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Last Revised: 2012-10-16 03:59:52.0
NI PXIe-5185, NI PXIe-5186
5 GHz (NI PXIe-5186) and 3 GHz (NI PXIe-5185) analog bandwidths
Sampling rates of 12.5 GS/s (1 ch active) and 6.25 GS/s (2 ch active)
8-bit vertical resolution with input ranges from 110 mV to 1 V full scale
2 channels with 50 Ω and 1 MΩ input impedance paths
Data transfer rates of >700 MB/s from device to host
3-slot, 3U PXI Express form factor
Overview
The NI PXIe-5185 and PXIe-5186 digitizers, codeveloped by National Instruments and Tektronix, deliver a new level of performance in the small-form-factor, low-power PXI
platform. These digitizers provide the trusted measurement accuracy of Tektronix oscilloscopes and deliver breakthrough acquisition performance in PXI Express. The digital back
end uses NI Synchronization and Memory Core (SMC) technology to deliver high-data throughput at rates greater than 700 MB/s and multi-module synchronization with ±80 ps
channel-to-channel skew. The result is digitizers that feature leading analog performance optimized for automated test applications.
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Application and Technology
Applications
Automated test of electronic devices
High-energy physics experiments
Wideband RF acquisition
Semiconductor test
High-speed transient capture systems
Radar prototyping and testing
SIGINT and ELINT systems
Electronic warfare systems
Obtaining Superior Signal Accuracy With Tektronix, Enabling Technology Products
The analog front end and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) ASICs incorporated in the 3 GHz bandwidth NI PXIe-5185 and 5 GHz bandwidth NI PXIe-5186 are state-of-the-art
silicon germanium (SiGe) parts designed by Tektronix and used across the full suite of Tektronix high-performance oscilloscopes. With more than a decade of experience in
developing with the high-bandwidth (ft = 200 GHz) and reliable IBM SiGe BiCMOS process, Tektronix has continuously delivered the industry’s fastest oscilloscopes with
high-signal accuracy.
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Figure 1. The analog front end and ADC ASICs are state-of-the-art SiGe parts designed by Tektronix.
Low Sampling Jitter With High Effective Number of Bits (ENOB)
One aspect of the superior signal accuracy delivered by Tektronix, Enabling Technology products can be seen in the low sampling jitter of the digitizer. Sampling jitter, also known
as phase noise, characterizes the timing deviations in the analog-to-digital conversion process, and is a critical factor when evaluating digitizers and oscilloscopes that sample at
multi-gigasample per second rates. These timing deviations can result from inaccuracies inside the ADC or from system design issues. The digitizers’ low 500 fs rms integrated
jitter results in a 5.5 effective number of bits (ENOB) at 5 GHz.
Input Frequency
10 MHz
1GHz
2.5 GHz
5GHz
Effective Number of Bits (ENOB)
6.5 bits
6.3 bits
6 bits
5.5 bits
Table 1. ENOB Values Across a Range of Input Signal Frequencies for the NI PXIe-5186
The next-closest modular alternatives have more than two times the sampling jitter. Even though both alternatives use 10-bit ADCs, the higher sampling jitter degrades ENOB
performance below the 8-bit NI PXIe-5186 at these high-signal frequencies.
NI PXIe-5186
Analog Bandwidth
Sample Rate
Vertical Resolution
Sampling Jitter
RMS Noise
ENOB
Form Factor
5 GHz
12.5 GS/s
8-bit ADC
500 fs rms
0.35% full scale
6 bits at 2.5 GHz
3U PXI Express
Digitizer A
1.5 GHz
4 GS/s
10-bit ADC
1200 fs rms
0.5% full scale
Not specified above 410 MHz
3U PXI
Digitizer B
3 GHz
8 GS/s
10-bit ADC
1200 fs rms
Not specified
4.5 bits at 1.8 GHz
6U CompactPCI
Table 2. Comparison of Noise, Jitter, and ENOB Performance Between NI PXIe-5186 and Two Modular Alternatives
In addition to this, competitive digitizers with bandwidths above 1 GHz may specify ENOB with bandwidth limiting in place to diminish the impact of a noisy architecture. This
means that not only does higher sampling jitter degrade ENOB at higher signal frequencies, but the published ENOB numbers may not be reflective of true product performance
due to special test setups, such as the addition of lowpass filtering to the measurement.
Lastly, most other digitizers on the market offer only between 1 and 10 input voltage ranges, resulting in lost bits if the signal amplitude is not at least 90 percent of one of the few
voltage input ranges. With the NI PXIe-5185 and PXIe-5186, you can fully optimize ENOB by taking advantage of the more than 2,900 input ranges that are programmable in >0.3
mV steps, from 110 mV full scale up to 1 V full scale.
