Agilent Technologies E6432A User's Manual
Contents
1. ViUInt32 startingPoint ViReal64 Frequency ViReal64 ALC_value Vilnt16 Attenuator Vilnt16 featureBits Vilnt16 alcOffset ViUInt32 numberOfPoints blanking always extended to 20 ms Once downloaded the list is execut ed by calling Hpe6432_run_list Depending on the trigger mode set the list is run all the way through repeated until aborted or executed one entry per input trigger Programming Examples Figure 1 A typical VEE program for controlling a signal source in a test program Figure 2 A LabView program that initializes the Agilent E6432A sets frequency and amplitude enables or disables pulse modulation and closes the session faa HP VEE e6432VeeExample vee File Edit View Debug Flow Device I O Data Display Window Help frequency HPE6432_SetFrequency instrHandle frequency HPE6432_SetOutputPower instrHandle outputPower outputPower HPE6432_SetRfOutputStatetinstrHandle fOutputEnable errorMessage HPE6432_error_message instrHandle 0 errorMessage rfOutputEnable i HP PulseModOut vi Diagram File Edit Operate Project Windows Help LAC P ballt Tet Application Font a Fs z iia Jea resourcename instrumenthandle out error in no error O x Figure A Visual Basic programming example calling the initialization routine K Petes ior ee ER Note that all functions HPE6432 FACTORY ADDRESS return VI_SUCCESS On Error GoTo NO_HPE6432_DLL which is zero for rt2. problems We strive to ensure that you get the test and measurement capabilities you paid for and obtain the support you need Our extensive support resources and services can help you choose the right Agilent products for your applications and apply them successfully Every instrument and system we sell has a global warranty Support is available for at least five years beyond the produc tion life of the product Two concepts underlie Agilent s overall support policy Our Promise and Your Advantage Our Promise Our Promise means your Agilent test and measurement equipment will meet its advertised performance and functionality When you are choosing new equipment we will help you with product information including realistic performance specifications and practical recommendations from experienced test engineers When you use Agilent equipment we can verify that it works properly help with product operation and provide basic measure ment assistance for the use of specified capabili ties at no extra cost upon request Many self help tools are available Your Advantage Your Advantage means that Agilent offers a wide range of additional expert test and measurement services which you can purchase according to your unique technical and business needs Solve problems efficiently and gain a competitive edge by contracting with us for calibration extra cost upgrades out of warranty repairs and on site education and training
3. Agilent E6432A VXI Microwave Synthesizer Product Note Agilent E6432A plug amp play Driver ee Py pa or An Introduction to the a oo eooo oo High performance microwave capability in VXI e 10 MHz to 20 GHz e 90 dBm to 20 dBm e lt 400 us frequency switching time e 1 Hz frequency resolution e AM FM and Pulse modulators e VXI plug amp play driver EE Agilent Technologies Introduction Today s VXI instruments communicate with application programs through plug amp play drivers In some cases these drivers are just one way to communicate For the E6432A microwave synthesizer its plug amp play driver is the only means of communi cation with the host controller or its application programs This product note provides an overview of the communication process the range of hardware and software configurations supported and an introduction to the features of the instrument made available through the plug amp play driver The E6432A microwave synthesizer is a register based device rather than a message based device There are two reasons for this First the E6432A is designed to be a system source rather than a bench source so its user interface and command set are simple and straightforward A register based design supports this application Secondly the E6432A employs a fast switching architecture in both frequency and amplitude swit
4. as well as design system integration project management and other profes sional engineering services Experienced Agilent engineers and technicians worldwide can help you maximize your productivity optimize the return on investment of your Agilent instruments and systems and obtain dependable measurement accuracy for the life of those products By internet phone or fax get assistance with all your test amp measurement needs Online assistance www agilent com find assist Phone or Fax United States tel 1 800 452 4844 Canada tel 1 877 894 4414 fax 905 282 6495 Europe tel 31 20 547 2323 fax 31 20 547 2390 Japan tel 81 426 56 7832 fax 81 426 56 7840 Latin America tel 305 269 7500 fax 305 269 7599 Australia tel 1 800 629 485 fax 61 3 9210 5947 New Zealand tel 0 800 738 378 fax 64 4 495 8950 Asia Pacific tel 852 3197 7777 fax 852 2506 9284 Product specifications and descriptions in this document subject to change without notice Copyright 1999 2001 Agilent Technologies Printed in U S A March 26 2001 5968 3660E 7 Agilent Technologies
