Applicos rolls out 18-bit resolution arbitrary waveform generator
HEERDE, THE NETHERLANDS: Applicos BV, a leading European manufacturer of modular semiconductor test systems for mixed-signal circuits, has declared the immediate availability of AWG18, a new-fangled arbitrary waveform generator meant for the company’s ATX-series test systems.
The product features 18-bit resolution at a 300Msps data rate. Furthermore, the user may select interpolated oversampling at 600Msps or 1.2Gsps.
“The new AWG18 instrument has been designed to address the constantly evolving need for our test systems to support higher resolutions at higher frequencies,” alleged Applicos’ president, Kars Schaapman. Supplementing that – “The unit is an excellent choice when exceptional signal integrity in combination with a high level accuracy is required.”
Testing analog systems with high speed 14 and 16-bit data converters requires extremely clean signals to be applied. The traditional approach of filtering away the harmonics is simply insufficient when dealing with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), maintaining a high spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) or when a low “close-in carrier noise” is imperative.
In these cases, the extra precision afforded by dealing with 18-bit signal values can mean the difference between reliable test stand operation and one that experiences seemingly random failures.
