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Stand-Alone Instruments
News Release from: National Instruments | Subject: 100Msample/s PXI instruments
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 17 September 2003
Speedy samplers aid mixed-signal testing
A new suite of 100Msample/s PXI instruments increases flexibility and system performance for rapid prototyping and test of mixed-signal devices and systems.
A new suite of 100Msample/s PXI instruments increases flexibility and system performance for rapid prototyping and test of mixed-signal devices and systems This modular instrumentation suite is matched in frequency and capability and includes four new instruments built on common hardware architecture
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 22 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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The suite includes: 100 and 50MHz digital waveform generator/analysers (NI PXI6552 and NI PXI6551); a 100Msample/s, 16bit arbitrary waveform generator (NI PXI-5421); a 100Msample/s, 14bit high-resolution digitiser (NI PXI-5122); a 100MHz clock and frequency generator (NI PXI-5404); a 500MHz switching module (NI PXI-2593); and a timing and synchronisation module (NI PXI-6653).
The new modules, combined with the company's precision DC and RF PXI instruments, are ideal for applications in consumer electronics, communications, semiconductor, military/avionics and scientific research, including digital audio and video, data convertors, baseband communications, radar and high-energy physics.
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With the 100Msample/s mixed-signal test platform from National Instruments, we developed our next-generation test systems quickly in LabView", said Ed Coleman, Hardware Engineer-Consultant for Lexmark.
"We used the new instruments to simultaneously increase the sample rate and measurement accuracy of our high-volume inkjet cartridge testers while preserving most of our existing software architecture".
Engineers characterising prototypes or developing automated test systems can use the modules to achieve unprecedented system flexibility, defining their own measurements with analysis routines in NI LabView 7 Express graphical development software and the new interactive NI Digital Waveform Editor.
With flexible, software-based measurements, engineers adapt their systems to meet specialised and rapidly changing requirements.
The instruments also integrate with third-party software simulation tools to reduce overall product development time.
For example, the Digital Waveform Editor can import industry-standard VCD files from popular digital and FPGA simulation packages for test execution in LabView, LabWindows/CVI or other development environments.
The high-resolution digitiser, arbitrary waveform generator and digital waveform generator/analysers are built on the new NI SMC synchronisation and memory core, a common architecture for mixed-signal instrument modules.
The SMC delivers a timing and synchronisation engine, data transfer cores and deep, flexible memory.
The architecture's synchronisation engine can lock instrument modules together through a set of shared clocks and trigger signals.
It uses an FPGA to provide a common, flexible data generation and retrieval engine to the analogue and digital instruments.
Engineers can generate complex waveforms and measure high-speed signals for long periods of time with the deep SMC onboard memory of up to 512Mbyte.
"With a significant investment across numerous R and D teams, NI developed the SMC common architecture to deliver a unique and complete set of instruments matched in frequency and capability", said Tim Dehne, NI Senior Vice President of Research and Development.
"The tight integration between instruments gives engineers the freedom to build product characterisation and manufacturing test systems that they can easily customise and expand as their needs change".
The 100Msample/s mixed-signal test platform increases engineers' measurement accuracy through high-performance analogue, digital and timing capabilities.
The 100Msample/s digitiser and arbitrary waveform generator feature low-distortion analogue front ends with high dynamic range.
The 5421 arbitrary waveform generator, for example, has a close-in spurious-free dynamic range of 91dB.
High-resolution digitisers capture signals with increased fidelity - 64 times the resolution of traditional 8bit instrumentation - and high-resolution arbitrary waveform generators provide precise standard and arbitrary waveforms needed to thoroughly characterise and test devices and systems.
The digital waveform generator/analysers provide programmable voltage levels from -2.0 to 5.5V with the 10mV resolution necessary for testing devices that use different levels or for characterising how a given device performs under changing conditions.
With the digital waveform generator/analysers, engineers can shift their data relative to the onboard clock, which is critical to account for propagation delays and setup-and-hold times in the device under test. Request a free brochure from National Instruments ...
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