Two- and four-channel, 600M- and 1.2G-sample/sec AWGs target digital-RF testing, provide 28 optional digital outputs
By Dan Strassberg, Contributing Technical Editor -- EDN, March 5, 2007
Tektronix has announced the 600M- and 1.2G-sample/sec AWG5000 Series of AWGs (arbitrary-waveform generators), which use the same platform as the recently introduced 20G-sample/sec AWG7000 Series. Depending on the model, one AWG5000 can generate four 14-bit-resolution analog signals or two such signals plus—optionally—28 digital signals for testing of baseband and IF (intermediate-frequency) circuits in mixed-signal devices. Tek calls the AWG5000 ideal for testing digital-RF technologies, including software-defined radio, radar, and fourth-generation wireless-communication systems.
“Digital RF, ” which refers to a new class of ICs that combine digital computing and traditional analog-RF technologies, is a major technical driver enabling new wireless applications. Digital-RF ICs’ combination of digital- and analog- signal-processing technology—ADCs, DACs, and RF functions—presents unique testing requirements. The new generators offer high resolution, a variable sample rate, and looping/branching capabilities. These capabilities enable the generation of waveforms much deeper than the 16M-sample/channel waveform memory (32M samples optional) and enable engineers to use mathematically defined or oscilloscope-captured signals to efficiently test emerging digital-RF applications.
If the DUT (device under test) uses an analog interface between its baseband and RF sections, you need a signal generator that provides high vertical resolution and high SFDR (spurious-free dynamic range) on both its analog I/Q (in-phase/quadrature) carrier amplitude and IF outputs. If the interface is digital, the generator must provide parallel digital outputs to drive the DUT’s IF section. To assist in debugging and verifying prototype baseband/RF interfaces, a generator with both analog and parallel digital-baseband-signal outputs is ideal for creating, replicating, and generating either textbook signals or distorted, real-life signals that include such imperfections as noise, jitter, and glitches.
The AWG5000 Series comprises four Windows XP-based models, each of which can run Windows-based software applications of your choice. Each unit has a 10.4-in. touchscreen LCD, and all provide 80-dB SFDR and two digital markers per analog channel. The four-channel models are well suited to testing 4×4 MIMO (multiple-input/multiple-output) systems. US retail prices begin at $25,000.
