National Instruments Network Card 5411 User Manual

TM  
DAQArb 5411  
User Manual  
High-Speed Arbitrary Waveform Generator  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
June 1997 Edition  
Part Number 321558A-01  
© Copyright 1997 National Instruments Corporation. All Rights Reserved.  
 
Important Information  
Warranty  
The DAQArb 5411 is warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date  
of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace  
equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty period. This warranty includes parts and labor.  
The media on which you receive National Instruments software are warranted not to fail to execute programming  
instructions, due to defects in materials and workmanship, for a period of 90 days from date of shipment, as evidenced  
by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace software media that do  
not execute programming instructions if National Instruments receives notice of such defects during the warranty  
period. National Instruments does not warrant that the operation of the software shall be uninterrupted or error free.  
A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the factory and clearly marked on the outside  
of the package before any equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments will pay the shipping  
costs of returning to the owner parts which are covered by warranty.  
National Instruments believes that the information in this manual is accurate. The document has been carefully  
reviewed for technical accuracy. In the event that technical or typographical errors exist, National Instruments reserves  
the right to make changes to subsequent editions of this document without prior notice to holders of this edition. The  
reader should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected. In no event shall National Instruments be liable for  
any damages arising out of or related to this document or the information contained in it.  
EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND  
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  
CUSTOMERS RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF NATIONAL  
INSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT THERETOFORE PAID BY THE CUSTOMER. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS  
WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, USE OF PRODUCTS, OR INCIDENTAL OR  
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF. This limitation of the liability of National  
Instruments will apply regardless of the form of action, whether in contract or tort, including negligence. Any action  
against National Instruments must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues. National Instruments  
shall not be liable for any delay in performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control. The warranty provided  
herein does not cover damages, defects, malfunctions, or service failures caused by owner’s failure to follow the  
National Instruments installation, operation, or maintenance instructions; owner’s modification of the product;  
owner’s abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and power failure or surges, fire, flood, accident, actions of third parties, or  
other events outside reasonable control.  
Copyright  
Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical,  
including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part,  
without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.  
Trademarks  
LabVIEW®, NI-DAQ®, CVI™, DAQArb™, RTSI™, SCXI™, and VirtualBench™ are trademarks of National  
Instruments Corporation.  
Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.  
WARNING REGARDING MEDICAL AND CLINICAL USE OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS  
National Instruments products are not designed with components and testing intended to ensure a level of reliability  
suitable for use in treatment and diagnosis of humans. Applications of National Instruments products involving  
medical or clinical treatment can create a potential for accidental injury caused by product failure, or by errors on the  
part of the user or application designer. Any use or application of National Instruments products for or involving  
medical or clinical treatment must be performed by properly trained and qualified medical personnel, and all traditional  
medical safeguards, equipment, and procedures that are appropriate in the particular situation to prevent serious injury  
or death should always continue to be used when National Instruments products are being used. National Instruments  
products are NOT intended to be a substitute for any form of established process, procedure, or equipment used to  
monitor or safeguard human health and safety in medical or clinical treatment.  
 
Table  
of  
About This Manual  
Organization of This Manual........................................................................................ix  
Chapter 1  
Introduction  
Software Programming Choices ...................................................................................1-3  
NI-DAQ Driver Software...............................................................................1-4  
Optional Equipment......................................................................................................1-5  
Chapter 2  
Installation ....................................................................................................................2-1  
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
PLL Ref Connector.........................................................................................3-3  
Dig Out Connector .........................................................................................3-4  
Connector Pin Assignments.............................................................3-4  
Signal Descriptions ..........................................................................3-5  
SHC50-68 50-Pin Cable Connector..............................................................................3-6  
Power-Up and Reset Conditions...................................................................................3-8  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Table of Contents  
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Phase-Locked Loops .................................................................................................... 4-22  
Master/Slave Operation.................................................................................. 4-23  
Analog Filter Correction............................................................................................... 4-24  
Digital Pattern Generation............................................................................................ 4-25  
RTSI Trigger Lines....................................................................................................... 4-27  
Calibration .................................................................................................................... 4-28  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Table of Contents  
Specifications  
Appendix C  
Customer Communication  
Glossary  
Index  
Figures  
NI-DAQ, and Your Hardware ...............................................................1-4  
Figure 3-2. Output Levels and Load Termination  
Figure 4-9. Single Trigger Mode for Arb Mode.......................................................4-13  
Figure 4-10. Single Trigger Mode for DDS Mode.....................................................4-13  
Figure 4-11. Continuous Trigger Mode for Arb Mode ..............................................4-14  
Figure 4-12. Continuous Trigger Mode for DDS Mode.............................................4-14  
Figure 4-13. Stepped Trigger Mode for Arb Mode....................................................4-15  
Figure 4-14. Burst Trigger Mode for Arb Mode ........................................................4-16  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Table of Contents  
Figure 4-20. Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) Architecture ............................................... 4-22  
Figure 4-22. Analog Filter Correction ....................................................................... 4-25  
Figure 4-23. Digital Pattern Generator Data Path...................................................... 4-26  
Figure 4-25. DAQArb 5411 RTSI Trigger Lines and Routing.................................. 4-27  
Figure B-2. Digital Filter, Analog Filter, and Signal Images  
Figure B-3. Waveform Updates................................................................................ B-2  
Tables  
Table 3-1.  
Digital Output Connector Signal Descriptions...................................... 3-6  
Generated Marker Positions .................................................................. 4-17  
Table 4-1.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
viii  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
About  
This  
Manual  
The DAQArb 5411 User Manual describes the features, functions, and  
operation of the DAQArb 5411. The DAQArb 5411 is a high-speed  
arbitrary waveform generating device with performance comparable to  
standalone instruments.  
Organization of This Manual  
The DAQArb 5411 User Manual is organized as follows:  
Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the DAQArb 5411, lists the  
optional software and optional equipment, and explains how to  
unpack your DAQArb 5411.  
Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration, describes how to install  
and configure your DAQArb 5411.  
Chapter 3, Signal Connections, describes the I/O connectors, signal  
connections, and digital interface to the DAQArb 5411.  
Chapter 4, Arb Operation, describes how to use your  
DAQArb 5411.  
Appendix A, Specifications, lists the specifications of the  
DAQArb 5411.  
Appendix B, Waveform Sampling and Interpolation, describes the  
basics of waveform sampling and interpolation.  
Appendix C, Customer Communication, contains forms you can  
use to request help from National Instruments or to comment on our  
products and manuals.  
The Glossary contains an alphabetical list and description of terms  
used in this manual, including abbreviations, acronyms, metric  
prefixes, mnemonics, and symbols.  
The Index contains an alphabetical list of key terms and topics in  
this manual, including the page where you can find each one.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
About This Manual  
Conventions Used in This Manual  
The following conventions are used in this manual:  
<>  
Angle brackets enclose the name of a key on the keyboard (for example,  
<option>). Angle brackets containing numbers separated by an ellipsis  
represent a range of values associated with a bit or signal name (for  
example, DBIO<3..0>).  
arb  
Arb is a generic term that denotes one or more of the PCI-5411 and  
AT-5411 arbitrary waveform generating devices.  
bold  
Bold text denotes the names of menus, menu items, parameters, dialog  
box, dialog box buttons or options, icons, windows, Windows 95 tabs,  
or LEDs.  
bold italic  
Bold italic text denotes a note, caution, or warning.  
DAQArb 5411  
DAQArb 5411 is a generic term that denotes one or more of the  
PCI-5411 and AT-5411 arbitrary waveform generating devices.  
italic  
Italic text denotes emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction to a  
key concept. This font also denotes text from which you supply the  
appropriate word or value, as in Windows 3.x.  
italic monospace  
monospace  
Italic text in this font denotes that you must enter the appropriate words  
or values in the place of these items.  
Text in this font denotes text or characters that should literally enter  
from the keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and  
syntax examples. This font is also used for the proper names of disk  
drives, paths, directories, programs, subprograms, subroutines, device  
names, functions, operations, variables, filenames and extensions, and  
for statements and comments taken from programs.  
The Glossary lists abbreviations, acronyms, metric prefixes,  
mnemonics, symbols, and terms.  
Customer Communication  
National Instruments wants to receive your comments on our products  
and manuals. We are interested in the applications you develop with our  
products, and we want to help if you have problems with them. To make  
it easy for you to contact us, this manual contains comment and  
configuration forms for you to complete. These forms are in  
Appendix C, Customer Communication, at the end of this manual.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter  
1
Introduction  
This chapter describes the DAQArb 5411, lists the optional software  
and optional equipment, and explains how to unpack your  
DAQArb 5411.  
About Your DAQArb 5411  
Thank you for buying a National Instruments DAQArb 5411 device.  
The DAQArb 5411 family consists of two different devices for your  
choice of bus: the PCI-5411 for the PCI bus and the AT-5411 for the  
ISA bus. Your 5411 device has the following features:  
One 12-bit resolution analog output channel  
Up to 16 MHz sine and TTL waveform output  
Software selectable output impedances of 50 and 75 Ω  
Output attenuation levels from 0 to 73 dB  
Phase-locked loop (PLL) synchronization to external clocks  
Sampling rate of 610 S/s to 40 MS/s  
2,000,000-sample onboard waveform memory  
Waveform linking and looping for arbitrary waveform generation  
Digital and analog filters  
32-bit direct digital synthesis (DDS) for standard function  
generation  
External trigger input  
Marker output as trigger output  
16-bit digital pattern generation with clock  
Real-Time System Integration (RTSI) triggers  
All 5411 devices follow industry-standard Plug and Play specifications  
on both buses and offer seamless integration with compliant systems. If  
your application requires more than one channel of arbitrary waveform  
generation, you can synchronize multiple devices on all platforms using  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Chapter 1  
Introduction  
RTSI bus triggers on devices that use the RTSI bus or the digital trigger  
on the I/O connector.  
Detailed specifications of the DAQArb 5411 devices are in  
Appendix A, Specifications.  
What You Need to Get Started  
To set up and use your DAQArb 5411, you will need the following:  
One of the following DAQArb 5411 devices:  
PCI-5411  
AT-5411  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
NI-DAQ for PC compatibles, version 5.0 or later  
One of the following software packages and documentation:  
VirtualBench-Arb  
VirtualBench-Function Generator  
LabVIEW  
LabWindows®/CVI  
Any standard C compiler  
Cables and accessories  
SMB to BNC, 50 cable  
SHC50-68 50-pin to 68-pin cable for pattern generator outputs  
(optional)  
SCB-68 terminal block accessory in generic configuration  
(optional)  
16 MB memory module (optional)  
Your computer  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
1-2  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Chapter 1  
Introduction  
Software Programming Choices  
There are several options to choose from when programming your  
National Instruments DAQ hardware. You can use LabVIEW,  
LabWindows/CVI, or VirtualBench.  
National Instruments Application Software  
LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI are innovative program development  
software packages for data acquisition and control applications.  
LabVIEW uses graphical programming, whereas LabWindows/CVI  
enhances traditional programming languages. Both packages include  
extensive libraries for data acquisition, instrument control, data  
analysis, and graphical data presentation.  
LabVIEW features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user  
interface, and a powerful graphical programming language. The  
LabVIEW Data Acquisition VI Library, a series of virtual instruments  
(VIs) for using LabVIEW with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is  
included with LabVIEW.  
Note:  
DAQArb 5411 devices can use only the Advanced Analog Output VIs in  
LabVIEW for analog output functions.  
LabWindows/CVI features interactive graphics, a state-of-the-art user  
interface, and uses the ANSI standard C programming language. The  
LabWindows/CVI Data Acquisition Library, a series of functions for  
using LabWindows/CVI with National Instruments DAQ hardware, is  
included with the NI-DAQ software kit.  
Using LabVIEW or LabWindows/CVI software will greatly reduce the  
development time for your data acquisition and control application.  
VirtualBench is a suite of VIs that allows you to use your data  
acquisition products just as you use standalone instruments, but you  
benefit from the processing, display, and storage capabilities of PCs.  
VirtualBench instruments load and save waveform data to disk in the  
same forms used in popular spreadsheet programs and word processors.  
A report generation capability complements the raw data storage by  
adding timestamps, measurements, user name, and comments.  
The complete VirtualBench suite contains VirtualBench-Arb,  
VirtualBench-Function Generator, VirtualBench-Scope,  
VirtualBench-DSA, VirtualBench-DMM, and VirtualBench-Logger.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 1  
Introduction  
Your DAQArb 5411 kit contains a free copy of VirtualBench-Arb and  
VirtualBench-Function Generator. VirtualBench-Arb is a turn-key  
application you can use to generate waveforms as you would with a  
standard arbitrary waveform generator.  
NI-DAQ Driver Software  
The NI-DAQ driver software is included at no charge with all National  
Instruments DAQ hardware. NI-DAQ is not packaged with accessory  
products. NI-DAQ has an extensive library of functions that you can  
call from your application programming environment.  
Whether you are using conventional programming languages,  
LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or VirtualBench, your application uses  
the NI-DAQ driver software, as illustrated in Figure 1-1.  
LabVIEW,  
LabWindows/CVI, or  
VirtualBench  
Conventional  
Programming Environment  
NI-DAQ  
Driver Software  
Personal  
Computer or  
Workstation  
DAQ or  
SCXI Hardware  
Figure 1-1. The Relationship between the Programming Environment,  
NI-DAQ, and Your Hardware  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 1  
Introduction  
Optional Equipment  
National Instruments offers a variety of products to use with your  
DAQArb 5411, including probes, cables, and other accessories, as  
follows:  
Shielded and unshielded I/O connector blocks (SCB-68, TBX-68,  
CB-68)  
RTSI bus cables  
For more specific information about these products, refer to your  
National Instruments catalogue or web site, or call the office  
nearest you.  
Cabling  
The following list gives recommended part numbers for cables that you  
can use with your 5411 device:  
BNC male to BNC male, 50 cable from ITT Pomona Electronics  
(part number BNC-C-xx)  
BNC male to BNC male, 75 cable from ITT Pomona Electronics  
(part number 2249-E-xx)  
BNC female to RCA phono plug adapter, from ITT Pomona  
Electronics (part number 5319)  
BNC 50 feed-through terminator adapter from ITT Pomona  
Electronics (part number 4119-50)  
BNC female-female adapter from ITT Pomona Electronics  
(part number 3283)  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 1  
Introduction  
Unpacking  
Your device is shipped in an antistatic package to prevent electrostatic  
damage to the device. Electrostatic discharge can damage several  
components on the device. To avoid such damage in handling the  
device, take the following precautions:  
Ground yourself via a grounding strap or by holding a grounded  
object.  
Touch the anti-static package to a metal part of your computer  
chassis before removing the device from the package.  
Remove the device from the package and inspect the device for  
loose components or any other sign of damage. Notify National  
Instruments if the device appears damaged in any way. Do not  
install a damaged device into your computer.  
Never touch the exposed pins of connectors.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Chapter  
Installation and  
Configuration  
2
This chapter describes how to install and configure your DAQArb 5411.  
Installation  
Note:  
You should install your driver software before installing your hardware.  
Refer to the DAQArb 5411 Read Me First document for software  
installation information.  
If you have an older version of NI-DAQ already in your system, that  
software will not work with your device. Install NI-DAQ from the NI-DAQ  
software CD shipped with your DAQArb 5411.  
You can install the PCI-5411 in any PCI slot and the AT-5411 in any ISA  
slot in your computer. However, for best noise performance, leave as  
much room as possible between the DAQArb 5411 and other hardware.  
Before installing your 5411 device, consult your PC user manual or  
technical reference manual for specific instructions and warnings.  
Follow these general instructions to install your DAQArb 5411:  
1. Write down the DAQArb 5411 serial number on the DAQArb 5411  
Hardware and Software Configuration Form in Appendix C,  
Customer Communication. You may need this serial number for  
future reference if you need to contact technical support.  
2. Turn off your computer.  
3. Remove the top cover or access port to the I/O channel.  
4. Remove the expansion slot cover on the back panel of the  
computer.  
5. For the PCI-5411, insert the card into a PCI slot. For the AT-5411,  
insert the card into a 16-bit ISA slot. It may be a tight fit, but do not  
force the device into place.  
6. Screw the mounting bracket of the DAQArb 5411 to the back panel  
rail of the computer.  
7. Visually verify the installation.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Chapter 2  
Installation and Configuration  
8. Replace the cover.  
9. Plug in and turn on your computer.  
The PCI-5411 or AT-5411 is now installed.  
Hardware Configuration  
The DAQArb 5411 is a fully software-configurable, Plug and Play  
device. Configuration information is stored in nonvolatile memory. The  
Plug and Play services query the device, read the information, and  
allocate resources for items such as base address, interrupt level, and  
DMA channel. After assigning these resources, the operating system  
enables the device for operation.  
Installing the Optional Memory Module  
The standard onboard memory for the DAQArb 5411 is 4 MB. You can  
upgrade to a 16 MB memory module to store large waveform buffers  
directly on the card. Perform the following steps to install the new  
memory module:  
1. Turn off the computer and remove the top cover or access port to  
the I/O channel.  
2. Unscrew the bracket and remove the DAQArb 5411 from the slot it  
has been plugged into.  
3. Gently place your DAQArb 5411 on a flat surface with the  
component and memory module side facing up.  
4. Unfasten the two screws on the side of the memory module.  
5. Gently unplug the memory module from the main board and store  
the old memory module in an antistatic bag to avoid damage to the  
components.  
6. Properly align the new 16 MB memory module over the connectors  
and plug it into the connectors.  
7. Fasten the two screws you removed in step 4.  
8. Follow the regular installation steps described in the Installation  
section earlier in this chapter.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter  
3
Signal Connections  
This chapter describes the I/O connectors, signal connections, and  
digital interface to the DAQArb 5411.  
I/O Connector  
The DAQArb 5411 has four connectors: three SMB connectors and a  
50-pin mini-SCSI type connector, as shown in Figure 3-1.  
ARB  
SYNC  
PLL Ref  
Dig Out  
Figure 3-1. DAQArb 5411 I/O Connector  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
       