5. ching Switching times of less than 400 us can be achieved in real customer applications only if the E6432A processing time is kept to well under 50 us This can only be accomplished with a register based design Most modern automated test systems use programming environments and VXI interfaces that support the plug amp play driver architecture These systems will easily integrate the E6432A For systems using older legacy software and VXI interfaces support for the E6432A may require rewriting and or changing interfaces These conditions will be covered in this note Programming Environments To support the E6432A plug amp play driver the operating system founda tion required by the host controller is Microsoft Windows NT 4 0 with Service Pack 3 or above installed Other operating systems such as Windows 95 98 UNIX or MacOS are not supported at introduction Application programs running on Windows NT that are compatible with the E6432A plug amp play driver are HP VEE 4 0 or higher e National Instruments LabView and LabWindows CVI versions 4 0 or higher e Microsoft Visual Basic version 5 0 or higher e Microsoft Visual C C versions 5 0 or higher Application programs such as Agilent Basic for Windows have no provision for communicating with plug amp play drivers and are therefore not supported VXI Interfacing There are several interfacing choices available from host controller to VXI instrum
6. e E6432A plug amp play driver includes a comprehensive online help system with complete documentation that should be used as the primary reference source for the instrument All aspects of using and programming the E6432A and the SFP are fully documented The help system may be installed and run on a separate computer without other modules of the plug amp play driver installed Table 1 Set RF Output On Off Get RF Output On Off Set Freq ALC Atten Bit Set Freq ALC Atten Get Freq ALC Atten Set Frequency Set ALC Atten Set Output Power Power Search Set Reference Source Int Ext Get Reference Source Int Ext Set Dwell Time Get Dwell Time Set Settling Time Get Settling Time In many instances the systems programmer has a predefined list of test frequencies amplitudes and marker events that are defined by the needs of the test program Often sig nal sources and measuring receivers must be coordinated to be at the same test frequencies simultaneously to make measurements Users want to minimize system time between measurements since performing precision measurements can be time consuming HPE6432_SetRfOutputState HPE6432_GetRfOutputState HPE6432_SetFreqAlcAttenBit HPE6432_SetFreqAlcAtten HPE6432_GetFreqAlcAtten HPE6432_SetFrequency HPE6432_SetAlcAtten HPE6432_SetOutputPower HPE6432_PowerSearch HPE6432_SetRefSource HPE6432_GetRefSource HPE6432_SetDwellTime HPE6432_GetDwellTime HPE6432_SetSett
7. e program mable marker Any entry in the list mode may enable the Sync Out mark er If enabled it will coincide with the Trigger Out or settled marker for that list entry Any one of the VXI backplane triggers may be assigned to Sync Out Table 2 summarizes the trigger marker and blanking modes Table 2 Trigger In Automatic default Trigger In disabled trigger once wait for trigger then run list once triggered wait for trigger to advance to next list entry Trigger Out settled marker always enabled Sync In auto default Sync In disabled wait wait for sync to start list restart abort list and restart from beginning wait for start restart combines wait for start and abort restart Sync Out disabled default list entry does not generate sync marker on settled Trigger Out still enabled enabled list entry generates sync marker on settled and Trigger Out marker Repeat run list continuously until aborted Blanking enabled default blank RF while tuning minimum 270 ps disabled settling time on frequency changes do not blank RF while tuning Long blanking disabled default enabled frequency settled to within 50 kHz when Trigger Out edge occurs RF blanking extended to 350 us Frequency settled to noise level when Trigger Out edge occurs Attenuator switch An example function call to down load an array of list entry points is ViSTATUS HPE6432_WriteListPoints ViSession instrumentHandle
8. ents Three of these are sup ported by the E6432A plug amp play driver They are e VXI Embedded Control for exam ple E6234A running Windows NT e National Instruments VXI MXI 2 e IEEE 1394 Firewire for example E8491A The remaining VXI interfaces HP and National Instruments GPIB VXI and National Instruments MXI 1 are unsupported The VXI data specification for the E6432A is A16 A24 D16 D32 Due to the large size of frequency registers floating point arithmetic is a must The interface must be capable of allocating a large block size of A24 address space 256k GPIB inter faces are unsupported because they are fundamentally message based interfaces They are not designed to communicate with register based instruments without special propri etary software that must be written and downloaded into their memories prior to using the plug amp play driver Microsoft Windows and Windows NT are U S registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation UNIX is a registered trademark of the Open Group National Instruments has two ver sions of the MXI interface that are usable in a host controller The older VXI MXI 1 slot 0 controller and its host card the AT MXI interface do not operate correctly with E6432A due to the AT MXI interface s inabili ty to access more than 64k of A24 address space Remember a mini mum of 256k is required The newer MXI interface from National Instruments the VXI MXI 2 inte
