Design and test engineers are under pressure to get products to market faster, with shorter design schedules and yet higher quality goals. In addition, they must differentiate their products in the marketplace by offering unique capabilities, which necessitates expanded test functionality during development. The Agilent 81160A pulse function arbitrary noise generator provides innovative functionality and streamlined setup to help engineers complete a broader test set more quickly.

The Agilent 81160A pulse function arbitrary noise generator eliminates the need for cumbersome multi-instrument setups for stress testing devices. Like the 81150A, the 81160A provides versatile waveforms along with superior signals with an intrinsic jitter of 7 ps rms. This combination of characteristics helps engineers define better performance specifications for their devices. The 81160A is ideal for general-purpose bench tests and advanced serial data stress tests. Capabilities include:

*generation of 330-MHz pulses and 500-MHz function/arbitrary waveforms with a 2.5-GSa/s sample rate and 14-bit vertical resolution;

*selectable crest factors for white Gaussian noise lets engineers determine how much distortion to apply to a device during stress testing to meet various serial bus standards;

*glitch-free timing parameter changes allow engineers to change the frequency without drop-outs or glitches and enable continuous operation without rebooting or resetting the device under test; and

*arbitrary bit patterns show capacitive load of the channels using simple pattern settings. Complex measurement setups are no longer necessary to test designs to their limits.

"We are designing test tools that help engineers do their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible," said J�rgen Beck, general manager of Agilent's Digital and Photonic Test product line. "All of our pulse pattern generators offer innovative features to accelerate test for device design."

Agilent will demonstrate the new 81160A pulse function arbitrary noise generator at DesignCon 2011, Feb. 1-2, Santa Clara Convention Center, Booth 201. Agilent offers a wide selection of high-speed digital solutions including essential tools to pinpoint problems, optimize devices and deliver results for design and simulation. Agilent solutions help engineers cut through the challenges of gigabit digital design and ensure device compliance.