Characterization of digitizer Timebase jitter by means of the Allan variance

The use of the Allan variance for the characterization of the jitter timebase error in waveform digitizers is proposed. With this aim, the Allan variance is shown to be a sound basis for defining and measuring a suitable figure of merit, diagnosing the jitter noise type, and including a jitter error block into a previously proposed digitizer model. Experimental results highlighting the effectiveness of the Allan variance in the characterization of digitizer jitter error are discussed.