Challenging the Boundaries of Test
September 4, 2012
- Introduction
- Establishing a future-ready architecture
- Bringing greater choice to software and I/O
- Adding system-level tools
- Addressing a range of applications
- Achieving Lower Cost of Ownership
- Conclusion
- Related Information
A fresh perspective brings new possibilities to the toughest test scenarios. As Agilent continues to innovate in PXI and AXIe, our goals are to help our customers accelerate time-to-market and achieve a lower cost of test. Through a growing range of modular products, we're using our measurement expertise to deliver breakthrough capabilities in digitizers, signal analyzers, signal generators DMMs, and arbitrary waveform generators. We also provide software for design and simulation, software for measurement and analysis, handheld instruments for on-the-go measurements, and modular instruments for flexible test systems.
Our growing range of modular products represents an extension of Agilent's proven measurement expertise into PXI and the AXIe standard. In these form factors we're delivering the measurements system creators need today, and will be enabling new capabilities across analog, digital, RF, microwave and lightwave technologies. We're also finding ways to maximize test speed by optimizing the performance of each element along the test chain.
Agilent designers continue to embed innovative capabilities within our modular architectures. As a result, we can help system creators build test solutions that meet essential requirements—speed, flexibility, openness, footprint—across multiple domains. Whether the need is to test or verify electronic components, subsystems or products, our approach supports applications in aerospace, defense, communications, automotive, research, science and more.
Our unique combination of proven measurement expertise and innovative capabilities in the modular form factor provides a powerful range of alternatives for system creators, whether they work for a manufacturing company or a system-integrator organization. A greater range of choices—in hardware and software—will help them create the right system for today and tomorrow.
Three key ideas are driving the development and evolution of our modular portfolio and the associated system architecture:
- Provide powerful, scalable modules, chassis and infrastructure elements.
- Develop architectural components that enable complementary operation of standalone and modular instruments.
- Provide software that enables measurement and analysis capabilities that are independent of the underlying measurement hardware.
These ideas are reflected in our PXI and AXIe products.
PXI
PXI is a widely used, mature technology that has become the dominant standard for modular instrumentation. Over the years, it has evolved—PXIe, PXI-H—in pursuit of better performance. Unfortunately, the various form factors don't easily coexist and it can be difficult to optimize performance across an entire system. Today, Agilent's goal is to maximize the performance of the PXI architecture. We're doing this by leveraging the next generation of wider buses, faster controller links and flexible backplanes.
AXIe
AXIe is short for AdvancedTCA® Extensions for Instrumentation and Test. The open AXIe standard creates a robust ecosystem of components, products and systems. It leverages existing standards from AdvancedTCA, PXI, LXI and IVI.
Broadly applicable to general-purpose instrumentation and semiconductor test, AXIe has three key attributes:
- Designed for high-performance instrumentation with a large board size that provides room for module shielding.
- Well suited to high-power applications with single rail power of up to 200 W per slot.
- Offers greater scalability and rack-space efficiency than PXI: An AXIe chassis can contain one to 14 slots arranged in a vertical or horizontal configuration, and multiple chassis can be connected to create high channel-count systems.
AXIe is compatible with PXI and supports LAN and PCIe connectivity. It also integrates easily with LXI and PXI instrumentation.
As with measurement hardware, a single software platform is rarely the right answer for every test scenario. That's why we support a variety of popular development environments including Microsoft® VisualStudio® (VB.NET, C#, C/C++), Agilent VEE Pro, LabVIEW, LabVIEW windows/CVI and MATLAB.
To accelerate development, every Agilent module includes environment-specific drivers: IVI-C, IVI-COM and G. As another time-saver, the drivers provide context sensitive help such as Microsoft IntelliSense and LabVIEW hover-help. They also include documentation, examples and software tools.
Another important step is enabling measurement and analysis capabilities that are independent of the underlying hardware. For example, applications such as Agilent Signal Studio, the Agilent 89600 vector signal analysis (VSA) software and MATLAB from The MathWorks support a wide range of Agilent modular products.
Maximum speed is achieved with a cabled PCIe connection to a PCIe-enabled chassis—PXI or AXIe—with DMA and driver direct access to the registers in each instrument. The use of a cabled PCIe connection also enables use of rack-mountable industrial computers as the system controller. These PCs are faster and more cost-effective than typical embedded controllers.
To facilitate the development and debugging of automated tests, the Agilent IO Libraries Suite includes monitoring tools that will display all of the modules in a system—PXI, PXIe, AXIe or cPCI—and trace driver calls when a program is running. A developer can also view information about installed software or start a module's soft front panel. The soft front panel is a graphical interface that makes it easy to verify connectivity and explore module functionality. Included with the IO Libraries is the Agilent Connection Expert (ACE). With ACE, the PXI resource manager will discover and display the chassis and all the PXI, PXIe, and PCIe modules in your system—whether Agilent or other vendor's. From here you can find the right driver, view information about the installed software or launch the module's soft front panel. Agilent is ensuring interoperability in PXI systems making it truly an open standard.
Our soft front panels also enhance the out-of-the-box experience by letting users make measurements right away. This is useful during software development and debug, and can be used to perform benchtop measurements with one or more modular devices.
