EE-Evaluation Engineering articles from July 2008

EE-Evaluation Engineering archives from July 2008

Electric cars and trade shows.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
July 1, 2008... The electric car is coming. So how many times have you heard that statement in past years? Too many times, I'm sure. However, if the recent news reports are on target, you just might see an electric vehicle within the next two years powered by...

System tests DDR3-SDRAM memory.(PRODUCT BRIEFING)
July 1, 2008... The T5503, developed to address high-volume production test of next-generation high-speed DDR3-SDRAM memory, features a parallel test capability of up to 128 devices. The memory tester offers maximum test speeds of 3.2 Gb/s and data...

Software converts analyzer for nonlinear measurements.(PRODUCT BRIEFING)
July 1, 2008... The nonlinear vector network analyzer (NVNA) technology enables the PNA-X Microwave Network Analyzer to evaluate the nonlinear behaviors of active components. The software measures the calibrated amplitude and cross-frequency relative phase of...

System measures flicker noise from 1 Hz to 30 MHz.(PRODUCT BRIEFING)
July 1, 2008... The EDGE Flicker Noise Measurement System certifies accurate measurements from 1 Hz to 30 MHz with background noise of typically less than 1.2 nV/[square root of term]Hz at 100 kHz and above. It features seamless integration of a wafer probe...

Logic analyzer features integrated pattern generator.(PRODUCT BRIEFING)
July 1, 2008... La-Gold-36 is a 1-GHz, PC-based logic analyzer with an integrated eight-channel pattern generator to create a comprehensive digital debugging environment. A maximum sampling rate of 1 GHz is available on all 32 channels, and a data buffer of 1...

Dual-Output Function Generator has 20-MHz range.(PRODUCT BRIEFING)
July 1, 2008... The B8020FD DDS Function Generator features a 1-[mu]Hz to 20-MHz frequency range and a second 0.1-Hz to 20-kHz output. It produces sine, square, pulse, triangle, ramp, sine[x]/x, exponential up, exponential down, and noise waveforms. Functions...

Scope analyzes digital communications waveforms.(PRODUCTION BRIEFING)
July 1, 2008... The compact, dual-channel PicoScope 9201 PC Sampling Oscilloscope with a 12-GHz bandwidth uses sequential equivalent-time sampling to achieve a 5-TS/s sampling rate. The wide bandwidth allows acquisition and measurement of fast signals with a...

Wireless Instrument supports parallel octal site test.(PRODUCT BRIEFING)
July 1, 2008... The UltraWave[TM] Wireless Test Instrument provides 12-GHz source and measure performance with uniform test capability on every port. It can be configured be configured with up to 64 universal RF ports per instrument set and multiple...

Maximizing throughput and accuracy: a tutorial.(DATA ACQUISITION)(speed vs. accuracy)
July 1, 2008... As test engineers continue to maximize production efficiencies, they need to become more aware of ways to decrease test time and the cost of test. Evaluating the speed vs. accuracy trade-offs involved in making multichannel measurements is...

Scopes shorten time to insight.(OSCILLOSCOPES)
July 1, 2008... What is a scope? This is a difficult question to answer because the definition of an oscilloscope continues to change. To a purist, the only real oscilloscope is one that displays a waveform in direct response to the input signal: in other...

You're all invited!(from the editor)(LXI Consortium)
July 1, 2008... In the past few years, the LXI Consortium has conducted a number of PlugFests around the world. And while two big purposes have been to bring together members of the various technical working groups and allow vendors to have their instruments...

The strong keep getting stronger.(LXIconsortium)
July 1, 2008... Users familiar with LXI know how easy it is to configure test systems thanks to tried-and-true Ethernet tools that simplify instrument discovery and setup. Test and measurement systems integrators finally are able to access powerful new...

Tools for developing LXI systems.(programmingoptions)
July 1, 2008... With more LXI hardware coming to market and engineers taking a closer look at this technology, questions from developers and system integrators also involve software issues: What tools are available to help me program an LXI system, and how do...

Benefits of LXI and scripting.(scriptinglanguage)
July 1, 2008... Scripting is a powerful and convenient way to provide programmability for instruments in test and measurement applications. Script-based instruments provide architectural flexibility, improved performance, and lower cost for many applications....

Improving instrumentation with user-programmable FPGAs.(DESIGN FOR TEST)
July 1, 2008... The concept of virtual instrumentation is more than 30 years old, and its tenets are as true today as they were at its inception. Test functionality is defined by the user in software, as opposed to instrument functionality fixed by the...

Understanding gained one layer at a time.(PROTOCOL ANALYZERS)
July 1, 2008... Protocols are sets of rules. In data and communications networks, they define how information must be organized for it to be correctly interpreted. There are thousands of protocols in use today, and they all have a life cycle. Protocols...

PC-Based Test Buyers Guide.(PC-BASED TEST BUYERS GUIDE)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2008... EE's PC-Based Test Buyers Guide is a comprehensive, up-to-date listing of the companies that offer PC-based test products. The guide is arranged in two sections. First is a product/company cross-reference. The second section is an...

Evaluating lightning susceptibility.(EMC TEST)
July 1, 2008... They say that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. Wrong! The Empire State building has been struck thousands of times, so often that it was used as a test object during early lightning studies. On a macroscopic level, when an...