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
ARB Connector  
The ARB connector provides the waveform output. The maximum  
output levels on this connector depend on the type of load termination.  
If the output of a DAQArb 5411 terminates into a 50 load, the output  
levels are ±5 V, as shown in Figure 3-2. If the output of DAQArb 5411  
terminates into a high impedance load (HiZ), the output levels are  
±10 V. If the output terminates into any other load, the levels are:  
RL  
Vout = ±  
x 10 V  
RL + RO  
where Vout is the maximum output voltage level, RL is the load  
impedance in ohms, and RO is the output impedance on the  
DAQArb 5411. By default, RO = 50 , but the software can also set it  
to 75 .  
Note:  
Software will set the voltage output levels based on a 50 load termination.  
For more information on waveform generation and analog output  
operation, refer to Chapter 4, Arb Operation. For specifications on the  
waveform output signal, see Appendix A, Specifications.  
DAQArb 5411  
Load  
ARB  
R
50  
=
RL =  
OΩ  
±5 V  
50  
50 Load  
DAQArb 5411  
ARB  
Load  
RO  
50  
=
RL =  
HiZ  
±10 V  
High Impedance Load  
Figure 3-2. Output Levels and Load Termination Using a 50 Output Impedance  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
3-2  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
SYNC Connector  
The SYNC connector is a transistor-transistor-logic (TTL) version of  
the sine waveform being generated at the output. You can think of the  
SYNC output as a very high frequency resolution,  
software-programmable clock source for many applications. You can  
also vary the duty cycle of SYNC output on the fly by software control,  
as shown in Figure 3-3. tp is the time period of the sine wave being  
generated and tw is the pulse width of the SYNC output. The duty cycle  
is (tw/tp) x 100%.  
tp  
ARB Output  
tw  
SYNC Output  
(50% Duty Cycle)  
SYNC Output  
(33% Duty Cycle)  
Figure 3-3. SYNC Output and Duty Cycle  
You can route the SYNC output to the RTSI lines over the RTSI bus.  
The SYNC output is derived from a comparator connected to the analog  
waveform and is intended to be used when the waveform is a sine  
function. The SYNC output will provide a meaningful waveform only  
when you are generating a sine wave on the ARB output. For more  
information on SYNC output, see Chapter 4, Arb Operation.  
PLL Ref Connector  
The PLL Ref connector is a phase-locked loop (PLL) input connector  
that can accept a reference clock from an external source and phase lock  
the DAQArb internal clock to this external clock. The reference clock  
should not deviate more than ±100 ppm of its nominal frequency. The  
minimum amplitude levels of 1 Vpp are required on this clock. You can  
lock reference clock frequencies of 1 MHz and 5–20 MHz in 1 MHz  
steps.  
Note:  
You can also lock the DAQArb 5411 to other National Instruments cards  
over the RTSI bus using the 20 MHz RTSI clock signal.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
If no external reference clock is available, the DAQArb 5411 will  
automatically tune the internal clock to the best accuracy possible. For  
more information on PLL operation, refer to Chapter 4, Arb Operation.  
Dig Out Connector  
Dig Out is a 16-bit digital I/O connector that contains the 16-bit digital  
pattern outputs, digital pattern clock output, marker output, external  
trigger input, and power output.  
Connector Pin Assignments  
Figure 3-4 shows the DAQArb 5411 50-pin digital connector.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
DGND  
NC  
50 25  
49 24  
48 23  
47 22  
46 21  
45 20  
44 19  
43 18  
42 17  
41 16  
40 15  
39 14  
38 13  
37 12  
36 11  
35 10  
EXT_TRIG  
NC  
DGND  
NC  
NC  
NC  
DGND  
NC  
NC  
NC  
DGND  
+5V  
NC  
+5V  
DGND  
MARKER  
DGND  
RFU  
+5V  
+5V  
PCLK  
RFU  
DGND  
RFU  
RFU  
RFU  
DGND  
PA(13)  
DGND  
PA(13)  
DGND  
PA(7)  
DGND  
PA(4)  
DGND  
PA(1)  
DGND  
PA(15)  
PA(14)  
PA(12)  
PA(11)  
PA(9)  
PA(8)  
PA(6)  
PA(5)  
PA(3)  
PA(2)  
PA(0)  
34  
33  
32  
31  
30  
29  
28  
27  
26  
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Figure 3-4. DAQArb 5411 50-Pin Digital Output Connector Pin Assignments  
Signal Descriptions  
Table 3-1 gives the pin names and signal descriptions used on the  
DAQArb 5411 digital output connector.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
Table 3-1. Digital Output Connector Signal Descriptions  
Signal Name  
Type  
Description  
DGND  
Digital ground  
EXT_TRIG  
Input  
External trigger—The external trigger input signal is a  
TTL-level signal that you can use to start or step through a  
waveform generation. For more information on trigger sources  
and trigger mode, see Chapter 4, Arb Operation.  
MARKER  
Output  
Marker—A marker is a TTL-level output signal that you can set  
up at any point in the waveform being generated. You can use  
this signal to synchronize or trigger other devices at a certain  
time within waveform generation.  
NC  
Not connected.  
PA<0..15>  
Output  
Digital pattern generator—The 16-bit digital representation of  
the analog waveform is available as digital pattern outputs  
along with the clock to which it is synchronized. This data is  
available directly from the memory after some sample clocks  
pipeline delay. The digital pattern outputs are available as TTL  
output levels.  
PCLK  
Output  
Digital pattern clock—The digital pattern clock output  
synchronizes the digital pattern output. This data is available  
directly from the memory after some sample clocks pipeline  
delay. The clock output is available as a TTL output level.  
RFU  
+5V  
Reserved for future use. Do not connect signals to this pin.  
Output  
+5 V power—A +5 V output signal is available on the DAQArb  
to power external devices. The maximum current you can draw  
is 100 mA.  
SHC50-68 50-Pin Cable Connector  
You can use an optional SHC50-68 50-pin to 68-pin cable for pattern  
generator output. The cable connects to the digital output connector on  
the DAQArb 5411. Figure 3-5 shows the 68-pin connector pin  
assignments on the SHC50-68 cable.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
Note:  
The SHC50-68 connector uses the same signals as the DAQArb 5411  
digital output connector, shown in Table 3-1.  
PA(0)  
PA(1)  
PA(2)  
PA(3)  
PA(4)  
PA(5)  
PA(6)  
PA(7)  
PA(8)  
PA(9)  
PA(10)  
PA(11)  
PA(12)  
PA(13)  
PA(14)  
PA(15)  
MARKER  
RFU  
1
35  
36  
37  
38  
39  
40  
41  
42  
43  
44  
45  
46  
47  
48  
49  
50  
51  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
+5V  
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10  
11  
12  
13  
14  
15  
16  
17  
18 52  
19  
PCLK  
RFU  
53  
20 54  
21 55  
22 56  
23 57  
24 58  
25 59  
RFU  
RFU  
RFU  
+5V  
NC  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
DGND  
NC  
26  
27  
28  
29  
30  
31  
32  
33  
34  
60  
61  
62  
63  
64  
65  
66  
67  
68  
NC  
NC  
NC  
NC  
NC  
NC  
NC  
EXT_TRIG  
Figure 3-5. SHC50-68 68-Pin Connector Pin Assignments  
© National Instruments Corporation  
3-7  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
 
