in systems with many detector input channels. Multiple channels allow for simultaneous collection of data for different polarization and wavelength configurations.
• Created a Windows graphical user interface (GUI) allowing a user to write / read MCS parameters, start acquisition with real-time back-to-back integration and collection cycles, and log acquired data to a text file for later review.
• Programmable hardware along with software-controlled settings makes the MCS cards flexible for use in multiple science applications. The products are attractive for portable, high-altitude, or remotely deployed systems.

• Over 25 MCS cards have been sold worldwide for use in advanced, high rep-rate lidar systems.
• Commercial applications include environmental monitoring (i.e. cloud, aerosol, and pollution) data collection systems. Military applications include smoke and chemical plume detection. Other uses include UAV and medical applications

• The following lidar programs at NASA/GSFC are benefiting from the very low power, highly integrated multi-channel scaler cards: Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL), Thickness From Off Beam Returns (THOR) Lidar, Goddard Lidar Observatory for Winds (GLOW), 24-Channel Doppler Lidar, Advanced Micropulse Lidar (MPL), and Holographic Airborne Rotating Lidar Instrument Experiment (HARLIE).
• Customization is readily accomplished for specific program requirements allowing the MCS cards to be used in new science applications.

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