Figure 1 16-bit 10 GSPS AWG (front) and 12-bit 10 GSPS digitizer series (rear).
In March 2022, Spectrum Instrumentation launched the M5i series platform, the first PCIe digitizer to use the full 16 lanes (Gen 3) of the PCIe interface, leading to 12.8 GBytes/s data transfer rates. The M5i.33xx digitizer family was expanded the following year, with new models offering 10 GSPS sampling speed and 4.7 GHz bandwidth. Spectrum Instrumentation has used the M5i platform to design arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs) that offer up to 10 GSPS signal generation. The M5i.63xx series, launched in September, makes it possible to combine AWGs and digitizers with speeds up to 10 GSPS. This makes creating stimulus-response systems and closed-loop setups with cost-efficient COTS parts and PCs possible. Figure 1 shows a new 16-bit, 10 GSPS AWG on the same M5i platform as the established 12-bit 10 GSPS digitizer series.
NEW AWG CARD SERIES
Capable of producing waveforms with bandwidths up to 2.5 GHz, the new AWGs can turn any suitable PC into a powerful signal generation instrument. Four models make up the new M5i.63xx-series product line. Each one pairs exceptionally high bandwidth with matching DAC converter technology. The result is a family of AWGs offering 2.5 and 1.5 GHz bandwidths, that output waveforms at rates up to 10, 5 or 3.2 GSPS. All the units feature 16-bit vertical resolution and programmable full-scale output ranges of ±1 V (±500 mV into 50 Ω) – or double the range in differential mode. The combination of these features delivers new performance benchmarks for waveform speed, precision and quality.
Figure 2 Data generated by the M5i.63xx AWG.
Built on the M5i series platform, first developed for Spectrum’s 33xx digitizer line, the AWGs exploit proven design technology. All the products come with 2 GSamples of onboard memory (8 GS optional) and high speed data transfer using a 16-lane, Gen 3, PCIe bus. This bus sends data to and from the cards at 10 GBytes/s. When needed, data can even be streamed directly to the AWG for replay in FIFO mode, a process that allows almost limitless waveform production.
The M5i series AWGs and digitizers can stream data directly to and from a GPU if Spectrum’s SCAPP driver package is used. Waveforms can be replayed in a single-shot or repeated process, while multiple waveform segments can be output using the Multiple Replay mode, optimizing memory efficiency. The different replay modes can also be combined with FIFO streaming. A simple software command or trigger event can initiate waveform replay. Trigger signals can be input on two external trigger lines. Figure 2 shows a simulated 1 GHz phase-modulated radar pulse (upper left) generated with a new M5i.63xx AWG. The demodulated phase information (lower left), a pulse frequency spectrum (upper right) and a horizontally-expanded view of the spectrum (lower right) are also visible.
GETTING 16 CHANNELS
Figure 3 M5i Star-Hub module on the left card.
Individual cards offer one or two output channels. If more channels are needed, connecting multiple cards using the company’s proprietary Star-Hub clock and trigger synchronization module is possible. Star-Hub allows up to eight M5i.63xx AWG cards to be connected, to create systems with up to 16 fully synchronized channels. A common clock then drives each channel and shares the same trigger. Using Star-Hub synchronized M5i.63xx AWGs, the user can build synchronous systems with output rates up to 16 × 5 GSPS or 8 × 10 GSPS. Figure 3 shows the M5i Star-Hub module that synchronizes up to eight AWGs or eight digitizers by sharing a common sampling clock and trigger source.
COMBINING AWGS AND DIGITIZERS
For applications like stimulus-response or closed-loop test systems that require AWGs and digitizer connections, M5i.63xx AWGs and M5i.33xx digitizers can be synchronized using direct clock and trigger connections. Digitizers and AWGs are available with matching speed grades of 3.2 GSPS, 5 GSPS and 10 GSPS for easy integration. With two Star-Hubs, one can combine up to eight AWGs, while the other links up to eight digitizers for 16T16R MIMO systems having channels of 5 GSPS. The AWG-plus-digitizer combination can be utilized for several dynamic test applications, like determining the frequency characteristics of wideband amplifiers or filters or testing the response of electronic components and subassemblies under various conditions.
SIMPLE SIGNAL GENERATION AND CONTROL
Fully programmable, the M5i cards can run under Windows or LINUX operating systems using today’s most popular and powerful software languages. The M5i products are shipped with SDKs for C++, Python, VB.NET, C#, Julia, Java and IVI. Drivers are also provided for the third-party software products LabVIEW and MATLAB.
TEST SYSTEM INTEGRATION AND MIXED MODE OPERATION
A high level of connectivity allows the cards to be integrated easily into almost any automated test system. Signal outputs, as well as clock and trigger inputs, are accessible via front-panel SMA connectors. The front panel has four SMA connectors for multi-function I/O, which can be used for tasks like asynchronous digital I/O, timestamp reference clock input, synchronous digital out, trigger output, run and arm status flags or the system clock.
Switching the multi-purpose I/O lines to digital outputs adds four more synchronous output channels to the AWG. This allows a single AWG card to generate up to two analog and four digital outputs in parallel at full speed, which is helpful when interfacing with other equipment for experiment control or in OEM projects.
DIGITAL PULSE GENERATOR OPTION
The M5i.63xx AWG cards and the M5i.33xx digitizer cards offer a built-in digital pulse generator (DPG) capability. This firmware option uses the multi-purpose output connectors to provide four internal, independent digital pulse generators. Each DPG can be programmed for duty cycle, output frequency, delay and number of loops. The DPGs can be triggered by software or hardware and can trigger each other, allowing complex pulse schemes to be created to drive external equipment or experiments. Model-dependent, the fastest cards can produce digital pulses at rates up to 312.5 MSPS or every 3.2 ns.
Spectrum Instrumentation
Grosshansdorf, Germany
www.spectrum-instrumentation.com