Ensure the Best Performance Using Built-In Self-Calibration
When measuring high-frequency signals, even the smallest errors due to drift or temperature changes can have an impact on measurements. Upon power-up, the NI PXIe-5185
and PXIe-5186 automatically perform a power-up calibration routine to optimize the linearity performance of the ADCs. The built-in self-calibration, initiated by the user, further
enhances the gain and offset accuracy of the digitizers as well as calibrates the analog trigger path.
The digitizers are shipped with NIST-traceable calibration and are supported by NI Calibration Executive.
Digitizers Optimized for Automated Test
Most digitizers and oscilloscopes with more than 1 GHz of bandwidth incorporate features and functionality best suited for interactive, benchtop use with little focus on the
automated test use model. A platform optimized for automated test can help overcome the key challenges of building the integrated and/or high-channel-count test systems
commonly seen in environments such as validation and production test, physics and scientific experimentation, mil/aero ATE, and radar.
Key Challenges
Features of NI PXIe-5185 and PXIe-5186
By using the shared NI-SCOPE driver, which offers a common API across all NI digitizers, you can:
Streamline test system development.
Future-proof the test system’s software architecture for upgraded capability.
Use any of the common development environments (NI LabVIEW, NI LabWindows™/CVI, Visual
Studio.NET, Microsoft Visual C/C++, Microsoft Visual Basic).
Because these digitizers are built on the PXI platform, you can:
Integration Into a Test System
Easily integrate any of the other 1,200+ PXI instruments into your test system including the following:
Vector network analyzers (VNAs)
RF/microwave signal analyzers
Source measure units (SMUs) and digital multimeters
Switching
High-resolution digitizers
Share timing and triggering signals between instruments without external cabling
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Test Throughput
Dramatically reduce test times with data throughput rates of >700 MB/s, coupled with the extremely
low latency of PXI Express communication.
In 3U rack height, you can:
Limited Rack Space
Fit up to 10 channels sampling at 6.25 GS/s in a single 18-slot chassis.
Add measurement functionality in open slots in the same rack space.
Minimize power consumption with the lowest-power, high-bandwidth solution available today (only 90
W per digitizer).
Select from more than 20 different PXI chassis featuring a variety of slot-count sizes and power
options.
Build high-channel-count, synchronized test systems with NI T-Clock technology (multi-module
synchronization down to ±80 ps resolution).
Share triggers across multiple devices using the built-in trigger lines of the PXI backplane.
Define and control your instrument’s behavior by using software-defined instrumentation with
LabVIEW. Toolkits, such as the LabVIEW Jitter Analysis Toolkit, offer additional support for customizing
measurements.
With no onboard permanent data storage, these digitizers are an ideal solution for secure
environments.
Power Constraints
Channel Expansion and Synchronization
Sharing Triggers Between Instruments
Customized Measurements
Secure Environments
Table 3. Features of the NI PXIe-5185/86 that address the key challenges in automated test.
PXI Platform
PXI (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation) is a PC-based platform for measurement and automation systems. PXI combines PCI electrical-bus features with the rugged, modular,
Eurocard packaging of CompactPCI and then adds specialized synchronization buses and key software features. PXI is both a high-performance and low-cost deployment
platform for measurement and automation systems. PXI Express, built on the PCI Express bus, accommodates the needs of high-speed devices such as the NI PXIe-5185 and
PXIe-5186 by providing even higher data throughput rates. Both PXI and PXI Express data throughput rates are significantly faster than that of GPIB, USB, or LAN — other
popular buses for automating test instrumentation.
Figure 2. The NI PXIe-8133 High-Performance Intel Core i7-820QM Processor-Based Embedded Controller and the NI PXIe-5186 5 GHz Digitizer Along With Other NI PXI
Instruments
NI-SCOPE Driver and Soft Front Panel
Using the full power of a software-defined instrument requires the ability to programmatically define and control the instrument’s behavior. You can programmatically control all NI
digitizers using the NI-SCOPE instrument driver, which offers the following:
High-level functions for getting started quickly as well as low-level control for accessing all the digitizer features
More than 50 pre-written example programs that illustrate how to access the full functionality of any NI digitizer
Programming examples for LabVIEW, C++, and Visual Basic
In any test environment, there are times when the ability to quickly troubleshoot an issue is crucial. For those occasions, the NI-SCOPE driver offers the measurement features
and responsiveness of a traditional benchtop oscilloscope through the NI-SCOPE Soft Front Panel user interface.
