To meet test requirements of increasing serial data rates and advanced digital RF technologies, leading test and measurement instruments supplier Tektronix, Inc. has unwrapped a third-generation arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) series with unprecedented performance, versatility and increased ease of use. With 5.8 GHz bandwidth, 10-bit resolution, and sample rates up to 20 Gsps, the AWG7000 is the only AWG that can produce high-speed real-life waveforms with imperfections including noise, jitter, pre/de-emphasis and multi-level signaling up to 10 Gsps, claimed Tektronix. According to the developer, the AWG7000 is the fastest, most capable, and versatile signal source available for high-speed serial and wideband RF signals.
Design engineers who are developing new technologies such as SATAIII, PCI Express 2, 2x XAUI, HDMI 1.3, ultra-wideband (UWB), the latest storage devices and radar need to process large amounts of data at faster speeds, broader bandwidths and higher frequencies, and often involving the latest high-speed standards. An AWG is used by engineers in design and test processes to create, replicate and generate either ideal, distorted or "real-life" signals including noise, jitter, glitches and other imperfections to assist with prototype, debug, verification, and standards compliance for the latest serial data or wideband digital RF designs.
"Engineers working with high-speed serial technologies such as the next generation of PCI Express need high performance testing tools to simulate real-world conditions," said Jim Pappas, director of initiative marketing, Intel Corp. "Companies such as Tektronix are developing tools to provide the capabilities that designers need to appropriately stress test their high-speed designs."
The AWG7000 Series is based on a new high-performance platform that incorporates a novel 10-bit, 10 Gsps digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to produce greater precision and performance. The DAC uses an IBM 0.18 µm BiCMOS silicon germanium (SiGe) 7HP process that increases vertical resolution and sample rate to establish new performance benchmarks for signal fidelity and timing resolution. With the flexibility to create, replicate and generate virtually any type of signal, the AWG7000 is the most capable and versatile signal source available, said Robert Buxton, marketing manager for signal sources at Tektronix. The sample rate has increased from 4.2 Gsps in previous-generation products to 20 Gsps with the AWG7000 series providing engineers with 4x the performance compared to any other AWG, added Buxton. The 20 Gsps speed is achieved by interleaving two 10 Gsps channels.
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