Chapter 3  
Signal Connections  
Power-Up and Reset Conditions  
When you power-up your computer, the DAQArb 5411 is in the  
following state:  
Output is disabled and set to 0 V  
Sample clock is set to 40 MHz  
Trigger mode is set to continuous  
Trigger source is set to automatic (the software provides the  
triggers)  
Digital filter is enabled  
Output attenuation remains unchanged from previous setting  
Analog filter remains unchanged from previous setting  
Output impedance remains unchanged from previous setting  
Digital pattern generation is disabled  
When you reset the board using NI-DAQ or any application software  
calling NI-DAQ, your DAQArb is in the following state:  
Output is disabled and set to 0 V  
Sample clock is set to 40 MHz  
Trigger mode is set to continuous  
Trigger source is set to automatic (the software provides the  
triggers)  
Digital filter is enabled  
Output attenuation is set to 0 dB  
Analog filter is enabled  
Output impedance is set to 50 Ω  
Digital pattern generation is disabled  
PLL reference frequency is set to 20 MHz  
PLL reference source is set to internal tuning  
RTSI clock source is disabled  
SYNC duty cycle is set to 50%  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
3-8  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Chapter  
4
Arb Operation  
This chapter describes how to use your DAQArb 5411.  
Figure 4-1 shows the DAQArb 5411 block diagram.  
Memory  
Memory Connector  
Controller  
RTSI Bus  
DDS +  
Lookup  
Memory  
Instruction  
FIFOs  
Pattern  
Generation  
Circuit  
Digital  
Filter  
IFIFO  
AMM  
RTSI  
Control  
Control  
Control  
ARB  
SYNC  
Attenuators,  
Filter, and  
Amplifier  
Waveform  
Sequencer  
DDS  
Control  
Clock  
Controls  
DAC  
Analog  
Control  
Trigger  
Control  
Filter  
Controls  
Level  
Crossing  
Detector  
Data Path  
PLL Ref  
PLL and  
Clocking  
Bus  
Interface  
ISA/PCI Channel  
Figure 4-1. DAQArb 5411 Block Diagram  
The DAQArb 5411 consists of a bus interface that communicates with  
the ISA bus for the AT-5411 or the PCI bus for the PCI-5411. The bus  
interface block handles Plug and Play protocols for assigning resources  
to the device and providing drivers for the data and address bus that are  
local to the device. The waveform sequencer performs multiple  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-1  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
functions such as arbitrating the data buses and controlling the triggers,  
filters, attenuators, clocks, PLL, RTSI switch, instruction FIFO, and  
direct digital synthesizer (DDS). The memory controller controls the  
waveform memory on the memory module. The data from the memory  
is fed to a digital to analog converter (DAC) through a half-band  
interpolating digital filter. The output from the DAC goes through the  
filter, amplifiers, attenuators and, finally, to the I/O connector.  
Waveform Generation  
The DAQArb 5411 can generate waveforms in two modes: Arb and  
DDS. Use Arb mode for any arbitrary waveform generation, but you can  
use DDS mode for standard frequency generation such as sine, TTL,  
square, and triangular waveforms.  
In Arb mode, you can define waveforms as multiple buffers. You can  
link and loop these buffers in any order you desire. This mode has more  
features and is more flexible than DDS mode.  
Note:  
Note:  
If you use Virtual Bench software, you must use VirtualBench-Arb for Arb  
mode.  
DDS mode is more suitable for generating standard waveforms that are  
repetitive in nature, for example, sine, TTL, square, and triangular  
waveforms. In DDS mode, you are limited to one buffer, and the buffer  
size must be exactly equal to 16,384 samples.  
If you use VirtualBench software, you must use VirtualBench-Function  
Generator for DDS mode.  
Figure 4-2 shows a block diagram representation of the data path for  
waveform generation. The data for waveform generation can come from  
either the waveform memory module or DDS lookup memory,  
depending on the mode of waveform generation. This data is  
interpolated by a half-band digital filter and then fed to a high-speed  
DAC. The data has a pipeline delay of 26 update clocks through this  
digital filter.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
ARB Memory  
A
B
Filter  
MUX  
12 Bits  
12  
12  
DAC  
DDS Lookup  
Memory  
Digital Filter  
Enable  
DDS  
16-Bit  
Counter  
Div/2  
80 MHz Oscillator  
Figure 4-2. Waveform Data Path Block Diagram  
Update Rate  
On the DAQArb 5411, the high-speed DAC itself is always updated at  
80 MHz but the maximum update clock for waveform memory is  
40 MHz. The update clock for the waveform memory can be further  
divided by a 16-bit counter, as shown in Figure 4-2. Therefore, the  
slowest update rate is 40 MHz divided by 65,536, which is 610.35 Hz.  
Note:  
For DDS mode, you should always keep the update rate at 40 MHz.  
Doing this will yield the best performance of the combination of DDS,  
digital filter, DAC, and analog filter.  
Arb Mode  
The Arb mode of waveform generation uses a separate waveform  
memory for storing multiple waveform buffers. This mode also uses a  
FIFO memory for storing the staging list, which contains the buffer  
linking and looping information. This FIFO is referred to as an  
instruction FIFO.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-3  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Waveform Size and Resolution  
The DAQArb 5411 stores arbitrary waveforms in memory as 16-bit  
digital words. Only the 12 most significant bits are sent to the digital  
filter and the DAC. The following sections describe the waveform  
memory, the sizes available, and minimum buffer size.  
Waveform Memory  
The DAQArb 5411 uses a waveform memory16 bits wide. The standard  
memory size is 2,000,000 samples. This large memory means you can  
store very long waveforms on the board itself and obtain reliable  
waveform generation even at full speed. You can upgrade to an  
8 million-sample waveform memory by installing the optional 16 MB  
memory module. See Chapter 2, Installation and Configuration, for  
more information on the memory module.  
As shown in Figure 4-3, a 2,000,000-sample waveform memory is  
organized as eight banks of 256 k by 16-bit memory chips. These eight  
banks are then shifted serially to achieve a single data stream of 16-bit  
words at 40 MHz.  
2 M Words  
(8 M Words)  
256 k X 16 bits  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
16  
256 k X 16 bits  
16  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
256 k X 16 bits  
16  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
256 k X 16 bits  
16  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
16  
256 k X 16 bits  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
16  
16  
256 k X 16 bits  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
256 k X 16 bits  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
16  
16  
256 k X 16 bits  
(1 M X 16 bits)  
Memory  
Control Lines  
Clock  
Figure 4-3. Waveform Memory Architecture  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
     
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Minimum Buffer Size and Resolution  
The 5411 device memory architecture imposes certain restrictions on  
the buffer size and resolution. The minimum buffer size for Arb mode  
is 256 samples and the buffers must be in multiples of eight samples.  
For example, if you request the DAQArb to load a buffer of 257  
samples, NI-DAQ will truncate the buffer to 256 samples. The last  
sample will not be loaded into the memory.  
Note:  
Note:  
If the minimum buffer size of 256 samples is not met, NI-DAQ will return  
an error.  
If the buffer is not a multiple of eight samples, NI-DAQ will return a  
warning and truncate the buffer to the nearest multiple of eight samples.  
Waveform Linking and Looping  
Before you can start generating waveforms, you have to load the buffers  
on your DAQArb 5411. Each signal to be generated loads into the  
memory in the form of 16-bit digital samples. A finite number of these  
samples makes a waveform buffer, sometimes also referred to as a  
waveform segment. You can load multiple buffers in the memory on  
DAQArb 5411. To generate these buffers, you have to prepare a staging  
list, also known as a sequence list, which contains a sequence of stages.  
Each stage specifies the buffer to be generated, the number of loops on  
that buffer, and the marker position for that buffer.  
Figure 4-4 illustrates the concept of waveform samples, buffer, stage,  
staging list, and looping and linking. Waveform sample A shows the  
concept of waveform samples used to create a waveform, shown in  
waveform buffer 1. In this example, the waveform buffer 1 represents a  
single cycle of a sine wave and the waveform samples in sample A are  
16-bit samples. Waveform stage 1 shows a stage created from buffer 1.  
Stage 1 is buffer 1 with three cycle iterations.  
Waveform sample B shows samples for waveform buffer 2, which  
represents a triangular waveform. Waveform stage 2 is created using  
two iterations of buffer 2.  
Stage 3 is created using a single iteration of buffer 1. These waveforms  
are linked in a sequence, as shown in Figure 4-4. The concept of using  
a staging list to generate waveforms is referred to as waveform linking  
and looping or waveform staging.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-5  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Waveform  
Sample A  
Waveform  
Buffer/Segment 1  
Waveform Stage 1  
(Loops = 3)  
Waveform  
Sample B  
Waveform  
Buffer/Segment 2  
Waveform Stage 2  
(Loops = 2)  
Stage 1  
Stage 2  
Stage 3  
Waveform Linking (Staging List)  
Figure 4-4. Waveform Linking and Looping  
Waveform Staging  
Figure 4-5 shows waveform staging in hardware. The instruction FIFO  
contains the staging list, which the DAQArb 5411 sequencer reads for  
waveform generation.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Data In (16)  
Data Out (16)  
Waveform Memory  
Sequencer  
+
Instructions  
Buffer Number  
Memory  
Controller  
Address Generator  
Buffer Size  
Buffer Loops  
Marker Offset  
16-Bit  
Counter  
Div/2  
80 MHz Oscillator  
Instruction FIFO  
Figure 4-5. Waveform Staging Block Diagram  
Each stage is made up of four instructions:  
Buffer number—Specifies the buffer number to be generated.  
Buffer size—Specifies the total count of the buffer to be generated.  
This count may be more or less than the actual size of that buffer.  
If the count is less, only a part of that buffer will be used for that  
stage. If the count is more than the actual size of that buffer, part of  
the next sequential buffer will also be used. If the buffer size is set  
to zero, the software will automatically use the true size of that  
buffer.  
Buffer loops—Specifies the number of times that buffer has to be  
looped. The maximum number of loops possible is 65,535.  
Marker offset—Specifies where the marker has to be generated  
within that buffer. For more information on markers, see the  
Markers section later in this chapter.  
Note:  
Note:  
The maximum number of waveform stages the instruction FIFO can store  
for Arb mode is 290.  
For more information on the waveform generation process, refer to your  
software manuals.  
Figure 4-6 shows a simple case of waveform generation process.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-7  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
 
