100 MS/s, 16-bit Arbitrary Waveform
Generator with Onboard Signal Processing
NI PXI-5441
• Quadrature digital upconversion
• FIR and CIC interpolation filters
• Carrier frequencies up to
43 MHz with 355 nHz resolution
• 16-bit resolution,
100 MS/s sampling rate
• 400 MS/s effective sampling
rate with DAC interpolation
• 32, 256, 512 MB of onboard memory
• Multimodule synchronization
with < 20 ps
rms
skew
• Continuous data
streaming up to 100 MB/s
Recommended Software
• LabVIEW
• LabWindows/CVI
• SignalExpress
• Measurement Studio
• Digital Filter Design Toolkit
NEW
Included Software
• NI-FGEN driver
• LabVIEW Express VIs
• NI Modulation Toolkit
• NI Analog Waveform Editor
• FGEN Soft Front Panel
• LabVIEW RealTime Support
Operating Systems
• Windows 2000/NT/XP
Calibration
• Gain and offset self-calibration
• 2 year external calibration cycle
Overview
The National Instruments NI PXI-5441 is a 100 MS/s arbitrary
waveform generator with Onboard Signal Processing (OSP). OSP
functions include FIR and CIC interpolation filters, digital per-filter
gain and offset control, a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO)
and IQ mixing for quadrature digital upconversion. With 16-bit
resolution and -91 dBc close-in spurious free dynamic range (SFDR),
the PXI-5441 brings instrument quality specifications to applications
requiring digital upconversion and baseband interpolation such as
prototyping, validating, and testing communications, radar, and
electronic warfare systems. Since the PXI-5441 is a full-featured
arbitrary waveform generator, it is also capable of generating general
purpose electrical test signals and has a maximum output range of
12 V
pk-pk
into a 50 load.
delivers several signal processing functions used to modify the data
stored in waveform memory during generation. The signal
processing functions are:
Independent I and Q pre-filter gain and offset
For adding gain and offset imbalance impairments, I and Q pre-filter
gain and offset can be adjusted before or during the generation of an
output signal.
Finite impulse response (FIR) filter
The FIR filter shapes the waveform data, compensates for the
cascaded-integrator comb (CIC) filter response, and interpolates the
waveform data by 2, 4, or 8x. The FIR filter coefficients are
programmable and include flat, raised cosine, root raised cosine,
Gaussian, or custom. For implementing custom filters, consider the
NI Digital Filter Design Toolkit which includes several advanced
filter design tools for designing, analyzing, and simulating floating-
point and fixed-point filters.
Ω
By using the PCI bus to communicate with the host computer, the
PXI-5441 can download waveforms at up to 100 MB/s, far faster than
traditional GPIB-based instruments. Using the Synchronization
and Memory Core (SMC) architecture of the PXI-5441, you can
create mixed signal test systems by synchronizing the generator
with digitizers and digital waveform generator/analyzers or
synchronize multiple generators to form a phase-coherent
multi-channel generator for generating I/Q signals for applications
such as MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) or beam-forming
antenna schemes.
Cascaded-integrator comb (CIC) filter
For upsampling waveform data to a high sample rate, the CIC filter
efficiently interpolates by 6x to 256x.
Numerically controlled oscillator (NCO)
The NCO produces sine and cosine waveform data for quadrature
digital upconversion and features 355 nHz frequency resolution and
0.0055
o
phase resolution for precise control of impairments such as
frequency error and quadrature skew. NCO frequency and phase can
also be adjusted before or during waveform generation.
Onboard Signal Processing
Onboard signal processing (OSP) (Figure 1) significantly extends
waveform playback time and reduces the time required to compute
and download waveform data by computing the waveform data
using the PXI-5441’s field programmable gate array (FPGA). OSP
NI [ NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION ]