9. erform a comprehensive digital self test e perform a limited analog self test e preset the instrument to a known state e query the error buffers for any error conditions e issue the command to extinguish the red FAIL LED after a successful completion In the programming examples shown later we will show that in VEE the Vilnitialize function call is sent automatically at the first call to the instrument In NI LabView the Vilnitialize function call must be sent explicitly as the first call to the instrument The Soft Front Panel All functions of the E6432A are represented in the soft front panel SFP The online help system docu ments the SFP and the plug amp play driver completely The E6432A SFP is accessed through the Start menus of Windows NT If no VXI interface is installed on the computer or the hardware is not present the SFP may be run in Demo Mode as a learning and demonstration tool The online help system will be fully functional Features of the plug amp play Driver Driver functions are divided into these major categories e Initializing the instrument e Setting and enabling frequency and power e Selecting and enabling modulation types e Selecting and enabling trigger modes e Selecting operation modes e Managing the list e Querying status and errors Table 1 is a list of instrument functions available for setting output functions List Modes Trigger Modes and Markers Th
10. lingTime HPE6432_GetSettlingTime To assist the programmer with efficient synchronization between signal source and measuring receiver the E6432A implements a list mode that holds up to 128k list entries Each entry may hold a frequency value an ALC value an attenuator value and a mode byte that sets various conditions at that entry point For example the mode byte has bits for enabling or disabling RF blanking at that entry point putting out a sync marker at that entry or enabling long blanking to provide extra settling time at that entry To make the most of this list mode comprehensive triggering is available for executing the list entries in the most useful way for the test program Input triggering can be from the front panel SMB connector over the VXI TTL backplane triggers VXIO VX17 or manually via the SFP Any one of the backplane triggers can be assigned to Trigger In The Trigger Out or settled marker is a synchro nization signal that can be used as a data ready flag a trigger to a meas uring receiver or a timing signal for the host controller It is always avail able at the front panel Any one of the VXI backplane triggers can be assigned to Trigger Out Sync In is a reset trigger It may be set to abort a list and reset the list pointer to the beginning of list mem ory It may be used to run a list It may be disabled Any one of the VXI backplane triggers may be assigned to Sync In Sync Out is th
11. n HPE6432_init address id_query do_reset Hpe6432_IH success and non zero On Error GoTo 0 If rtn lt gt O Then for error conditions MsgBox HPE 6432 Initialization Error Format rtn H 0 vbOKOnly HP E6432 Er End If txtPower KeyPress 13 txtFreqGHz KeyPress 13 Exit Sub NO_HPE6432 DLL Error calling HPE 422 0ILL On Error GoTo 0 Bun in demo mo End Sub Warranty Information All Agilent products described in this document are warranted against defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from date of shipment Related Agilent Literature Creating Frequency Lists Using a Spreadsheet and ActiveX Product Note literature number 5968 8434E E6432A Configuration Guide literature number 5967 6272E E6432A Product Overview literature number 5967 6178E E6432A Technical Specifications literature number 5968 1242E High Performance Microwave Capability in VXI Brochure literature number 5967 6313E Test Systems and VXI Products Catalog literature number 5980 0307E Visit our websites Agilent Aerospace and Defense Information www agilent com find defense_ATE Agilent Signal Sources Information www agilent com find signal_sources Agilent VXI Product Information www agilent com find vxi Agilent Technologies Test and Measurement Support Services and Assistance Agilent Technologies aims to maximize the value you receive while minimizing your risk and
12. r face and its host controller card the PCI MXI interface work properly with all of the application programs listed A new serial interface for VXI based on IEEE 1394 is available from Agilent the E8491A This interface has nearly the same performance as MXI 2 in many applications The E8491A is supported for use with the E6432A Embedded controllers are available from both Agilent and National Instruments Those controllers that contain the Intel Pentium processor and run Microsoft Windows NT 4 0 are supported for use with the E6432A Pentium is a U S registered trademark of Intel Corporation Initializing the Instrument After installing the interfaces and drivers using the procedures given in the user documentation it is time to apply power to the VXI mainframe and check out the system Register based devices typically do not contain a processor and firmware that perform bootstrap and self test functions at power on These functions are jointly executed by the host controller and the device For the E6432A the functions are per formed when the host controller issues the Vilnitialize function call through the plug amp play driver When power is first applied to the E6432A the red FAIL LED is lit This LED remains lit until a successful completion of the Vilnitialize function call Within this function call are commands that e issue the bootstrap commands to initialize the onboard assist processor e p
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