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Reset Device  
Setup Clocks and Triggers  
Load Buffers Sequentially  
Load Staging List  
Start Waveform Generation  
No  
Stop  
Yes  
Filter, Attenuation,  
Impedance, Output  
Enable Setups  
STOP Waveform Generation  
On the Fly  
Figure 4-6. Waveform Generation Process  
Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) Mode  
Direct digital synthesis (DDS) is a technique for deriving, under digital  
control, an analog frequency source from a single reference clock  
frequency. This technique provides high-frequency accuracy and  
resolution, temperature stability, wideband tuning, and very fast and  
phase-continuous frequency switching.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
The DAQArb 5411 uses a 32-bit, high-speed accumulator with a lookup  
memory and a 12-bit DAC for DDS-based waveform generation.  
Figure 4-7 shows the building blocks for DDS-based waveform  
generation.  
Lookup  
Memory  
(14)  
Data Out (16)  
Frequency  
DDS  
Time  
Sequencer  
Frequency  
16-Bit  
Counter  
Time  
Div/2  
80 MHz Oscillator  
Instruction FIFO  
Figure 4-7. DDS Building Blocks  
The lookup memory is dedicated to the DDS mode only and cannot be  
used in Arb mode. You can store one cycle of a repetitive  
waveform—a sine wave, a triangular wave, a square wave, or an  
arbitrary wave—in the lookup memory. Then, you can change the  
frequency of that waveform by sending just one instruction. You can  
use DDS mode for very fine frequency resolution function generation.  
You can generate sine waves of up to 16 MHz with a frequency  
resolution of 10.0 mHz. Because this mode uses an accumulator,  
waveform generation loops back to the beginning of the lookup memory  
after passing through the end of the lookup memory.  
You should use DDS mode for standard function generation rather than  
for arbitrary waveform generation.  
In this mode, each stage is made up of two instructions: the frequency,  
which specifies the frequency of the waveform to be generated, and  
time, which specifies the time for which the frequency has to be  
generated.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-9  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
 
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Frequency Resolution and Lookup Memory  
For DDS-based waveform generation, you must first load one cycle of  
the desired waveform into the lookup memory. The size of the DDS  
lookup memory is 16,384 samples. Each sample is 16 bits wide.  
Note:  
One cycle of the waveform buffer loaded into the memory should be exactly  
equal to the size of the DDS lookup memory.  
Fc = update clock for the accumulator  
Set the DAQArb 5411 at Fc = 40 MHz.  
Fa = desired frequency of the output signal  
N = accumulator size in bits  
Set the DAQArb 5411 at N = 32.  
FCW = frequency control word to be loaded into the accumulator  
to generate Fa.  
This is calculated using the formula:  
FCW = (2N * Fa) / Fc  
The frequency resolution is then given by:  
frequency resolution = Fc / 2N = (40 x 106) / 232 = 9.31322 mHz  
For example, if you need to generate a frequency of 10 MHz, then the  
FCW is (232 * 10E6)/40E6, which equals 1,073,741,824. If you need to  
generate a frequency of 1 Hz, then the FCW is (232 * 1)/40E6, which  
equals 107.  
Note:  
On the DAQArb 5411, the maximum frequency of a sine wave you can  
generate reliably is limited to 16 MHz. Other waveforms like square or  
triangular waves are limited to 1 MHz.  
You can also synthesize arbitrary waveforms using DDS. Generating  
arbitrary waveforms this way will be very limited; you are restricted to  
a single buffer, and this buffer should be exactly equal to the size of the  
lookup memory.  
To update every next sample of an arbitrary waveform in lookup  
memory at the maximum clock rate of 40 MHz, write an FCW value of  
2
(N-L), where N is the size of the accumulator and L is the number of  
address bits of lookup memory (L = 14 bits for the AT-5411 and the  
PCI-5411). Thus, the FCW value for the DAQArb 5411 equals 262,144.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
If you want to update every next sample in lookup memory at an  
integral subdivision, D, of the maximum clock rate, you should write an  
FCW value of 2(N-L-D+1). In other words, for an effective update rate of  
every sample at half the maximum clock rate, you should write an FCW  
value of 2(32-14-2+1), which equals 131,072.  
Frequency Hopping and Sweeping  
You can define a staging list in DDS mode for performing frequency  
hops and sweeps. The entire staging list uses the same buffer loaded  
into the lookup memory. All stages differ in the frequency to be  
generated. As shown in Figure 4-7, a stage in DDS mode has a different  
instruction set than Arb mode.  
Note:  
Note:  
The minimum time that a frequency should be generated is at least 2 µs.  
Therefore, the maximum hop rate from one frequency to the other  
frequency is limited to 500 kHz.  
The maximum number of stages that can be stored in the instruction FIFO  
for DDS mode is equal to 340. For more information on the waveform  
generation process, refer to your software manuals.  
Triggering  
Triggering is a feature by which you can start and step through a  
waveform generation. The trigger sources and trigger modes are  
explained in the sections below.  
Trigger Sources  
Trigger sources are software selectable. By default, the software  
provides the triggers. You can use also use an external trigger from a  
pin on the digital I/O connector or from any of the RTSI trigger lines on  
the RTSI bus. Figure 4-8 shows the trigger sources for the  
DAQArb 5411.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-11  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
RTSI Trigger  
Lines <0..6>  
7
RTSI Trigger  
Digital  
MUX  
External Trigger  
Software Trigger  
Start Trigger  
Trigger Select  
Figure 4-8. Waveform Generation Trigger Sources  
If you need to automatically trigger the waveform generation, use  
software to generate the triggers. A rising TTL edge is required for  
external triggering. For more information on triggering over RTSI lines,  
see the RTSI Trigger Lines section later in this chapter.  
Modes of Operation  
DAQArb 5411 functionality is further enhanced by various triggering  
modes available on it. The available trigger modes are single,  
continuous, stepped, and burst. These trigger modes are available for  
both arb and DDS modes.  
Single Trigger Mode  
The waveform you describe in the sequence list is generated only once  
by going through the entire staging list. Only one trigger is required to  
start the waveform generation.  
You can use single trigger mode with the both the Arb and DDS  
waveform generation modes, as follows:  
Arb mode—Figure 4-9 uses the stages 1, 2, and 3 shown in  
Figure 4-4 to illustrate a single trigger mode of operation for Arb  
waveform generation mode. After the DAQArb 5411 receives a  
trigger, the waveform generation starts from the first stage and  
continues through to the last stage. The last stage is generated  
repeatedly until you stop the waveform generation.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
     
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Start Trigger  
Last Stage Generated Continuously Until Stopped  
End of All Stages  
Figure 4-9. Single Trigger Mode for Arb Mode  
Note:  
You can settle to a predefined state by making the last stage emulate that  
state.  
DDS mode—After the DAQArb 5411 receives a trigger, the  
waveform generation starts from the first stage and continues  
through to the last stage. The last stage is generated repeatedly until  
the waveform generation is stopped. Figure 4-10 illustrates a single  
trigger mode of operation for DDS waveform generation mode.  
End of All Stages  
Start Trigger  
Last Stage Generated  
f1, T1  
f2, T2  
f4  
Continuously Until Stopped  
f3, T3  
Figure 4-10. Single Trigger Mode for DDS Mode  
Assume that one cycle of a sine wave is stored in the DDS lookup  
memory. For stage 1, f1 specifies the sine frequency to be  
generated for time T1, f2 and T2 for stage 2, and so on. If there  
are four stages in the staging list, then f4 will be generated  
continuously until the waveform generation is stopped.  
Continuous Trigger Mode  
The waveform you describe in the staging list is generated infinitely by  
recycling through all the staging list. After a trigger is received, the  
waveform generation starts from the first stage and continues through  
to the last stage. After the last stage is completed, the waveform  
generation loops back to the start of the first stage and continues until  
it is stopped. Only one trigger is required to start the waveform  
generation.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-13  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
You can use continuous trigger mode with the both the Arb and DDS  
waveform generation modes, as follows:  
Arb mode—Figure 4-11 uses the stages shown in Figure 4-4 to  
illustrate a continuous trigger mode of operation for Arb waveform  
generation mode.  
Start Trigger  
Repeat  
Until Stopped  
End of All Stages  
End of All Stages  
Figure 4-11. Continuous Trigger Mode for Arb Mode  
DDS mode—Figure 4-12 illustrates a continuous trigger mode of  
operation for DDS waveform generation mode.  
Repeat  
Until Stopped  
End of All Stages  
Start Trigger  
(f1, T1)  
(f2, T2)  
(f2, T2)  
(f1, T1)  
(f3, T3)  
(f4, T4)  
Figure 4-12. Continuous Trigger Mode for DDS Mode  
Stepped Trigger Mode  
After a start trigger is received, the waveform described by the first  
stage is generated. Then, the device waits for the next trigger signal. On  
the next trigger, the waveform described by the second stage is  
generated, and so on. Once the staging list is exhausted, the waveform  
generation returns to the first stage and continues in a cyclic fashion.  
You can use the stepped trigger mode with the both the Arb and DDS  
waveform generation modes, as follows:  
Arb mode—Figure 4-13 uses the stages shown in Figure 4-4 to  
illustrate a stepped trigger mode of operation for the Arb mode. If  
a trigger is received while a stage is being generated, it will be  
ignored. A trigger will be recognized only after the stage has been  
completely generated.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Keep Going  
Start Trigger  
Start Trigger Start Trigger  
Start Trigger  
Until Stopped  
*
End  
of Stage 1  
End  
of Stage 3  
End  
of Stage 2  
End  
of Stage 1  
Repeat Sequence  
*The first eight samples of the next stage are generated repeatedly.  
Figure 4-13. Stepped Trigger Mode for Arb Mode  
After any stage has been generated completely, the first eight  
samples of the next stage are repeated continuously until the next  
trigger is received.  
Note:  
For stepped trigger mode, you can predefine the state in which a stage ends  
by making the first eight samples of the next stage represent the state you  
want to settle.  
DDS mode—Stepped trigger mode and burst trigger mode are the  
same thing for the DDS mode of waveform generation.  
Burst Trigger Mode  
After a start trigger is received, the waveform described by the first  
stage is generated until another trigger is received. At the next trigger,  
the buffer of the previous stage is completed before the waveform  
described by the second stage is generated. Once the staging list is  
exhausted, the waveform generation returns to the first stage and  
continues in a cyclic fashion.  
You can use burst trigger mode with the both the Arb and DDS  
waveform generation modes, as follows:  
Arb mode—Figure 4-14 uses the stages shown in Figure 4-4 to  
illustrate a burst trigger mode of operation for Arb mode.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-15  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Start Trigger Start Trigger  
Start Trigger  
Start Triggers  
Continues In This  
Way of Triggering  
Until Stopped  
End  
of Stage 1  
End  
of Stage 3  
End  
End  
of Stage 2  
of Stage 1  
Figure 4-14. Burst Trigger Mode for Arb Mode  
DDS mode—Figure 4-15 illustrates a burst trigger mode of  
operation for DDS mode. The switching from one stage to the other  
stage is phase continuous. In this mode the time instruction is not  
used. The trigger paces the waveform generation from one  
frequency to the other.  
Start Trigger  
Start Trigger  
Start Trigger  
Start Trigger  
Start Trigger  
f1  
f2  
f4  
f1  
f3  
End of All Stages  
Figure 4-15. Burst Trigger Mode for DDS Mode  
Marker Output Signal  
A marker is equivalent to a trigger output signal and it is available on a  
separate pin in the digital I/O connector. You can define this TTL level  
trigger output signal at any position in the waveform buffer. You can  
place a marker in every stage; however, only one marker per stage is  
allowed.  
You can specify a marker by giving an offset count (in number of  
samples) from the start of the waveform buffer specified by the stage.  
If the offset is out of range of the number of samples in that stage, the  
marker will not appear at the output. If the buffer is looped multiple  
times in a stage, the marker will be generated that many times.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Note:  
The marker is generated for eight update clocks and the placement  
resolution of the marker is ±4 samples.  
If you want a marker at an offset of zero from the start of the waveform  
buffer, the marker will be eight samples long beginning with the first  
sample. A marker at an offset of seven from the start of the waveform  
buffer also will be eight samples long beginning with the first sample,  
as shown in Table 4-1. A marker at an offset of eight will be generated  
at positions 8–15.  
Table 4-1. Generated Marker Positions  
Sample  
Marker  
Marker  
Number  
Requested  
Generated  
1
2
3
4
5
At sample 0 from the beginning of the buffer  
At sample 1 from the beginning of the buffer  
At sample 7 from the beginning of the buffer  
At sample 8 from the beginning of the buffer  
At sample 255 from the beginning of the buffer  
Sample position 0–7  
Sample position 0–7  
Sample position 0–7  
Sample position 8–15  
Sample position 248–255  
Figure 4-16 shows an analog waveform being generated at one  
connector and a marker being generated at another I/O connector.  
Point A shows a marker generated for requested positions 0–7, and  
point B shows requested positions of 8–15.  
ARB Output  
tm  
A
Marker Output  
B
Figure 4-16. Markers as Trigger Outputs  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-17  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
 
