Fast-switching multi-tone DDS Instruments with 50 tones per channel launched

Spectrum Instrumentation has launched a family of DDS Generators named the 96xx series, forming a new product category in the company's portfolio. The new DDS Instruments provide up to 50 sine wave carriers on one single output channel. This feature delivers a new way for engineers and scientists to produce and independently control multi-tone sine signals. DDS, which is short for 'Direct Digital Synthesis', is a powerful technique for generating high-purity signals (typically sinewave cores, also called carriers or tones) with ultrafast switching between output frequencies and fine frequency resolution. The products can produce multiple tones, covering a wide range of operating frequencies up to 200MHz. It makes them uniquely agile signal sources suited for demanding applications in industries such as biomedicine, communications, semiconductors and quantum science.

The 96xxs series comprises 12 models with three different form factors: PCIe cards, PXIe modules, and Ethernet instruments. A single PCIe or PXIe card can produce up to 50 different low-phase-noise variable-frequency tones and is available with up to four channels. The stand-alone Ethernet instruments offer from two to 24 channels. For applications needing more than 50 tones, the larger NETBOX units support up to 300, or connecting multiple cards with the Star Hub synchronisation module to create systems with up to 400 tones is possible. All models provide integrated output amplifiers with programmable signal amplitudes up to ±2.5V into 50-Ohm loads or ±5V for high-impedance.

The speed at which these products can change the characteristics of a tone is what makes them different to conventional signal generators. Fully programmable, changes can be made utilising simple commands almost instantly. New settings for a tone's frequency, amplitude and phase, as well as amplitude slopes and frequency slopes, can be initiated during runtime or via preloaded sequences of DDS commands. Millions of DDS commands can be stored in the on-board memory. Setting changes can be triggered externally, or by an internal timer, or instantly on command. No transition jitter or glitches appear, and the timing resolution for sequencing commands is as small as just 6.4 nanoseconds.

The generators provide an easy and programmable way for users to produce trains of waveforms, frequency sweeps or finely tuneable references of various frequencies and profiles. Applications can be found in industrial, medical, and imaging systems, network analysis, and even communication technology, where data is encoded utilising phase and frequency modulation on a carrier. Another application is the control of lasers through AODs and AOMs, as often used in quantum experiments. Laser control can be made at very high speeds with just a few simple commands – this is in contrast to the more processing-intensive method that uses an AWG and demands large data array calculations. By issuing a small series of slope commands, the user can control advanced functions like s-shaped or custom-shaped frequency transitions, custom pulse envelopes, AM or FM modulation, and more.

Running under Windows or Linux operating systems, the DDS generators can be programmed utilising programming examples for C++, Python, C#, JAVA, LabVIEW, MATLAB, and others, as well as high-level Python APIs that supply an easy way to control the products.

Should there ever be a necessity to generate more complex waveforms, the series can also be converted into a fully functional AWG. A firmware option is available that switches the DDS Generator into an AWG, allowing the synchronous replay of arbitrary waveforms on all active channels. Operating modes such as Single Shot, Loop, Single Restart, Multiple Replay, Gated Replay, Streaming (FIFO) or Sequence Replay are all supported.

The series DDS generators are available now and carry a five-year product warranty, free software and firmware updates, and customer support directly from the engineering team for the product's life.