In Broadcast - February 2016 - 67


67

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 2 | February 2016

InTech

Spectrum
Ships 1.25 GS/s
AWG Boards

S

pectrum has released two Arbitrary
Waveform Generators (AWGs) that
set new standards for speed, precision
and size.
The single channel M4i.6630-x8 and
dual channel M4i.6631-x8 AWG cards
are capable of outputting electronic
signals at rates of up to 1.25 Giga
Samples/second (GS/s) with 16-bit
vertical resolution.
The combination makes these AWGs
ideal for generating high frequency
signals up to 400 MHz with the best
possible accuracy and fidelity.
The AWGs can be used to generate
almost any waveform, making them
perfect for stimulating electronic
devices like amplifiers, filters,
receivers, and digital interfaces.
As they can replay real world signals
they can also be used to replace, or
model, missing system components.
Waveforms can be acquired from
a digitiser or other instrument and
loaded into the AWG via a number of
popular file formats.
They can also be created using
mathematical equations or imported
from third party software tools such as
LabVIEW and MATLAB.
Based on Spectrum's proven M4i
series PCI Express (PCIe) platform,
the products are much smaller than
conventional instruments and can
be used in most modern PCs.
To allow the generation
of long and complex
waveforms, the AWGs
include a generous 2
GSamples of on-board
memory and a number of
operating modes such as
Single-Shot, Loop, FIFO
(streaming), Gated and
Sequence Replay.
In FIFO mode, the cards
use the ultra-fast PCIe x8
Gen2 interface to stream
data continuously from
the PC memory to the
AWG at speeds up to 2.8
GB/s. If two channels are
used, the outputs are
fully synchronised and
share a common clock to
ensure minimal phase error.

Up to eight cards can be connected
together with Spectrum's Star-Hub
clock and trigger system, enabling
instruments with up to 16 fully
synchronous channels to be created.
Designed to output signals that
emulate those found in the real world,
the AWGs deliver programmable
output levels from ±200 mV to ±4
V into high-impedance (resulting
in ±100 mV up to ±2 V into 50 Ω
termination). Using 16-bit digital
to analogue conversion, the AWGs
also allow fine signal details to be
generated. They deliver outstanding
dynamic performance both in signalto-noise (SNR) - up to 72 dB and
spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) -
up to 98 dB.
In addition, each channel is clocked
using a precision PLL control system
that can be generated internally or
from an external clock or reference.
The AWGs flexibility is further
enhanced by front-panel multipurpose
I/O connectors that allow access
to asynchronous digital inputs and
outputs, a time stamp reference
clock, synchronous digital outputs, the
trigger output, the run and arm status,
the PLL reference clock and a marker
output.

Spectrum's 1.25 GS/s AWG boards
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://youtu.be/Fq6w-499VnA http://www.fischerconnectors.com http://www.fischerconnectors.com
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