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Note:  
Marker output signals are an important feature to trigger other  
instruments or devices at a specified time while a waveform generation is  
in progress.  
Analog Output  
Figure 4-17 shows the essential blocks of analog waveform generation.  
The 12-bit digital waveform data is fed to a high-speed DAC. A  
low-pass filter filters the DAC output. This filtered signal is  
pre-amplified before it goes to a 10 dB attenuator. The DAC output can  
be fine-tuned for gain and offset. Since the offset is adjusted before the  
main attenuators and amplifier, it is referred to as pre-attenuation  
offset. This fine-tuning of gain and offset is done using separate DACs.  
The output from the 10 dB attenuator is then fed to the main amplifier,  
which can provide ±5 V levels into 50 . An output relay can switch  
between ground level and the main amplifier. The output of this relay is  
fed to a series of passive attenuators. The output of the attenuators is fed  
through a selectable output impedance of 50 or 75 to the I/O  
connector.  
Attenuators  
(63 dB in 1 dB steps)  
10 db  
Attenuator  
Low-Pass  
Filter  
Output  
Enable  
ARB  
25 Ω  
50 Ω  
12  
DAC  
Pre Amp  
Main Amp  
50 /75 Ω  
Selector  
Gain  
DAC  
Offset  
DAC  
SYNC  
Comparator  
50 Ω  
+
-
Level  
DAC  
Figure 4-17. Analog Output and SYNC Out Block Diagram  
Figure 4-18 shows the timing relationships of the trigger input,  
waveform output, and marker output. Td1 is the pulse width on the  
trigger signal. Td2 is the time delay from trigger to output on Arb  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
output. Td3 is the time between the marker output and Arb output.  
Td4 is the pulse width on marker output. Refer to Appendix A,  
Specifications, for more information on these timing parameters.  
Td1  
Trigger Input Signal  
(Slope: Positive, TTL)  
Td2  
Waveform Output  
)
(±5 Vpp into 50 Ω  
Td3  
Marker Output  
(TTL)  
Td4  
Figure 4-18. Waveform, Trigger, and Marker Timings  
Note:  
You can switch off the analog low-pass filter at any time during waveform  
generation.  
SYNC Output and Duty Cycle  
The SYNC output is a TTL version of the sine waveform being  
generated at the output. The signal from the pre-amplifier is sent to a  
comparator, where it is compared against a level set by the level DAC.  
The output of this comparator is sent to the SYNC connector through a  
hysteresis buffer and a 50 series resistor to provide reverse  
termination of reflected pulses.  
You can use the SYNC output as a very high frequency resolution,  
software-programmable clock source for many applications. You also  
can vary the duty cycle of SYNC output, on the fly, by changing the  
output of the level DAC. The SYNC output might not carry any meaning  
for any other types of waveforms being generated.  
Note:  
You can change the duty cycle of SYNC output at any time during  
waveform generation.  
Output Attenuation  
Figure 4-19 shows the DAQArb 5411 output attenuator chain. The  
output attenuators are made of resistor networks and may be switched  
in any combination desired. The maximum attenuation possible on the  
DAQArb 5411 is 73 dB.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
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DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
32 dB  
16 dB  
1 dB  
8 dB  
2 dB  
4 dB  
Figure 4-19. Output Attenuation Chain  
By attenuating the output signal, you keep the dynamic range of the  
DAC; that is, you do not lose any bits from the digital representation of  
the signal because the attenuation is done after the DAC and not  
before it.  
attenuation (in decibels) = –20 log10 (Vo /Vi)  
where,  
Vo = desired voltage level for the output signal  
Vi = input voltage level.  
Note:  
Note:  
For the DAQArb 5411, Vi = ±5 V for terminated load and ±10 V for  
unterminated load.  
For example, to change the output level to ±2.5 V into a terminated  
load, use the following formula:  
Attenuation = –20*log10 (2.5/5) = 6.020 dB  
You can change the output attenuation at any time during waveform  
generation.  
Output Impedance  
As shown in Figure 4-17, before the signal reaches the output  
connector, you can select the output impedance to be 50 or 75 . If  
the load impedance is 50 and all the attenuators are off (that is, an  
output attenuation of 0 dB), the output levels are ±5 V.  
A load impedance of 50 is used for most applications but 75 is  
required for applications such as testing video devices. If the load is a  
very high input impedance load (~1 M), you will see output levels up  
to ±10 V.  
Note:  
You can change the output impedance at any time during waveform  
generation.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Output Enable  
You can switch off the waveform generation at the output connector by  
controlling the output enable relay, as shown in Figure 4-17. When the  
output enable relay is off, the output signal level goes to ground level.  
Note:  
Even though the output enable relay is in the off position, the waveform  
generation process will continue internally on the DAQArb 5411.  
You can use this feature to disconnect and connect different devices, on  
the fly, to the DAQArb 5411.  
Note:  
You can change the output enable state at any time during waveform  
generation.  
Pre-attenuation Offset  
Pre-attenuation offset is an offset adjustment to the waveform before  
the attenuation chain. You can adjust the pre-attenuation offset,  
provided you have at least 10 dB of attenuation switched in. With a  
terminated load, you get a ±2.5 V offset adjustment before the  
attenuation chain.  
With less than 10 dB of attenuation switched in, you can also adjust the  
pre-attenuation offset as much as ±2.5 V (into 50 ), provided that the  
waveform maximum plus offset before attenuation does not exceed  
±5 V (into 50 ).  
Note:  
Note:  
The pre-attenuation offset is also attenuated by the attenuation setting you  
specify through the software.  
For example, if you have waveform generation into a terminated load  
with 20 dB attenuation, the output levels are ±0.5 V. If you set up a  
pre-attenuation offset of +1 V, the actual offset you will see at the  
output connector is +0.1 V (20 dB of +1 V).  
You can change the pre-attenuation offset at any time during waveform  
generation.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-21  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Phase-Locked Loops  
Figure 4-20 illustrates the block diagram for the DAQArb 5411 PLL  
circuit. The PLL consists of a voltage controlled crystal oscillator  
(VCXO) with a tuning range of ±100 ppm. The main clock of 80 MHz  
is generated by this VCXO. The PLL can lock to a reference clock  
source from the external connector or a RTSI Osc line on the RTSI bus,  
or it can be tuned internally using a calibration DAC (CalDAC). This  
tuning has been done at the factory for the best accuracy possible. The  
reference clock and the VCXO clock are compared by a phase  
comparator running at 1 MHz. The error signal is filtered out by the  
loop filter and sent to the control pin of the VCXO to complete the loop.  
Board Clock (Master)  
RTSI  
Switch  
RTSI Osc  
Master/Slave  
RTSI Clock (Slave)  
(20 MHz)  
Source  
Loop  
Filter  
Phase  
Comp  
Tune  
DAC  
14  
PLL Ref  
(1 Vpk-pk min)  
80 MHz  
20 MHz  
Div/4  
Board Clock  
VCXO  
Figure 4-20. Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) Architecture  
You can phase lock to an external reference clock source of 1 MHz and  
from 5–20 MHz in 1 MHz increments. The PLL can lock to a signal  
level of at least 1 Vpk-pk  
.
Caution: Do not increase the voltage level of the clock signal at the PLL reference  
input connector by more than the specified limit, 5 Vpk-pk  
!
.
The VCXO output of 80 MHz is further divided by four, to send a  
20 MHz board clock signal to the RTSI bus.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Master/Slave Operation  
The DAQArb may be phase locked to other devices or other DAQArb  
devices in either of two ways, as shown in Figure 4-21. You can use  
master/slave phase locking to synchronize multiple devices in a test  
system.  
Master  
Slave  
Slave  
Slave  
Slave  
Ref In  
Ref In  
Ref In  
Device  
AQArb  
DAQArb  
DAQArb  
Master  
Slave  
DAQArb  
DAQArb  
a. RTSI Bus Master/Slave  
Configuration Device  
b. External  
Master  
Figure 4-21. Master/Slave Configurations for Phase Locking  
Example 1, shown in Figure 4-21a, shows any National Instruments  
device with RTSI bus capability as the master. To phase lock the  
DAQArbs to this master, perform the following steps:  
1. Set the National Instruments device (master) to send a 20 MHz  
signal over the RTSI bus on the RTSI Osc line. If this device is a  
DAQArb, set the source for the RTSI clock line to board clock for  
NI-DAQ software and internal for LabVIEW.  
2. Set up the slave devices so that the PLL reference source is set to  
the RTSI clock line.  
3. Set the PLL reference frequency parameter to 20 MHz.  
4. The boards should now be frequency locked to the master.  
5. To further phase lock the boards, set up the master to send the  
trigger signal on one of the RTSI trigger lines.  
6. Set up the slaves to receive their trigger signal on the RTSI bus.  
7. Start the waveform generation on all the slaves  
8. Start the waveform generation on the master.  
9. All the slaves will be triggered by the master and will be phase and  
frequency locked to each other and the master.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-23  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
Example 2, shown in Figure 4-21b, shows an external device as the  
master. To phase lock the DAQArb devices to this master perform the  
following steps:  
1. Set the master device to send any valid reference clock to the PLL  
reference input connector.  
2. Set up the slave devices so that the PLL reference source is set to  
the I/O connector.  
3. Set the PLL reference frequency parameter to the clock frequency  
sent by the master.  
4. The boards should now be frequency locked to the master.  
5. To further phase lock the boards, connect the external trigger input  
to the trigger input of the 50-in digital connectors of all the boards  
and set up the slaves to receive the triggers on trigger input  
connector.  
6. Start the waveform generation on all the slaves.  
7. Activate the external trigger signal. All the slaves are triggered at  
the same time and get phase and frequency locked.  
Note:  
Note:  
If two or more DAQArb devices are running in Arb mode and are locked to  
each other using the same reference clock, then you will see a maximum  
phase difference of one sample clock on the locked boards when they are  
triggered at the same time.  
If two or more DAQArb devices are running in DDS mode and are locked  
to each other using the same reference clock, they will be frequency locked,  
but you will not know the phase relationship.  
Analog Filter Correction  
The DAQArb 5411 can correct for slight deviations in the flatness of the  
frequency characteristic of the analog low-pass filter in its passband, as  
shown in Figure 4-22. Curve A shows a typical low-pass filter curve.  
The response of the filter is stored in an onboard EEPROM in 1 MHz  
increments up to 16 MHz. Curve C is the correction applied to the  
frequency response. The resulting Curve B is a flat response over the  
entire passband. If you want to generate a particular frequency with  
filter correction applied, you have to specify that frequency through  
software.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
A
B
C
Frequency (MHz)  
A. Typical Analog Filter Characteristics  
B. Corrected Filter Characteristics  
C. Correction Applied  
Figure 4-22. Analog Filter Correction  
Note:  
You can change the filter frequency correction at any time during  
waveform generation.  
Digital Pattern Generation  
The DAQArb 5411 provides 16-bit digital pattern generation outputs at  
the digital connector. This digital data is first synchronized to the  
sample clock and then buffered and sent to the connector through a  
80 series resistor. The sample clock is also buffered and sent to the  
digital connector to latch the data externally. Figure 4-23 shows the data  
path for digital pattern generation. The digital pattern data is available  
directly from the memory; it does not go through the digital filter.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-25  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
