The 306-59992A is a special instrument used to increase the accuracy of precision time interval measurements. When employed to determine the systematic errors of a particular measurement set-up, the calibrator can provide for absolute accuracy on the order of +/- 100 ps when making time interval measurements with the Hewlett-Packard 5370A/B Time Interval Counter. The calibrator can also be used to improve the accuracy of the HP 53630 Time Interval Probes when used in conjunction with the HP 5370A/B counter.
The instrument itself is a linear, passive device which takes a stable input pulse and produces two output pulses that are effectively in phase or 180 degrees out of phase. This provides two identical and coherent signals to the input of a measurement instrument such,as a counter. Any time difference measured by the counter in a calibration set-up is a measure of the errors associated with the measurement channels' electrical path lengths and the trigger level timing error of the counter. The resuitant computed "calibration constant" is then subtracted from the measurements that follow, thereby removing the effect of systematic enon from the measurement results.
