White Papers

Principles of Lock-in Detection

Principles of Boxcar Averaging

Phase-Locked Loops for Analog Signals

Principles of PID Controllers

This document offers an overview of the fundamental concepts underlying lock-in amplification, elucidating the key measurement settings and delving into both the time and frequency domain representations.

In this white paper, we illustrate the working principle of a digital boxcar averager, illustrate the relevant measurement parameters, present the state of the art, and provide guidelines for the best choice of measurement technique when working with periodic signals.

Phase-locked loops (PLLs) for analog signals are ubiquitous in today’s physics and engineering applications. This white paper presents their essential functions and operating principles. It also covers several practical use cases that can be conveniently implemented with Zurich Instruments’ lock-in amplifiers.

This white paper presents the key functions and principles of PID control loops by analyzing their basic building blocks. It describes their strengths and limitations, outlines the tuning and design strategies and how they can be easily implemented with Zurich Instruments’ lock-in amplifiers.

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