80 Ω  
Line Out  
16  
16  
Digital Pattern Out  
OE*  
50 Ω  
Clock Out  
Clock  
Pattern Enable  
*Output Enable  
Figure 4-23. Digital Pattern Generator Data Path  
You can enable or disable digital pattern generation through software.  
All linking and looping capabilities are available for digital pattern  
generation, as well. If you select DDS mode, the DDS data appears at  
the digital I/O connector.  
You can use digital pattern generation to test digital devices such as  
serial and parallel DACs and to emulate protocols.  
Note:  
At computer power-up and reset, pattern generation is disabled.  
Figure 4-24 shows the timing waveforms for digital pattern generation;  
tclk is the clock time period and tco is time delay from clock to output  
on pattern lines, such as PA <0..15>. Refer to the Appendix A,  
Specifications, for these timing parameters.  
tclk  
Clock  
Dn  
Dn+1  
Dn+2  
Data  
tco  
Figure 4-24. Digital Pattern Generation Timing  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
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© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
The sample clock for integral subdivisions of 40 MHz will always have  
a high pulse width of 25 ns. If the tco time is insufficient for the hold  
time of your device, then you can use the falling edge of the sample  
clock output (PCLK) to register the digital pattern data.  
RTSI Trigger Lines  
The DAQArb 5411 contains seven trigger lines and one RTSI clock line  
available over the RTSI bus to send and receive DAQArb 5411-specific  
information to other boards having RTSI connectors. Figure 4-25 shows  
the RTSI trigger lines and routing of DAQArb 5411 signals to the RTSI  
switch.  
RTSI 0  
RTSI 1  
RTSI 2  
RTSI 3  
RTSI 4  
RTSI 5  
RTSI 6  
RTSI Osc  
SYNC  
Start Trigger  
Marker  
RTSI  
Switch  
RTSI Trigger  
Board Clock  
Master/Slave  
RTSI Clock  
Figure 4-25. DAQArb 5411 RTSI Trigger Lines and Routing  
For phase locking to other boards as a master, the 5411 sends an  
onboard 20 MHz signal to the RTSI Osc line as a Board Clock signal.  
For locking to other devices as a slave, the DAQArb 5411 receives the  
RTSI Osc line as a RTSI Clock signal.  
The DAQArb 5411 can receive a hardware trigger from another board  
as a RTSI trigger signal on any of the RTSI trigger lines, RTSI <0.. 6>.  
The marker generated during waveform generation in Arb mode can be  
routed to any of the RTSI bus trigger lines.  
The trigger generated on the DAQArb 5411 can be routed to other  
boards through any of the RTSI bus trigger lines.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
4-27  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Chapter 4  
Arb Operation  
The SYNC output generated on the DAQArb 5411 can be routed to  
other boards through any of the RTSI bus trigger lines.You can use this  
signal to provide other boards with an accurate and fine frequency  
resolution clock.  
Note:  
Refer to your software manual for selecting and routing signals to the  
RTSI bus.  
Calibration  
Calibration is the process of minimizing measurement errors by making  
small circuit adjustments. On the DAQArb 5411, NI-DAQ  
automatically makes these adjustments by retrieving predetermined  
constants from the onboard EEPROM, calculating correction values,  
and writing those values to the CalDACs.  
All DAQArb 5411 devices are factory calibrated to the levels indicated  
in Appendix A, Specifications. Factory calibration involves procedures  
such as nulling the offset and gain errors, all at room temperature  
(25o C). The calibration constants are stored in a write-protected area in  
the EEPROM. Factory calibration may not be sufficient for some  
applications where different environmental conditions and aging could  
induce inaccuracy. Contact National Instruments to recalibrate your  
DAQArb 5411.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
4-28  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Appendix  
A
Specifications  
This appendix lists the specifications of the DAQArb 5411. These  
specifications are typical at 25° C unless otherwise stated. The operating  
temperature range is 0° to 50° C.  
Analog Output  
Number of channels ............................1  
Resolution...........................................12 bits  
Maximum update rate .........................40 MHz  
DDS accumulator................................32 bits  
Frequency range  
Arb...............................................40 MS/s  
Sine..............................................16 MHz, max  
SYNC (TTL) ................................16 MHz, max  
Square ..........................................1 MHz  
Ramp............................................1 MHz  
Triangle........................................1 MHz  
Frequency resolution (DDS Mode) .....9.31 mHz  
Voltage Output  
Ranges .................................................±5 V into a 50 load  
±10 V into a high  
impedance load  
Accuracy.............................................±0.1 dB  
© National Instruments Corporation  
A-1  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Appendix A  
Specifications  
Output attenuation.............................. 0 to 73 dB  
Resolution ................................... 0.001 dB steps  
Pre-attenuation offset  
Range .......................................... ±2.5 V into 50 Ω  
(but with less than 10 dB of  
attenuation, signal maximum plus  
offset (before attenuation) must not  
exceed ±5 V (into 50 Ω))  
Accuracy ..................................... ±5 mV  
Output coupling ................................ DC  
Output impedance ............................. 50 or 75 Ω software selectable  
Load impedance ................................ 50 or greater  
Output enable..................................... Software switchable  
Protection........................................... Short-circuit protected  
Sine Spectral Purity  
Harmonic products and spurious  
up to 1 MHz ................................ –60 dBc  
up to 16 MHz .............................. –35 dBc  
Phase noise......................................... –105 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz from  
carrier  
Filter Characteristics  
Digital  
Type ............................................ Half-band interpolating  
Selection...................................... Software switchable  
Taps ............................................ 67  
Filter coefficients ....................... Fixed 20-bit  
Data interpolating frequency ...... 80 MS/s  
Pipeline signal delay ................... 26 sampling periods  
Note:  
The digital filter will be operational only for sample rates of 40 MHz and  
20 MHz. For other sample rates, the digital filter will not be of any use.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
A-2  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Appendix A  
Specifications  
Analog  
Type.............................................7th-order L-C low-pass filter  
Passband ripple ............................±2 dB  
Waveform Specifications  
Memory  
Arb mode .....................................2,000,000, 16-bit samples  
DDS mode....................................16,384, 16-bit samples  
Segment length  
Arb mode .....................................256 samples min,  
multiples of eight samples  
DDS mode....................................16,384 samples, exact  
Max segments in waveform memory...5,000  
(Arb mode only)  
Segment linking (instruction FIFO)  
Arb mode .....................................292 links  
DDS mode....................................340 links  
Segment looping (Arb mode only)  
Count ..........................................65,536 loops  
Timing I/O  
Update clock.......................................Internal, 40 MHz max  
Interval count ...............................2–65,535  
Phase locking  
External reference sources............Input connector, RTSI clock  
line, or internal  
Reference clock frequencies.........1 MHz, 5–20 MHz, in 1 MHz  
steps  
Frequency locking range ..............±100 ppm  
© National Instruments Corporation  
A-3  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Appendix A  
Specifications  
Triggers  
Digital Trigger  
Compatibility .................................... TTL  
Response ........................................... Rising edge  
Pulse width (Td1) ............................... 20 ns min  
Trigger to waveform output (Arb mode)  
delay (Td2) ......................................... 76 sample clocks + 38 ns max  
Trigger to waveform output (DDS mode)  
delay (Td2) ......................................... 28 sample clocks + 150 ns max  
RTSI  
Trigger lines ...................................... 7  
Clock lines ......................................... 1  
Bus Interface  
Type................................................... Slave  
Operational Modes  
Type................................................... Single, continuous, burst,  
stepped  
Other Outputs  
SYNC Out  
Level ................................................. TTL  
Duty cycle.......................................... 20% to 80%, software  
controllable  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
A-4  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Appendix A  
Specifications  
Marker Output  
Types .................................................TTL  
Location .............................................User defined, one per stage  
Pulse width (Td4) ................................8 sample clock periods  
Arb output delay from marker (Td3)....50 ns max  
Digital Pattern Output  
Sample rate .........................................40 MHz max  
Resolution ..........................................16 bits  
Sample clock logic..............................TTL  
Clock pulse HIGH time.......................25 ns fixed  
(for clock interval counts > 1)  
PCLK to pattern data  
output time (Tco).................................1 ns max  
Digital pattern logic ............................TTL  
Logic level output ratings for  
SYNC, marker, digital pattern, and  
sample clock outputs ........................  
Type  
VOH  
VOL  
IOH  
Min  
Max  
3.0 V  
0.7 V  
1.0 mA  
1.0 mA  
IOL  
VOH = voltage output for logic level 1  
VOL = voltage output for logic level 0  
IOH = current output for logic level 1  
IOL = current output for logic level 0  
© National Instruments Corporation  
A-5  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Appendix A  
Specifications  
External Clock Reference Input  
Frequency .......................................... 1 MHz or 5–20 MHz in 1 MHz  
steps  
Amplitude .......................................... 1 Vpk-pk level 5 Vpk-pk  
Internal clock  
Mechanical  
Frequency .......................................... 40 MHz  
Initial accuracy................................... ±5 ppm  
Temperature stability (0° to 5° C)....... ±25 ppm  
Aging (1 year).................................... ±5 ppm  
Connectors  
ARB (output)............................... SMB  
SYNC (output) ............................ SMB  
PLL Reference (input) ................. SMB  
Digital I/O (Digital Pattern  
Out, Marker Out,  
External Trigger In)..................... 50-pin digital  
Size .................................................... 1 slot  
Power Requirements ............................ 5 V, 3.5 A max  
12V, 125 mA  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
A-6  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Appendix  
Waveform Sampling and  
Interpolation  
B
This appendix describes the basics of waveform sampling and  
interpolation.  
According to Shannon’s sampling theorem, a digital waveform must be  
updated at least twice as fast as the bandwidth of the signal to be  
accurately generated. Even though the theoretical requirement for  
update clock, fc, is twice that of the bandwidth of the signal of interest,  
it is very difficult to design an analog filter that will reject the images  
above the passband and also get maximum output bandwidth, as  
represented by the curve, Analog Filter 1, shown in Figure B-1.  
Analog Filter 2 represents a more practical filter. This filter is not as  
aggressive and does not filter out the images near fc, but it does reject  
all the others.  
Signal  
Power  
f0  
Images  
0
0.5fc  
fc  
2fc  
3fc  
4fc  
Figure B-1. Analog Filter and Signal Images without Digital Filtering  
© National Instruments Corporation  
B-1  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
     