NI Synchronization and Memory Core
Using NI Synchronization and Memory Core technology, the NI PXIe-5186 and PXIe-5185 are x4 PXI Express modules that deliver high-data throughput for faster test execution
and precision multi-module timing and synchronization for building high-channel-count, integrated test systems. High-channel-count systems – spanning over 100 channels of NI
PXIe-5185 and PXIe-5186 digitizers – can be synchronized down to ±80 ps resolution.
Figure 3. You can build high-channel-count, tightly synchronized test systems using NI T-Clock technology.
The digitizers can transfer data to a host controller at rates greater than 700 MB/s, nearly 40 times faster than a stand-alone instrument controlled over Gigabit Ethernet.
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Block Size (MB)
1
16
33
NI PXIe-5186/5185
Digitizers (MB/s)
496
700
738
LXI Gigabit Ethernet
Oscilloscope (MB/s)
12.6
19.7
20.3
PXI Express Throughput
Advantage
39.4
35.5
36.4
Table 4. Data Transfer Rates of an NI PXIe-5186/85 Versus an LXI-Compliant Oscilloscope Controlled Over Gigabit Ethernet
The digitizers also feature extremely large onboard memory up to 512 MB/ch, or 1 GB of memory when using only a single channel.
Advanced Analysis
LabVIEW Jitter Analysis Toolkit
The LabVIEW Jitter Analysis Toolkit offers a library of functions optimized for performing the high-throughput, jitter, eye diagram, and phase-noise measurements required by
automated validation and production test environments. Because the toolkit is written in LabVIEW software, it has the inherent ability to dynamically assign code across multiple
CPU cores, resulting in dramatically improved execution speeds when using multicore processors along with the NI PXIe-5185 and PXIe-5186 digitizers in a PXI Express-based
measurement system. Multicore adds powerful measurement acceleration in multichannel measurement systems, where you can perform measurements across multiple channels
in parallel. The LabVIEW Jitter Analysis Toolkit also offers an easy way for constructing and customizing eye diagrams, eye masks, and bathtub curves.
Figure 4. LabVIEW Jitter Analysis Toolkit
NI Spectral Measurements Toolkit
The Spectral Measurements Toolkit provides a set of flexible spectral measurements in LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI, including power spectrum, peak power and frequency,
in-band power, adjacent-channel power, and occupied bandwidth, as well as 3D spectrogram capabilities. In addition, the Spectral Measurements Toolkit contains VIs and
functions for performing modulation-domain operations such as passband (IF) to baseband (I-Q) conversion, I-Q to IF conversion, and generation/analysis of analog modulated
signals. The combination of these optimized algorithms and the gigahertz processing of your PC or PXI system controller delivers unmatched measurement throughput.
Figure 5. Spectral Measurements Toolkit
LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit
The LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit features software tools, example programs, and utilities to simplify experimentation and development involving time-frequency
analysis, time-series analysis, and wavelets. It includes a full version of the LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit, which is also available separately.
Figure 6. LabVIEW Advanced Signal Processing Toolkit
LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit
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The LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit offers tools for rapidly designing, analyzing, and implementing digital filters. Use the built-in interactive tools to explore classical filter
designs or use the included algorithms, filter topologies, and analysis tools to design floating-point and fixed-point digital filters for deployment on a digital signal processor (DSP)
or field-programmable gate array (FPGA).
Figure 7. LabVIEW Digital Filter Design Toolkit
Signal Connectivity
For high-speed differential signal connectivity, the Tektronix P6330 differential active probe, when powered by the Tektronix 1103 power supply, can be used with the NI
PXIe-5186 and PXIe-5185 to build a high-speed measurement system. Visit
tektronix.com/probes
for detailed product specifications and ordering information.
Characteristic
Risetime
Bandwidth
Attenuation
Differential Input Capacitance
Differential Input Resistance
Cable Length
Tektronix P6330
<140 ps
3.5 GHz
5X
<0.3 pF (typical)
100 kΩ
1.3 m
Table 5. Tektronix P6330 Probe Characteristics
Figure 6 is indicative of the frequency response performance that you can expect when using the NI PXIe-5185 (green trace) and NI PXIe-5186 (red trace) with the Tektronix
P6330 probe in a solder-in configuration.
Figure 8. Typical Frequency Response Performance From Using the NI PXIe-5185 or PXIe-5186 with the Tektronix P6330 Probe in a Solder-In Configuration
Optional Software Packages and Accessories
Part Number
Optional Software Packages
781666-35
778453-35
778786-35
777136-35
779023-35
Accessories
781845-01
781846-01
Cable assy, SMA to SMA, coax, RG-402, 50 ohm, 1 meter
Cable assy, SMA to SMA, coax, RG-402, 50 ohm, 0.3 meter
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