Arbitrary waveform generators deliver output swings up to 24V
The new AWGs extend the product family’s capabilities by boosting the available output range, so that waveforms can be generated with amplitude swings of up to ±12 V into 1 MOhms or ±6 V into 50 Ohms. To achieve the higher output voltage ranges, the cards have been fitted with additional amplification and larger cooling plates. This makes the cards a little wider, so that they occupy two PCIe slots, but they are still just 168 mm in length. The small size allows them to fit into almost any PC, turning it into a powerful and flexible waveform generator.
The M2p.65xx series AWGs use the latest 16-bit Digital-to-Analog Converters and feature a fast PCIe x4 interface with up to 700 MByte/s streaming speed. Users can select output speed rates of either 40 MS/s (M2p.654x series) or 125 MS/s (M2p.657x series) and models with one, two or four channels per card.
Each channel features its own DAC and output stage. Multi-channel cards share a common clock and trigger to ensure full synchronization and the output stages incorporate four switchable filter paths to help optimize signal quality. The flexible output stages combine with the high resolution 16-bit DACs to enable the generation of signals with very low distortion, exceptional dynamic range and a high signal-to-noise ratio.
To allow the M2p.65xx series AWGs to generate long and complex waveforms, each card comes equipped with a generous 512 MSamples of on-board memory. The large memory is complemented by a variety of different output modes. For example, the memory can be segmented and waveforms can be created by looping on and switching between different segments. The cards also feature a FIFO streaming capability that enables new waveform data to be read over the fast PCIe bus (at rates of up to 700 MB/s) while replaying already transferred information. This flexibility allows users to create ultra-long, single shot waveforms or constantly changing, burst-type signals such as those found in communications, radar, ultrasound, LIDAR or sonar systems. The possibilities are almost limitless.
For applications that require the connection of AWGs and Digitizers, such as stimulus-response or closed-loop applications, Spectrum’s Star-Hub piggy-back module synchronizes up to 16 different M2p class products. The cards are fully programmable and drivers are provided, free of charge, to support the most popular languages (such as C++, VB.NET, C#, J#, Delphi, Java or Python code) as well as third party software tools like LabVIEW and MATLAB.
Spectrum Instrumentation – www.spectrum-instrumentation.com
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