Device testing

National Instruments has introduced two 32-channel PXI Express-based digital instruments and an eight-slot high-bandwidth PXI Express 3U chassis for automated test applications.

The PXIe-6544/45 selectable-voltage digital waveform generator/analysers optimise test applications by supporting clock rates of up to 100 and 200 MHz.

It provides typical streaming rates of 660 MBps, said to make it one of the industry’s fastest-streaming digital test products.

The instrument is claimed to make it easier for test engineers to conduct analysis of high-speed semiconductor devices and high-definition multimedia components that require rapid transfers of large amounts of data to and from host memory.

The PXIe-1082 chassis, said to be the industry’s first 3U eight-slot PXI Express chassis with seven PXI Express peripherals slots, complements the generator/analysers with up to 1 GBps per-slot bandwidth and up to 4 GBps of total system bandwidth.

Engineers can now accurately and automatically test faster semiconductor devices such as analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, memory devices, ASICs and microcontrollers.

Testing a 200 MSps DAC, for example, previously required a high-speed pattern generator, an oscilloscope and a power supply. With the generator/analyser and -1082 chassis, engineers can perform characterisation and production tests using compact, software-defined modular instrumentation.

This provides greater flexibility by making it possible for engineers to programmatically select voltages of 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 2.5 or 3.3; independently configure each of the 32 channels for input or output; and use the high-resolution onboard clock for subhertz frequency selection.

The data throughput capabilities are suitable for testing many multimedia devices as well, including HDTV signals up to 1080 p at 60 Hz, LCD screens, RF baseband devices and HD radio.

The PXIe-6544/45 modules include enhanced timing and synchronisation features, such as an onboard direct digital synthesis clock that provides subhertz resolution ranging from DC to 200 MHz.

The PXIe-1082 eight-slot high-bandwidth 3U chassis features PCI Express lanes routed to every slot. The chassis provides four hybrid slots that engineers can use for either PXI Express or PXI hybrid-slot-compatible modules to maximise reuse of existing PXI modules.