ARBs Get Performance Boost

The AWG7000B and AWG5000B series arbitrary waveform generators (ARBs) provide a 20% performance boost over prior instruments and reportedly continue to be the market’s fastest and most capable family of ARBs. Providing a 9.6-GHz effective RF output, 10-bit resolution, and sample rates up to 24 Gsamples/s, the AWG7000B is allegedly the only AWG that can produce high-speed serial waveforms with real life imperfections including noise, jitter, pre/de-emphasis, and multi-level signaling up to 8 Gb/s. The AWG7000B generates signals including imperfections up to 12 Gb/s with a 35-ps rise time (20/80) for high-speed serial-data apps and modulated digital RF/IF signals up to 9.6 GHz for wideband applications including advanced radar. Also announced, the RDR radar signal creation option for the RFXpress software suite allows users to create pulsed radar waveforms on both the AWG7000B and AWG5000B. Option RDR provides the ability to build a radar pulse suite starting from a pulse to either pulse trains or pulse groups. It supports applications such as resolving range and Doppler ambiguity, frequency hopping for ECCM, and pulse-to-pulse amplitude variation to simulate Swerling target models. Available now, prices start at $28,000 for a 600 Msample/s AWG5002B and $65,000 for a 6 Gsample/s AWG7061B. The RFXpress software package starts at $5,000. TEKTRONIX INC., Beaverton, OR. (800) 426-2200.