Appendix B  
Waveform Sampling and Interpolation  
To ease the requirements of the analog filter and to get more output  
bandwidth, the DAQArb 5411 uses a half-band digital filter to  
interpolate a sample between every two samples at twice the update  
frequency, 2fc. Also, the DAC operates at twice the sample frequency.  
This increase pushes the images from fc to 2fc and the analog filter  
roll-off easily rejects any images from the output spectrum. This  
behavior can be seen in the frequency domain representation from  
Figure B-2 and in the time domain representation from Figure B-3.  
Signal  
Power  
f0  
Images  
Analog Filter  
0
4fc  
0.5fc  
fc  
2fc  
Figure B-2. Digital Filter, Analog Filter, and Signal Images with Digital Filtering  
Without Interpolation  
With Interpolation  
After Analog Filtering  
Figure B-3. Waveform Updates  
Note:  
The digital filter will be operational only for sample rates of 40 MHz and  
20 MHz. For other sample rates, the digital filter will not be of any use.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
B-2  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
 
Appendix  
C
Customer Communication  
For your convenience, this appendix contains forms to help you gather the information necessary to  
help us solve your technical problems and a form you can use to comment on the product  
documentation. When you contact us, we need the information on the Technical Support Form and the  
configuration form, if your manual contains one, about your system configuration to answer your  
questions as quickly as possible.  
National Instruments has technical assistance through electronic, fax, and telephone systems to  
quickly provide the information you need. Our electronic services include a bulletin board service,  
an FTP site, a fax-on-demand system, and e-mail support. If you have a hardware or software  
problem, first try the electronic support systems. If the information available on these systems  
does not answer your questions, we offer fax and telephone support through our technical support  
centers, which are staffed by applications engineers.  
Electronic Services  
Bulletin Board Support  
National Instruments has BBS and FTP sites dedicated for 24-hour support with a collection of files  
and documents to answer most common customer questions. From these sites, you can also download  
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the bulletin board and FTP services and for BBS automated information, call (512) 795-6990. You can  
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Up to 14,400 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity  
United Kingdom: 01635 551422  
Up to 9,600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity  
France: 01 48 65 15 59  
Up to 9,600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity  
FTP Support  
To access our FTP site, log on to our Internet host, ftp.natinst.com, as anonymousand use  
your Internet address, such as [email protected], as your password. The support files and  
documents are located in the /supportdirectories.  
© National Instruments Corporation  
C-1  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
   
Fax-on-Demand Support  
Fax-on-Demand is a 24-hour information retrieval system containing a library of documents on a wide  
range of technical information. You can access Fax-on-Demand from a touch-tone telephone at  
(512) 418-1111.  
E-Mail Support (currently U.S. only  
)
You can submit technical support questions to the applications engineering team through e-mail at the  
Internet address listed below. Remember to include your name, address, and phone number so we can  
contact you with solutions and suggestions.  
Telephone and Fax Support  
National Instruments has branch offices all over the world. Use the list below to find the technical  
support number for your country. If there is no National Instruments office in your country, contact the  
source from which you purchased your software to obtain support.  
Telephone  
Fax  
Australia  
Austria  
Belgium  
Canada (Ontario)  
Canada (Quebec)  
Denmark  
Finland  
03 9879 5166  
02 9874 4455  
0662 45 79 90 19  
02 757 03 11  
905 785 0086  
514 694 4399  
45 76 26 02  
09 725 725 55  
01 48 14 24 14  
089 714 60 35  
2686 8505  
0662 45 79 90 0  
02 757 00 20  
905 785 0085  
514 694 8521  
45 76 26 00  
09 725 725 11  
01 48 14 24 24  
089 741 31 30  
2645 3186  
03 5734815  
02 413091  
03 5472 2970  
02 596 7456  
5 520 2635  
France  
Germany  
Hong Kong  
Israel  
Italy  
Japan  
03 5734816  
06 57284309  
03 5472 2977  
02 596 7455  
5 520 3282  
Korea  
Mexico  
Netherlands  
Norway  
Singapore  
Spain  
Sweden  
Switzerland  
Taiwan  
0348 433466  
32 84 84 00  
2265886  
91 640 0085  
08 730 49 70  
056 200 51 51  
02 377 1200  
512 794 0100  
01635 523545  
0348 430673  
32 84 86 00  
2265887  
91 640 0533  
08 730 43 70  
056 200 51 55  
02 737 4644  
512 794 8411  
01635 523154  
United States  
United Kingdom  
 
Technical Support Form  
Photocopy this form and update it each time you make changes to your software or hardware, and use  
the completed copy of this form as a reference for your current configuration. Completing this form  
accurately before contacting National Instruments for technical support helps our applications  
engineers answer your questions more efficiently.  
If you are using any National Instruments hardware or software products related to this problem,  
include the configuration forms from their user manuals. Include additional pages if necessary.  
Name __________________________________________________________________________  
Company _______________________________________________________________________  
Address ________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
Fax (___ )___________________ Phone (___ ) ________________________________________  
Computer brand ________________ Model ________________ Processor___________________  
Operating system (include version number) ____________________________________________  
Clock speed ______MHz RAM _____MB  
Mouse ___yes ___no Other adapters installed _______________________________________  
Hard disk capacity _____MB Brand _____________________________________________  
Display adapter __________________________  
Instruments used _________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
National Instruments hardware product model __________ Revision ______________________  
Configuration ___________________________________________________________________  
National Instruments software product ____________________________Version ____________  
Configuration ___________________________________________________________________  
The problem is: __________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
List any error messages: ___________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
The following steps reproduce the problem:____________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________  
 
DAQArb 5411 Hardware and Software  
Configuration Form  
Record the settings and revisions of your hardware and software on the line to the right of each item.  
Complete a new copy of this form each time you revise your software or hardware configuration, and  
use this form as a reference for your current configuration. Completing this form accurately before  
contacting National Instruments for technical support helps our applications engineers answer your  
questions more efficiently.  
National Instruments Products  
DAQ hardware ___________________________________________________________________  
Serial number ____________________________________________________________________  
Interrupt level of hardware __________________________________________________________  
DMA channels of hardware _________________________________________________________  
Base I/O address of hardware ________________________________________________________  
Programming choice _______________________________________________________________  
NI-DAQ, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or VirtualBench version ___________________________  
Other boards in system _____________________________________________________________  
Base I/O address of other boards _____________________________________________________  
DMA channels of other boards ______________________________________________________  
Interrupt level of other boards _______________________________________________________  
Other Products  
Computer make and model _________________________________________________________  
Microprocessor ___________________________________________________________________  
Clock frequency or speed ___________________________________________________________  
Type of video board installed ________________________________________________________  
Operating system version ___________________________________________________________  
Operating system mode ____________________________________________________________  
Programming language ____________________________________________________________  
Programming language version ______________________________________________________  
Other boards in system _____________________________________________________________  
Base I/O address of other boards _____________________________________________________  
DMA channels of other boards ______________________________________________________  
Interrupt level of other boards _______________________________________________________  
 
Documentation Comment Form  
National Instruments encourages you to comment on the documentation supplied with our products.  
This information helps us provide quality products to meet your needs.  
Title:  
DAQArb5411 User Manual  
Edition Date: June 1997  
Part Number: 321558A-01  
Please comment on the completeness, clarity, and organization of the manual.  
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If you find errors in the manual, please record the page numbers and describe the errors.  
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Thank you for your help.  
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_______________________________________________________________________________  
Phone (___ )__________________________ Fax (___ ) _________________________________  
Mail to: Technical Publications  
Fax to: Technical Publications  
National Instruments Corporation  
(512) 794-5678  
National Instruments Corporation  
6504 Bridge Point Parkway  
Austin, TX 78730-5039  
 
Glossary  
Prefix  
p-  
Meaning  
pico-  
Value  
10–12  
10–9  
10–6  
10–3  
103  
n-  
nano-  
micro-  
milli-  
µ-  
m-  
k-  
kilo-  
M-  
mega-  
106  
Numbers/Symbols  
%
percent  
+
positive of, or plus  
negative of, or minus  
plus or minus  
per  
-
±
/
°
degree  
ohm  
+5V  
+5 V output signal  
© National Instruments Corporation  
G-1  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
 
