AXIe arb ends bandwidth, speed, accuracy tradeoff

AXIe arb ends bandwidth, speed, accuracy tradeoff

Designed for simulating real-world radar, communications-satellite, and electronic-warfare waveforms, the dual-channel M8190A AXIe arbitrary waveform generator simultaneously delivers high resolution and wide bandwidth, with industry-leading spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) and very low harmonic distortion (HD). The instrument’s 2-Gsample memory allows designers to create longer, more-realistic test scenarios, generating 5-GHz 14-bit signals on each channel simultaneously.

The arb’s DAC is fabricated with an advanced silicon-germanium BiCMOS process that allows it to operate at variable sample rates from 125 Msamples/s to 8 Gsamples/s with 14-bit resolution or 12 Gsamples/s with 12-bit resolution. As a result of this resampling DAC design, the instrument can provide up to 80-dBc SFDR at 8 Gsamples/s — 30 dBc better than its nearest competitor — and harmonic distortion as low as –72 dBc typ. It can also generate multilevel signals with programmable ISI and jitter up to 3 Gbits/s.

Key to the unit’s versatility are the three selectable amplifiers it provides to meet particular user needs: IQ generation with best SFDR and HD, high bandwidth for IF/RF signals, and time domain measurement with low jitter. Purpose-built for use in an AXIe modular system, the signal generator can be used with either a two- or five-slot chassis. (From $79,000 — available in April.)

By Richard Comerford

Agilent Technologies , Santa Clara , CA
Sales 800-829-4444 #1
www.agilent.com/find/M8190