Tektronix Inc., a manufacturer of oscilloscopes, announced the AWG7000C and AWG5000C Series of Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWG) that bring performance and usability enhancements to the industry’s most capable family of signal generation solutions.
The new “C” series of Tektronix AWG instruments provides a 45 percent reduction in waveform creation times compared to prior AWG instruments, essential for performance-intensive applications where large number of waveforms are required to effectively characterize high-speed serial and wideband RF/microwave designs. Based on customer input, the new AWGs implement a number of popular features from previous generation AWGs, including equation editor, dynamic jump and sub-sequencing. The new models also feature brighter LED displays and deliver faster performance, as well as enhanced security through use of the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.
“Verification, characterization and debug of sophisticated designs requires the ability to quickly and easily create or replicate ideal as well as distorted real-life signals,” said Lynne Camp, Vice President, Performance Instruments, Tektronix. “With sample rates up to 24 GS/s, Tektronix AWGs are the only single-instrument signal generation solutions available today that are capable of generating any wideband modulation signal up to 9.6 GHz. This level of performance, versatility and usability is unmatched in the industry today.”
The need for high-performance arbitrary waveform generation spans a number of critical market segments, including design and characterization tasks in avionics and radar, short-range wireless, such as ultra-wideband (UWB), WirelessHD and WiGig, and high-speed serial receiver testing.
Through use of direct synthesis to accurately create wideband waveforms, the AWG7000 Series is well-suited to such RF applications as development of wide-modulation bandwidth radar and communications systems. Unlike other arbitrary waveform generators, which are limited to bandwidths of less than 2 GHz, the AWG7000 provides bandwidth on demand, making it the most flexible signal generation product available for these and other applications.
The AWG7000 Series offers up to 6 Gbps data rate capability with digitally controlled impairment parameters for precise characterization in applications such as high-speed serial design. Unlike traditional pattern generator and bit error rate products, the AWG Series provides real-life impaired signal generation with digital accuracy, making it much easier and faster to identify margins and problem areas.
Available on the AWG7000 and AWG5000 Series, dynamic jump and sub-sequencing enable the creation of extremely complex waveform scenarios that include impairments, distortions and varying modulation schemes. With the addition of the equation editor, customers can now easily create waveform files derived from the equations they use to define waveform requirements.
Tektronix AWGs are integral components in complete Tektronix test solutions for both RF/microwave and serial designers when used with either RFXpress or SerialXpress software application packages. RFXpress simplifies the creation of complex wideband signals for radar, EW and communications applications. SerialXpress enables creation of the exact waveforms required for design validation, margin/characterization, and conformance testing of high-speed serial data receivers and considerably simplifies signal creation and jitter simulations, thus reducing overall development and test time.
