Signal Analyzer Cards perform dual-channel averaging.
Press Release Summary:
Model AP240 and AP235 multifunctional signal analyzer boards feature analyzer platform hosting reconfigurable on-board digital processing unit. Averaging firmware option performs synchronous dual-channel real-time averaging at 1 GS/s. They feature full front-end signal conditioning with up to 1 GHz bandwidth. Each channel has independent digitizer and separate programmable computing circuits using FPGA technology.Original Press Release:
New Acqiris Reconfigurable Analyzer Cards Perform Synchronous Dual-Channel, Real-Time Averaging
Monroe, NY, October 2003 -- Acqiris USA, a leading manufacturer of data conversion instruments, has released two new multifunctional signal analyzer boards. Each card features an analyzer platform hosting a reconfigurable on-board digital processing unit and an averaging firmware option performing synchronous dual-channel real-time averaging at 1 GS/s.
The new AP240 and AP235 analyzers are ideal for I/Q-related measurement where two signals need to be sampled and analyzed simultaneously with minimal phase error. Applications include mass spectrometry and non-destructive testing, such as in Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOF-MS) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), where random noise must be removed from signals that are being acquired with very high event rates.
Acqiris' new AP240 and AP235 analyzer platforms both feature full front-end signal conditioning (with calibrated gain and offset ranges), with up to 1 GHz bandwidth and dual-channel capability with synchronous acquisition up to a 1 GS/s sampling rate (up to 2 GS/s in single-channel mode). Each channel has an independent digitizer and separate programmable computing circuits using the latest FPGA technology, which enables the analyzer platforms to be easily reconfigured to perform a variety of on-board real-time signal processing.
The new AP240 and AP235 analyzer platforms incorporate the AP240/235-Avgr averager option, the first of a family of firmware core options available for these two boards. The averager option allows the platforms to perform real-time averaging signal processing on the acquired waveforms at an unprecedented 1 GS/s sampling rate, synchronously on both channels.
Each channel of the high performance Model AP240 analyzer platform features a front end with 1 GHz bandwidth, a 1 GS/s ADC, and up to 1 Mpoints of memory (4 Mpoints optional). The AP235 platform, a more cost-effective solution for lower frequency applications, features front-end bandwidth of 500 MHz and a sampling rate up to 500 MS/s on each channel. For single-channel applications, both platforms can interleave their two channels, doubling the maximum sampling rate up to 1 GS/s (AP235) or 2 GS/s (AP240) and memory (2 Mpoints, optionally 8 Mpoints), as well as improving overall timing resolution.
The on-board FPGA digital processing unit (DPU) allows digitized signals to be processed and analyzed in real-time. With the averager firmware option, the DPU can be programmed to perform acquire, add and store functions necessary to average signals, in real-time, at the cards' maximum sampling rate. Summed events can be acquired with less than 1.2 µs dead time between them. For example, multiple dual-channel acquisitions made at 1 GS/s, and each containing 100 kpoints, can be summed at sustained rates of up to 10,000 shots per second.
The averager firmware option not only reduces signal noise, improving signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), it also increases measurement resolution (up to 12 bits with Acqiris' SuperRes mode) and precision. A high accuracy clock (better than ±2 ppm) and flexible trigger/clock synchronization modes further extend the units' total measurement capabilities.
The cards are fully PCI-compliant and can be installed directly in a full-length PCI slot on a PC running under Windows, LINUX or VxWorks. The PCI bus allows data processed by the cards to be transferred to the host PC at sustained rates of up to 100 MBytes/s. The cards can be controlled over the PCI bus or directly from the front panel through Acqiris' unique Ctrl I/O system. Ctrl I/O provides two analog connectors for clock/reference and trigger signals as well as four digital lines that can be used for monitoring the cards' status or configuration. For example, with the Averager firmware option installed, the user can use one of the front-panel digital lines to toggle the average add and subtract functions when performing automatic baseline subtraction.
Pricing for an AP240 with AVGR option begins at $15,980. The AP235 with AVGR option starts at $11,980. 4Mpoints/channel of additional memory starts at $3,990. Delivery is 6 weeks ARO.
For more information, please contact Klaas Vogel, Acqiris USA, PO Box 2203, 234 Cromwell Hill Road, Monroe, NY 10950; Tel: (877) 227-4747; Fax: (845) 782-4745; e-mail: k.vogel@acqiris.com.
About Acqiris: With US headquarters in Monroe, NY and corporate headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, industry-leader Acqiris SA designs and manufactures modular waveform acquisition and analysis products for the electronics test and measurement, physics and ATE markets. Products include PCI, CompactPCI, and PXI 8 and 12 bit digitizers, averagers, and peak analyzers with Gigasample/second (GS/s) performance. Further company details including worldwide sales and service location are available at: www.acqiris.com.
