Agilent Technologies Inc. announced the availability of a Signal Peak Detection firmware-processing option for its recently introduced PCI Express® (PCIe) high-speed digitizer with on-board FPGA. The peak detection and analysis firmware allows real-time acquisition and peak-detection up to 4GS/s. Agilent’s high-speed data converter platform provides higher sampling rates, faster measurement throughput and even more flexibility to OEMs and many test and measurement engineers, while maintaining precision and cost effectiveness.

The U1084A is a dual-channel, 8-bit PCIe digitizer with up to 4 GS/s sampling rates, 1.5 GHz bandwidth and incorporates a 15 ps trigger time interpolator (TTI) for accurate timing measurement. The real-time signal processing is provided by the on-board FPGA, as defined by the chosen processing firmware.

Firmware options allow the data converter card to perform specific post-processing tasks, which are easily uploaded into the FPGA under program control. They also redefine the way data acquisition can be performed, making the data converter platforms extremely flexible and easy to reconfigure.

The Agilent U1084A Signal Peak Detection firmware option enables the creation of a peak histogram of successive acquisitions, and each histogram bin containing peak counts or summed peak amplitudes. Up to 60 Mpeaks/s can be achieved, whilst having a trigger jitter of just 250 ps.

The Agilent U1084A Acqiris high-speed data converter platform leverages the performance of Agilent’s leading-edge technology and know-how to meet the most demanding requirements. The product’s PCIe form factor and flexible architecture are ideal for use in a range of applications including medical imaging, scientific instrumentation, non-destructive testing, storage testing, LIDAR and even the validation of mixed-signal semiconductors in automated test equipment. The extreme performance of the digitizer is also suited to advanced research in high-energy physics, nuclear physics and astrophysics.

The combination of on-board processing such as the on-the-fly peak detection or averaging with the high-speed PCIe bus maximizes data and measurement throughput. A 4-lane PCIe card, the U1084A digitizer provides data throughput at up to 650 MB/s.

Software drivers for Windows® and Linux enable the U1084A data converter to be easily integrated and designed into existing measurement systems as well as exchanged, replaced or upgraded to other high-speed Acqiris-based data converters.