• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Electrical Engineering News and Products

Electronics Engineering Resources, Articles, Forums, Tear Down Videos and Technical Electronics How-To's

  • Products / Components
    • Analog ICs
    • Connectors
    • Microcontrollers
    • Power Electronics
    • Sensors
    • Test and Measurement
    • Wire / Cable
  • Applications
    • Automotive/Transportation
    • Industrial
    • IoT
    • Medical
    • Telecommunications
    • Wearables
    • Wireless
  • Resources
    • DesignFast
    • Digital Issues
    • Engineering Week
    • Oscilloscope Product Finder
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • White Papers
    • Women in Engineering
  • Videos
    • Teschler’s Teardown Videos
    • EE Videos and Interviews
  • Learning Center
    • EE Classrooms
    • Design Guides
      • WiFi & the IOT Design Guide
      • Microcontrollers Design Guide
      • State of the Art Inductors Design Guide
    • FAQs
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
  • EE Forums
    • EDABoard.com
    • Electro-Tech-Online.com
  • 5G

Dual-channel digitizers provide synchronous 3.2 GS/sec, 12-bit sampling on each channel

May 18, 2022 By Lee Teschler

A new dual-channel digitizer provides synchronous 3.2 GS/sec, 12-bit sampling on each channel. This means no data needs to be lost, even when the card is acquiring data with both channels running at their maximum sampling rate. The ultrafast bus allows all the data to be transferred directly to PC memory for storage, or even to CUDA based GPUs for processing and analysis. Prices start from $17,940.

The new model M5i.3321-x16 is designed to handle a wide variety of signals. The unit’s fast sampling rate and high spectrum instrumentationmresolution are supported by fully functional front-end electronics with 1 GHz bandwidth, programmable full-scale ranges from ±200 mV to ±2.5 V and variable offset. To allow the capture of long and complex waveforms, there is a generous 4 GB (2 GSamples) of on-board memory. This can be optioned up to an industry-leading 16 GB (8 GSamples) if necessary. The on-board memory can operate as a ring buffer, like a transient recorder, or as a FIFO buffer, for streaming the acquired data directly over the bus. It can also be partitioned into segments for recording multiple events, even when they happen with very fast trigger rates. Trigger events are time stamped and a host of sophisticated triggering modes (such as software, window, re-arm, logic and delay) are available to help ensure important events are never missed.

With 12-bit resolution, the M5i.3321-x16 card offers exceptional dynamic range. Measurements are made with improved precision and better signal-to-noise ratio when compared to those made with more conventional 8-bit test instruments. Importantly, the extra resolution allows users to capture small signals that may ride on larger ones, revealing the fine signal details that are often missed by lower resolution devices.

Independently from the PC, two powerful fans transport heat out of the PC housing through holes in the front plates.
Installing the card into a PC turns it into a powerful test instrument that can be used to acquire and analyze signals in a huge variety of applications. The front panel provides SMA connectors for the channel inputs, clock and trigger inputs and outputs, as well as four multi-functional digital I/O lines. The extra clock and trigger connections make it possible to synchronize the card with additional digitizers or other measurement devices. The feature set makes the model well suited for capturing the fast signals found in fiber optics, mass spectrometry, semiconductor testing, RF recording, AI, radar, LIDAR, communications, astronomy and quantum technology.

The capability to stream data directly to a CUDA GPU is possible using the company’s SCAPP (Spectrum’s CUDA Access for Parallel Processing) package, which is available as a low-cost option. SCAPP includes the necessary drivers for CUDA GPU support and allows users to develop their own processing routines. To help getting started, the package includes working examples that can be modified and built upon.

The cards come with all the tools necessary to use them in a PC running either Windows or Linux. A software development kit (SDK) is provided so the cards can be programmed with almost any language including C, C++, C#, Delphi, VB.NET, J#, Python, Julia, Java, LabVIEW, and Matlab. The SDK contains all the necessary driver libraries as well as programming examples. Alternatively, for users who don’t want to write code, the company offers SBench 6 Professional. This powerful measurement software provides full card control, along with a host of data display, analysis, storage, and documentation capabilities.

The new model joins two other M5i series products, the M5i.3330-x16, a single-channel card that can sample at rates up to 6.4 GS/sec, and the M5i.3337-x16, a dual-channel card that offers synchronous 3.2 GS/sec sampling on both channels, and the full 6.4 GS/sec on a single channel. These cards offer 2-GHz bandwidth.

Spectrum Instrumentation Corp., 401 Hackensack Ave, Fl 4, Hackensack, NJ 07601, (201) 562-1999, www.spectrum-instrumentation.com

DesignFast Banner version: 12cf851b

Filed Under: Test and Measurement Tips Tagged With: spectruminstrumentation

Primary Sidebar

EE Training Center Classrooms

EE Classrooms

Featured Resources

  • EE World Online Learning Center
  • CUI Devices – CUI Insights Blog
  • EE Classroom: Power Delivery
  • EE Classroom: Building Automation
  • EE Classroom: Aerospace & Defense
  • EE Classroom: Grid Infrastructure
Search Millions of Parts from Thousands of Suppliers.

Search Now!
design fast globle

R&D World Podcasts

R&D 100 Episode 7
See More >

Current Digital Issue

Our second 5G Handbook is now available

Featuring 15 articles, the 2022 5G Handbook looks at private networks, timing, connectivity, latency, mmWaves, test, and other topics.

Digital Edition Back Issues

Sponsored Content

Positioning in 5G NR – A look at the technology and related test aspects

Radar, NFC, UV Sensors, and Weather Kits are Some of the New RAKwireless Products for IoT

5G Connectors: Enabling the global 5G vision

Control EMI with I-PEX ZenShield™ Connectors

Speed-up time-to-tapeout with the Aprisa digital place-and-route system and Solido Characterization Suite

Siemens Analogue IC Design Simulation Flow

More Sponsored Content >>

RSS Current EDABoard.com discussions

  • Using LTspice to check Current sense transformer reset?
  • Plotting E_theta and E_phi using the fields calculator in HFSS
  • SRF04 module measure distance
  • Motherboard - worst case scenario
  • Will Wifi throughput be affected by RSSI (attenuation) in my setup?

RSS Current Electro-Tech-Online.com Discussions

  • Are Cross-wind compensation and Road crown compensation functions inputs to LKA function?
  • Interfacing ZMOD4410 with Arduino UNO
  • Help diagnosing a coffee maker PCB
  • Capacitor to eliminate speaker hum
  • Identify a circuit.

Oscilloscopes Product Finder

Footer

EE World Online

EE WORLD ONLINE NETWORK

  • 5G Technology World
  • Analog IC Tips
  • Battery Power Tips
  • Connector Tips
  • DesignFast
  • EDABoard Forums
  • Electro-Tech-Online Forums
  • Engineer's Garage
  • Microcontroller Tips
  • Power Electronic Tips
  • Sensor Tips
  • Test and Measurement Tips
  • Wire & Cable Tips

EE WORLD ONLINE

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Lee's teardown videos
  • Advertise with us
  • Contact us
  • About Us
Follow us on TwitterAdd us on FacebookConnect with us on LinkedIn Follow us on YouTube Add us on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Privacy Policy