IDT introduces Timing Commander software platform

IDT’s Timing Commander is a Windows-based platform designed to serve user-friendly configuration interfaces, known as personalities, for various IDT products and product families. With a few simple clicks, the user is presented with a comprehensive, interactive block diagram offering the ability to modify desired input values, output values, and other configuration settings. The software automatically makes calculations, reports status monitors, and prepares register settings without the need to reference a datasheet. The tool also automatically loads the configuration settings over USB to an IDT evaluation board for immediate application in the circuit. Once the device has been configured and tuned for optimal system performance, the configuration file can be saved for factory-level programming prior to shipment.

Christian Kermarrec, vice president and general manager of the Timing and Synchronization Division at IDT, comments: “As the leader in timing solutions and world-class timing support, IDT provides its customers the most complete, flexible, and easy-to-use development tools in the industry. IDT is the only ‘one-stop-shop’ for timing, offering products from simple clock building-block devices to full-featured customized system solutions. As the circuitry within these devices becomes more complex and powerful, intuitive support tools and processes are necessary to simplify system development. Timing Commander is a perfect example of this type of tool, allowing our customers to focus efforts on other areas in their design rather than the tedious configuration of its individual devices.”

The Timing Commander software allows users to zoom in and out of a device’s block diagram, and to click on various blocks to learn more about their functions and toggle key parameters. Hovering over input fields provides detailed information about the field without the need to reference the datasheet, while a fractional input syntax avoids issues with infinite decimals. Additional functionality includes the ability to protect input fields once they’ve been set, and directly view and modify register settings individually or collectively as desired for ultimate flexibility. Device-dependent advanced features include the ability to generate phase noise plots, generate the schematic symbol and termination circuit, and calculate estimated power consumption.