Chapter 7
Counters
©
National Instruments Corporation
7-23
Frequency Generation
You can generate a frequency by using a counter in pulse train generation
mode or by using the frequency generator circuit.
Using the Frequency Generator
The frequency generator can output a square wave at many different
frequencies. The frequency generator is independent of the
two general-purpose 32-bit counter/timer modules on S Series devices.
Figure 7-27 shows a block diagram of the frequency generator.
Figure 7-27.
Frequency Generator Block Diagram
The frequency generator generates the Frequency Output signal. The
Frequency Output signal is the Frequency Output Timebase divided by a
number you select from 1 to 16. The Frequency Output Timebase can be
either the 20 MHz Timebase divided by 2 or the 100 kHz Timebase.
The duty cycle of Frequency Output is 50% if the divider is either 1 or
an even number. For an odd divider, suppose the divider is set to D.
In this case, Frequency Output is low for (D + 1)/2 cycles and high for
(D – 1)/2 cycles of the Frequency Output Timebase.
Figure 7-28 shows the output waveform of the frequency generator when
the divider is set to 5.
Figure 7-28.
Frequency Generator Output Waveform
100 kHz Time
bas
e
20 MHz Time
bas
e
Freq
u
ency
O
u
tp
u
t
Time
bas
e
FREQ OUT
Divi
s
or
(1–16)
Freq
u
ency Gener
a
tor
÷
2
Freq
u
ency
O
u
tp
u
t
Time
bas
e
FREQ OUT
(Divi
s
or = 5)
