Firmware definition is possible with the inclusion of a user-programmable FPGA.

National Instruments (NI) announced the release of a new 100 MHz, 8-channel oscilloscope based on NI's PXI high-density software-designed instrument technology, along with a new family of PXI arbitrary waveform generators featuring up to two channels and 80 MHz analog bandwidth in a single slot.

Engineers can generate high-performance signals and measure complex waveforms with this affordable and compact mixed-signal instrument mounted in a modular form factor.

The new PXIe-5413, PXIe-5423, and PXIe-5433 arbitrary waveform generators support a Spurious-Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) of -92 dB and an integrated system jitter of 435 fs, and provide precise waveform adjustment capabilities when used with a dedicated standard waveform generation engine.

Equipped with a new fractional resampling architecture for arbitrary waveform generation, it enables similar dynamic range and jitter performance regardless of the user's sampling rate. Additionally, users can utilize multi-instrument synchronization identical to PXI, along with high-speed waveform streaming capabilities.

The latest PXIe-5172 oscilloscope includes a user-programmable FPGA. Engineers can use LabVIEW to customize the firmware of this oscilloscope, such as adding inline signal processing or advanced triggering.

Luke Schreier, Director of Marketing for Automated Test Products at NI, stated, “Test engineers need the best technology with the right price and channel count to meet cost, complexity, and time-to-market requirements. The new arbitrary waveform generator family provides software continuity with NI-FGEN drivers for easy technology insertion, and the latest oscilloscopes feature user-programmable FPGAs that can tailor functions to various applications. NI is confident that through PXI’s software-centric and standardized hardware approach to automated testing in both laboratory and production environments, we can provide the flexibility to balance continuous innovation with proven measurement technology.”