The Brief
A next generation instrument was required to measure gas concentrations of a wider range of gas types, flow-rates and pressures to a much tighter specification than the current generation of instruments.
The demanding specification necessitated a new approach to the physical principle at the core of the product, requiring a design and simulation phase ahead of electronics implementation.
The client also sought to resolve obsolescence problems starting to affect the original instrument.
The Solution
The project involved the development of a precision low-level front end. The first stage of work involved much research into advanced algorithms for extracting very low-level signal data from a high noise background.
Given the range of gas types, flow-rates and pressures, careful consideration had to be given during the design and test phases to ensure the generational improvement expected of the product was achieved in practice.
Fen used high speed signal processing utilising the benefits of carefully selected FPGA and DSP silicon, resulting in the new instrument exceeding the performance of the current instrument and resolving the legacy obsolescence.
This project drew heavily on Fen’s considerable experience of instrumentation design where very small signals need to be detected against a challenging environment.
