Newsletter: PXI – An Architecture for High Performance Digital Instrumentation

 2/25/2011
IN THIS ISSUE
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From Mike Dewey, Geotest – Marvin Test Systems:

 New PXI Products

Welcome to the February edition of the PXI Newsletter. Our intent is to educate and inform you about how PXI products and systems are being used to address an increasingly broad range of applications for a variety of markets.

The PXI standard is now more than 12 years old, but for a standard with this many years of history, the number of new and innovative products and applications addressed by the PXI architecture shows no sign of slowing down.  There are several key reasons for this sustained robust and continued growth:

  • The PXI standard is built on the widely accepted architecture and roadmap of the PC which leverages the standardization and cost effective features associated with the PCI and PCI Express architectures.
  • With 52 vendors building and/or using PXI products and systems there is substantial support for the standard as well as offering customers a range of competitive test instrumentation and solutions.
  • Advances in semiconductor functionality, integration and component technology have been key to producing advanced and high performance instrumentation in a compact form factor.
  • The flexibility of the PXI standard which supports both 3U and 6U form factors has provided instrument vendors and system integrators with a high degree of flexibility for creating advanced instrumentation for digital and analog test applications.

With on-going market growth and a continuous stream of new products entering the market place, the PXI platform offers users a wide range of test solutions for both current and future applications.

This month, our featured article provides an overview of how the PXI architecture’s features and capabilities can provide the basis for developing high performance digital instrumentation. Our second article “Finding the Right Switching Solution for Your RF and Microwave Measurement Needs” provides an overview of switching options to consider when architecting an overall switching system. And in the New PXI Products section; we showcase PXI products recently released by members of the PXI Systems Alliance. We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter.

Visit http://www.pxisa.org for more information.

The PXI platform continues its explosive growth with many new product introductions. New products introduced in the last three months include:

Aeroflex 6 GHz PXI RF Low Loss Combiner Module
The 3065A is the latest addition to the PXI 3060 Series modular RF test platform.

Agilent M9362A-D01
The Agilent M9362A-D01 is a PXIe 3-slot, 4-channel, coherent microwave downconverter with frequency coverage from 10 MHz to 26.5 GHz, along with 1.5 GHz of instantaneous bandwidth per channel.

Goepel electronic PXI 6153
The PXI 6153 is a modular communication controller for CAN, based on the powerful well established Series 61.

NI PXIe-5665
The NI PXIe-5665 is a 3.6 GHz RF vector signal analyzer (VSA) that delivers best-in-class RF performance in a cost-effective PXI form factor.

 

 

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Main Article

PXI: An Architecture for High Performance Digital Instrumentation

By Michael Dewey
Sr. Product Marketing Manager
Geotest – Marvin Test Systems

Background
High performance digital instrumentation has been a part of the ATE landscape since the first computer controlled test systems were developed in the late 1960s. And what is the definition of a “high performance” digital instrument? Over time the definition, attributes and features for this class of instrumentation has evolved with the semiconductor ATE suppliers generally leading the evolution and advancement of high performance digital instruments and subsystems. For the purpose of this article, today’s high performance digital instrumentation includes the following features:

  • Digital vector rates of 50 MHz or higher
  • Per pin and per vector direction control
  • Programmable per pin drive / sense voltage levels with a wide voltage range
  • Support for multiple time sets, data formats, and multiple drive /sense edge placement
  • Tester per pin architecture supporting digital or DC parametric measurement test
  • Card modular architecture supporting high channel count applications or multiple, independent, digital domains

 

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Thanks to all our readers.
Bob Helsel, Editor
www.pxisa.org
Application Article

Find the Right Switching Solutions for Your RF and Microwave Measurements Needs

By Theng Theng Quek
 Product Manager
Microwave Switching Solutions
 Agilent Technologies

Introduction
With the increasing adoption of PXI modular architecture in RF and Microwave measurement systems, the choice of PXI RF and Microwave switches becomes critical. 

Not a single switch can best fit all applications. Selecting the correct switch technology (in terms RF performance, reliability, switching time, power handling, etc.) to accessorize and/or complement your system setup requires an investment of time and resources. The relative advantages and disadvantages of different types of switches determine their use for specific applications. Although among switches of the same basic type there is a variety of switching speeds, frequency ranges, functions, capabilities, operating life and power handling available.

In this section, we will review how the various types of PXI microwave switches can be used in the different phases of the development and manufacturing lifecycle, a common indication of their performance capabilities will be presented, and basic information that will assist you in selecting the most appropriate switch type for a given application.

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