NEWS RELEASE – Sept. 13, 2005 – Automated test engineers and designers now can use National Instruments 400 and 200 Mb/s digital waveform generator/analyzers to interface to low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) devices with desktop PCs. Using LVDS, engineers can transfer data at faster rates with less power and across longer distances, which is not possible with single-ended technologies.The National Instruments PCI-6562 and PCI-6561 LVDS digital waveform generator/analyzers complement existing NI PXI-6562 and PXI-6561 digital modules and give engineers a solution to LVDS on the desktop. With the new PCI boards, engineers can create low-cost solutions with existing desktop computers, or they can use PXI modules for rugged, high-channel-count applications.
Both the PCI and PXI devices offer 400 and 200 Mb/s data rates in double-data-rate mode with 200 and 100 MHz clocks, respectively. The devices feature 16 LVDS channels, per-channel direction control in single-data-rate mode and programmable data delay. Engineers also can select from three memory options that include 2, 16 or 128 Mb/channel of deep onboard memory. Because LVDS is differential, it offers high noise immunity and common-mode rejection. The differential nature also permits a small voltage swing while still maintaining high signal integrity.
This low-voltage swing minimizes power dissipation and also provides potential for fast data rates in the hundreds of megabits per second. These features make the PCI-6562 and PCI-6561 digital waveform generator/analyzers ideal for military and aerospace ATE applications, such as satellite, surveillance and communications, as well as functional testing of semiconductor components. The new boards are built on the common Synchronization and Memory Core (SMC) architecture, so they tightly synchronize with other SMC-based NI modular instruments, such as the 200 MS/s PXI digitizer and arbitrary waveform generator. Engineers also can use the SMC synchronization technology to build high-channel-count digital systems using multiple LVDS boards.
To quickly create test applications, engineers can integrate the boards with powerful National Instruments software tools such as the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment, the NI Digital Waveform Editor for creating and editing test vectors and NI SignalExpress for quickly acquiring and analyzing electronic signals.
About NI Modular Instruments
NI offers essential technologies for test, which combine high-performance hardware, flexible software and innovative timing and synchronization technology for test and design applications. NI modular instruments offer accurate, high-throughput measurements from DC to 2.7 GHz. The product family includes:
- High-resolution digitizers (up to 24 bits, up to 200 MS/s)
- Signal generators (up to 16 bits, 200 MS/s)
- Digital waveform generator/analyzers (up to 400 Mb/s)
- Digital multimeters (up to 7½ digits)
- RF vector signal generators and analyzers (up to 2.7 GHz)
- Dynamic signal analyzers (up to 24 bits, 500 kS/s)
- Switching (multiplexers, matrices and general purpose)About National InstrumentsNational Instruments is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation – a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists in industry, government and academia approach measurement and automation.
Leveraging PCs and commercial technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs for test, control and design applications through easy-to-integrate software, such as NI LabVIEW, and modular measurement and control hardware for PXI, PCI, USB and Ethernet.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,600 employees and direct operations in nearly 40 countries.
In 2004, the company sold products to more than 25,000 companies in 90 countries.
For the past six years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.
For more information
, Contact National Instruments or visit their web site at sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/14826 .