PSoC embedded design for ultra low digital frequency meter

Digital Frequency Meter is deployed to figure out the frequency of digital signals, that foots its application in vibration monitoring, optical sensor readout and for testing digital logics etc. The basic behind the PSoC based Frequency Meter, is to employ Pulse Width Modulator blocks and Counters blocks along with software manipulation to evaluate frequency of the given digital signal. PSoC 3 processor CY8C3866AX has the maximum Bus Frequency of 24MHz, according to the Counter specification the maximum allowable counter frequency is 12MHz. The design implemented uses the full efficiency of both the specification mentioned above and capable of measuring frequency from 1Hz to 12MHz, with the error of 0 percentage at low frequencies up to 10KHz, error of 0.09 percentage up to 1MHz and, error of 1.3 percentage for high frequencies. Making the frequency meter On-Chip, helps in designing the circuit under test and the meter to be on same board, thus gaining advantage of avoiding external influence over testing.