Our goal is to deliver the measurements needed today and to enable new capabilities that weren't previously possible. Whether addressing analog, digital, RF, microwave or lightwave applications, we're creating modules in the format best suited to each technology.
Any type of module can become a component within a large, single-purpose solution. Examples include the use of speed-optimized signal generators in production testing of wireless devices, high-performance digitizer modules within research and medical applications, and high-fidelity arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) modules in radar scenario simulations.
- Wireless communications and connectivity
Effective testing of today's wireless products benefits from a balanced mix of time, coverage and cost-per-DUT. The creation of a successful solution starts with the right combination of speed and accuracy in RF test systems. Agilent's RF products and software solutions provide the performance needed to accelerate throughput in the testing of wireless devices.
- Aerospace and defense
The radar signal environment includes three major elements: targets, clutter and jamming. Agilent arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) modules make it possible to accurately simulate this environment at baseband, IF and—when combined with Agilent sources—RF frequencies. Key capabilities include two optional playback modes—dynamic sequencing and direct digital synthesis—and a standard API.
- Advanced research
Agilent digitizers implement innovative techniques that maximize data bandwidth and ensure rapid measurements—even at the extremes of science. These capabilities are providing superior throughput in applications such as the control and monitoring of particle and electron beams in physics research, and in real-time processing for microwave spectrometry in atmospheric research. - Medical
Precise control of the power and size of particle beams has enabled applications in radiotherapy, which is a form of cancer treatment. In one such system, high-performance Agilent digitizers are used for beam-diagnostic measurements that ensure precise control of a proton beam that scans the volume of a cancerous tumor and destroys the DNA inside tumor cell nuclei.
To facilitate the development and debugging of automated tests, the Agilent IO Libraries Suite includes monitoring tools that will display all of the modules in a system—PXI, PXIe, AXIe or cPCI—and trace driver calls when a program is running. A developer can also view information about installed software or start a module's soft front panel. The soft front panel is a graphical interface that makes it easy to verify connectivity and explore module functionality. Included with the IO Libraries is the Agilent Connection Expert (ACE). With ACE, the PXI resource manager will discover and display the chassis and all the PXI, PXIe, and PCIe modules in your system—whether Agilent or other vendor's. From here you can find the right driver, view information about the installed software or launch the module's soft front panel. Agilent is ensuring interoperability in PXI systems making it truly an open standard.
Our soft front panels also enhance the out-of-the-box experience by letting users make measurements right away. This is useful during software development and debug, and can be used to perform benchtop measurements with one or more modular devices.
Calibration and repair can significantly influence the cost of owning a system. Agilent modular solutions are designed to maximize uptime through easy module exchange for maintenance repair and calibration, and help you keep your test systems operational.
- Core Exchange Program
Agilent's replacement Core Exchange program allows fast and easy module repairs. A replacement core assembly is a fully functioning pre-calibrated module replacement that is updated with the defective module serial number, allowing the replacement module to retain the original modules serial number.
- Express Warranty
Reduce downtime with the fastest repair service in the industry. The express warranty upgrades the global warranty to provide:- 5 day turnaround repair service in the US, Japan, China and many EU countries or up to a 10 day improvement in turnaround time in the rest of the world
- Priority return shipment
- Confidence Through Calibration and Traceability
The modular products are factory calibrated and shipped with an ISO-9002, NIST-traceable calibration certificate. A one year calibration cycle is recommended.
Calibration can be performed at Agilent Worldwide Service Centers, On-site, or by Self maintainer. The Agilent Calibration Status utility helps ensure your module is calibrated by managing the calibration interval and providing messages regarding instrument and module calibration status. Multi-Module Instrument level Calibration Certificates contain each individual module model & serial number.
- Quickly Upgrade & Redeploy Equipment
Purchase what you need now, and as your needs change, upgrade without changing the hardware. Agilent modules include a utility to upgrade the module options with a license key
- Self Test
A self test utility runs a set of internal tests which verifies the health of the modules and reports their status.
Agilent's portfolio for automated testing includes more than traditional GPIB instruments. In recent years we've become a leading provider of LXI-based instruments that leverage LAN as a system backbone. Today, we're continuing to expand our rosters of PXI devices and add AXIe instruments. Each of these makes different contributions to the speed, flexibility, openness and size of test systems and solutions. Additional information can be found at www.agilent.com/find/modular.
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, diagnostics, electronics and communications. The company's 20,000 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $6.6 billion in fiscal 2011. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.
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| Press Release: | Agilent Technologies Introduces Industry's Widest-Bandwidth MIMO PXI Vector Signal Analyzer for Wireless Chipset Design and Verification (2012-March-27) |
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| Press Release: | Agilent Technologies' Modular PXI, AXIe Products Receive Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Enhancement (2010-January-24) |
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| Press Release: | Agilent Technologies Brings Advanced Measurement Expertise to PXI and AXIe (2010-September-13) |
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| Additional Materials: | ||
| Photos: | Modular Photos: www.agilent.com/find/modular_images |
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| Contacts: | Janet Smith Sarah Calnan, Europe Iris Ng, Asia |
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