100 and 50 MHz, Programmable-Voltage

Digital Waveform Generator/Analyzers

Overview

The National Instruments 6552 and

6551 are 100 and 50 MHz digital

waveform generator/analyzers,

respectively, for characterizing,

validating, and testing digital

electronics. These modules feature

20 channels with per-channel,

per-cycle direction control and deep

onboard memory with triggering and

pattern sequencing. You can program

the voltage levels on NI 655x devices

with 10 mV resolution. You can use them with the NI Digital Waveform

Editor, an interactive software tool for creating, editing, and importing

digital waveforms. With the SMC, you can create mixed-signal test

systems with digitizers, arbitrary waveform generators, and other digital

waveform generator/analyzers, or you can synchronize multiple digital

waveform devices to build high-channel-count test systems.

Design High-Performance Tests

For building high-performance stimulus-response systems, the NI 655x

devices include:

• A sophisticated timing engine to adjust for the timing parameters

of the device under test

• Programmable voltage levels for testing multiple devices or

characterizing a single device under changing conditions

• Per-cycle tristate for bidirectional communication

• A versatile memory architecture for maximum flexibility of waveform

and scripting memory

The hardware architecture is designed to preserve high signal quality,

and an eye diagram of the PXI-6552 generation is shown in Figure 1.

You can use the internal clock or an external clock, such as from the

NI PXI-5404, through the front panel. You can also shift the data

generated, data acquired, and exported sample clock relative to the

onboard clock for clock frequencies above 25 MHz, which is critical to

adjust for propagation delays and setup-and-hold times in the device

under test.

Programmable voltage levels are needed when testing different

devices or when characterizing how a given device performs under

changing conditions. With NI 655x devices, the high and low levels for

• 100 MHz maximum clock rate

• -2.0 to 5.5 V programmable voltage

levels in 10 mV steps

• 20 channels with per-channel, per-cycle

bidirectional control

• 1, 8, or 64 Mb/channel onboard memory

• Real-time hardware comparison of

acquired data

• Complex triggering and pattern

sequencing

• Interactive waveform and script

editor software

• Synchronization and Memory Core

(SMC) for tight synchronization with

other SMC-based devices

Operating Systems

• Windows 2000/NT/XP

• LabVIEW Real-Time

Recommended Software

• LabVIEW

• LabWindows/CVI

• SignalExpress

Driver and Editing Software

(included)

• NI-HSDIO driver

• Script Editor

• Digital Waveform Editor

(included with 8 and

64 Mb/channel models)

Calibration

• NIST traceable

• 2-year external calibration cycle

NI 655x

Product

Platform

Channels

Maximum Clock

Rate (MHz)

Voltage Levels

Memory

(Mb/channel)

Scripting

(Linking/Looping)

Programmable

Data Delay

Per-Cycle

Tristate

Hardware

Comparison

NI 6552

PCI, PXI

20

100

Programmable, 10 mV steps

1, 8, or 64









NI 6551

PCI, PXI

20

50

Programmable, 10 mV steps

1, 8, or 64









Table 1. NI 655x Selection Guide

Applications

Semiconductor

Mixed-signal design validation and test

Interfacing to digital electronics

Aerospace/Defense

Subsystem emulation

Bit error rate tester (BERT)

Communications

Multimedia chipset emulation

Consumer Electronics

CMOS and CCD imaging sensors

Digital display tests