Glossary  
A
A
amperes  
AC  
alternating current  
AMM  
advanced memory module—used for storing waveform buffers for the  
Arb mode of waveform generation. The standard AMM size is  
2,000,000 16-bit samples.  
amplification  
ARB  
method of scaling the signal level to a higher level  
normal waveform output signal  
Arb mode  
a mode of generating waveforms in which waveforms are defined by  
multiple buffers that can be linked or looped in any order  
arbitrary waveform  
generator  
instrument for generating any desired waveform; this instrument is not  
restricted to standard waveforms such as sine or square  
ASIC  
Application-Specific Integrated Circuit—a proprietary semiconductor  
component designed and manufactured to perform a set of specific  
functions for a specific customer  
AT bus  
See bus.  
attenuation  
decreasing the amplitude of a signal  
B
b
bit—one binary digit, either 0 or 1  
B
byte—eight related bits of data, an eight-bit binary number. Also used  
to denote the amount of memory required to store one byte of data.  
bandwidth  
the range of frequencies present in a signal, or the range of frequencies  
to which a measuring device can respond  
BNC  
a type of coaxial signal connector  
buffer  
temporary storage for acquired or generated data  
linking different buffers stored in the waveform memory  
buffer linking  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
G-2  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Glossary  
buffer looping  
repeating the same buffer in the waveform memory. This method of  
waveform generation decreases memory requirements.  
burst trigger mode  
bus  
repeats a stage until a trigger advances the waveform to the next stage  
the group of conductors that interconnect individual circuitry in a  
computer. Typically, a bus is the expansion vehicle to which I/O or  
other devices are connected. Examples of PC buses are the AT bus (also  
known as the ISA bus) and the PCI bus.  
bus master  
a type of a plug-in board or controller with the ability to read and write  
devices on the computer bus  
C
C
Celsius  
CalDAC  
clock  
calibration DAC  
hardware component that controls timing for reading from or writing to  
groups  
continuous trigger mode repeats a staging list until waveform generation is stopped  
conversion device  
device that transforms a signal from one form to another. For example,  
analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for analog input, digital-to-analog  
converters (DACs) for analog output, digital input or output ports, and  
counter/timers are conversion devices.  
counter/timer  
coupling  
CPU  
a circuit that counts external pulses or clock pulses (timing)  
the manner in which a signal is connected from one location to another  
central processing unit  
D
D/A  
digital-to-analog  
DAC  
digital-to-analog converter—an electronic device, often an integrated  
circuit, that converts a digital number into a corresponding analog  
voltage or current  
© National Instruments Corporation  
G-3  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Glossary  
DAQ  
data acquisition—(1) collecting and measuring electrical signals from  
sensors, transducers, and test probes or fixtures and inputting them to a  
computer for processing; (2) collecting and measuring the same kinds  
of electrical signals with A/D and/or DIO boards plugged into a  
computer, and possibly generating control signals with D/A and/or DIO  
boards in the same computer  
dB  
decibel—the unit for expressing a logarithmic measure of the ratio of  
two signal levels: dB=20log10 V1/V2, for signals in volts  
DC  
direct current  
DC coupled  
DDS  
allowing the transmission of both AC and DC signals  
direct digital synthesis—a digital technique of frequency generation  
using a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO), a dedicated lookup  
memory, and a DAC  
DDS mode  
a method of waveform generation that uses built-in DDS functionality  
to generate very high frequency resolution standard waveforms  
default setting  
a default parameter value recorded in the driver. In many cases, the  
default input of a control is a certain value (often 0) that means use the  
current default setting.  
device  
a plug-in data acquisition board, card, or pad that can contain multiple  
channels and conversion devices. Plug-in boards, PCMCIA cards, and  
devices such as the DAQPad-1200, which connects to your computer  
parallel port, are all examples of DAQ devices.  
DGND  
DMA  
digital ground signal  
direct memory access—a method by which data can be transferred to/  
from computer memory from/to a device or memory on the bus while  
the processor does something else. DMA is the fastest method of  
transferring data to/from computer memory.  
drivers  
software that controls a specific hardware device such as a DAQ board  
or a GPIB interface board  
dynamic range  
the ratio of the largest signal level a circuit can handle to the smallest  
signal level it can handle (usually taken to be the noise level), normally  
expressed in dB  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
G-4  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Glossary  
E
EEPROM  
electrically erasable programmable read-only memory—ROM that can  
be erased with an electrical signal and reprogrammed  
external trigger  
EXT_TRIG  
a voltage pulse from an external source that triggers an event such as  
A/D conversion  
external trigger input signal  
F
FIFO  
first-in first-out memory buffer—the first data stored is the first data  
sent to the acceptor. FIFOs are often used on DAQ devices to  
temporarily store incoming or outgoing data until that data can be  
retrieved or output. For example, an analog input FIFO stores the results  
of A/D conversions until the data can be retrieved into system memory,  
a process that requires the servicing of interrupts and often the  
programming of the DMA controller. This process can take several  
milliseconds in some cases. During this time, data accumulates in the  
FIFO for future retrieval. With a larger FIFO, longer latencies can be  
tolerated. In the case of analog output, a FIFO permits faster update  
rates, because the waveform data can be stored on the FIFO ahead of  
time. This again reduces the effect of latencies associated with getting  
the data from system memory to the DAQ device.  
filters  
digital or analog circuits that change the frequency characteristics of a  
waveform  
frequency resolution  
ft  
the smallest frequency change that can be generated by a DAQArb 5411  
feet  
G
gain  
the factor by which a signal is amplified, sometimes expressed in  
decibels  
© National Instruments Corporation  
G-5  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Glossary  
H
h
hour  
hardware  
the physical components of a computer system, such as the circuit  
boards, plug-in boards, chassis, enclosures, peripherals, cables, and so  
on  
Hz  
hertz—the number of cycles or repetitions per second  
I
IC  
integrated circuit  
IEEE  
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers  
inches  
in.  
instruction FIFO  
interrupt  
the FIFO that stores the waveform generation staging list  
a computer signal indicating that the CPU should suspend its current  
task to service a designated activity  
interrupt level  
I/O  
the relative priority at which a device can interrupt  
input/output—the transfer of data to/from a computer system involving  
communications channels, operator interface devices, and/or data  
acquisition and control interfaces  
ISA  
industry standard architecture  
K
k
kilo—the standard metric prefix for 1,000, or 103, used with units of  
measure such as volts, hertz, and meters  
K
kilo—the prefix for 1,024, or 210, used with B in quantifying data or  
computer memory  
kbytes/s  
kS  
a unit for data transfer that means 1,000 or 103 bytes/s  
1,000 samples  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
G-6  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Glossary  
Kword  
1,024 words of memory  
L
LabVIEW  
latch  
laboratory virtual instrument engineering workbench  
a digital device that stores digital data based on a control signal  
latched digital I/O  
a type of digital acquisition/generation where a device or module  
accepts or transfers data after a digital pulse has been received. Also  
called handshaked digital I/O.  
LED  
light-emitting diode  
level DAC  
low-pass filter  
the calibration DAC used to change the voltage levels to another device  
a circuit used to smooth the waveform output and removed unwanted  
high frequency contents form the signal  
LSB  
least significant bit  
M
m
meters  
M
(1) Mega, the standard metric prefix for 1 million or 106, when used  
with units of measure such as volts and hertz; (2) mega, the prefix for  
1,048,576, or 220, when used with B to quantify data or computer  
memory  
marker  
a digital signal that is generated on a pin on the digital I/O connector at  
a requested point in the waveform buffer; this happens while the analog  
waveform is being generated at the DAQArb 5411 Arb output connector  
MARKER  
marker output signal  
marker offset  
the position, in number of samples, from the start of the waveform  
buffer at which the marker is requested  
master/slave  
phase locking  
locking the DAQArb 5411 clock in frequency and phase to an external  
reference clock source  
MB  
megabytes of memory  
© National Instruments Corporation  
G-7  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Glossary  
Mbytes/s  
MIPS  
a unit for data transfer that means 1 million or 106 bytes/s  
million instructions per second—the unit for expressing the speed of  
processor machine code instructions  
MS  
million samples  
MSB  
MTBF  
mux  
most significant bit  
mean time between failure  
multiplexer—a switching device with multiple inputs that sequentially  
connects each of its inputs to its output, typically at high speeds, in  
order to measure several signals with a single analog input channel  
N
NI-DAQ  
NIST  
NI driver software for DAQ hardware  
National Institute of Standards and Technology  
noise  
an undesirable electrical signal—Noise comes from external sources  
such as the AC power line, motors, generators, transformers,  
fluorescent lights, soldering irons, CRT displays, computers, electrical  
storms, welders, radio transmitters, and internal sources such as  
semiconductors, resistors, and capacitors. Noise corrupts signals you  
are trying to send or receive.  
O
onboard RAM  
optional RAM usually installed into SIMM slots  
operating system  
base-level software that controls a computer, runs programs, interacts  
with users, and communicates with installed hardware or peripheral  
devices  
output enable relay  
a relay switch at the output of the DAQArb 5411 that can enable the  
waveform generation at any time or that can connect the output to  
ground  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
G-8  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Glossary  
P
PA<0..15>  
passband  
digital pattern generator outputs  
the range of frequencies which a device can properly propagate or  
measure  
pattern generation  
a type of handshaked (latched) digital I/O in which internal counters  
generate the handshaked signal, which in turn initiates a digital transfer.  
Because counters output digital pulses at a constant rate, this means you  
can generate and retrieve patterns at a constant rate because the  
handshaked signal is produced at a constant rate.  
PCI  
Peripheral Component Interconnect—a high-performance expansion  
bus architecture originally developed by Intel to replace ISA and EISA.  
It is achieving widespread acceptance as a standard for PCs and work-  
stations; it offers a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 132 Mbytes/s.  
PCLK  
digital pattern clock output  
peak to peak  
a measure of signal amplitude; the difference between the highest and  
lowest excursions of the signal  
pipeline  
a high-performance processor structure in which the completion of an  
instruction is broken into its elements so that several elements can be  
processed simultaneously from different instructions  
PLL  
phase-locked loop—a circuit that synthesizes a signal whose frequency  
is exactly proportional to the frequency of a reference signal  
PLL Ref  
a PLL input that accepts an external reference clock signal and phase  
locks to it the DAQArb 5411 internal clock  
Plug and Play devices  
Plug and Play ISA  
devices that do not require dip switches or jumpers to configure  
resources on the devices—also called switchless devices  
a specification prepared by Microsoft, Intel, and other PC-related  
companies that will result in PCs with plug-in boards that can be fully  
configured in software, without jumpers or switches on the boards  
ppm  
parts per million  
pre-attenuation offset  
an offset provided to the signal before it reaches the attenuators  
© National Instruments Corporation  
G-9  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Glossary  
protocol  
the exact sequence of bits, characters, and control codes used to transfer  
data between computers and peripherals through a communications  
channel, such as the GPIB bus  
pts  
points  
R
RAM  
random-access memory  
resolution  
the smallest signal increment that can be detected by a measurement  
system. Resolution can be expressed in bits, in proportions, or in  
percent of full scale. For example, a system has 12-bit resolution, one  
part in 4,096 resolution, and 0.0244 percent of full scale.  
rms  
root mean square—the square root of the average value of the square of  
the instantaneous signal amplitude; a measure of signal amplitude  
ROM  
read-only memory  
RTSI bus  
real-time system integration bus—the National Instruments timing bus  
that connects DAQ boards directly, by means of connectors on top of  
the boards, for precise synchronization of functions  
S
s
seconds  
samples  
S
sampling rate  
the rate, in samples per second (S/s), at which each sample in the  
waveform buffer is updated  
SCXI  
Signal Conditioning eXtensions for Instrumentation—the National  
Instruments product line for conditioning low-level signals within an  
external chassis near sensors so only high-level signals are sent to DAQ  
boards in the noisy PC environment  
sequence list  
See staging list.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
G-10  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Glossary  
Shannon’s Sampling  
Theorem  
a law of sampling theory stating that if a continuous bandwidth-limited  
signal contains no frequency components higher than half the frequency  
at which it is sampled, then the original signal can be recovered without  
distortion  
single trigger mode  
when the arbitrary waveform generator goes through the staging list  
only once  
SMB  
S/s  
a type of miniature coaxial signal connector  
samples per second—used to express the rate at which a DAQ board  
samples an analog signal  
stage  
in Arb mode, specifies the buffer to be generated, the number of loops  
on that buffer, the marker position for that buffer, and the sample count  
for the buffer; for DDS mode, specifies the frequency to be generated  
of the waveform in the lookup memory and the time for which that  
frequency has to be generated  
staging list  
a buffer that contains linking and looping information for multiple  
waveforms; also known as a sequence list or waveform sequence  
stepped trigger mode  
SYNC  
a mode of waveform generation used when you want a trigger to  
advance the waveforms specified by the stages in the staging list  
TTL version of the sine waveform output signal generated by the  
DAQArb 5411  
system noise  
a measure of the amount of noise seen by an analog circuit or an ADC  
when the analog inputs are grounded  
T
transfer rate  
the rate, measured in bytes/s, at which data is moved from source to  
destination after software initialization and set up operations; the  
maximum rate at which the hardware can operate  
trigger  
TTL  
any event that causes or starts some form of data capture  
transistor-transistor logic  
© National Instruments Corporation  
G-11  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Glossary  
U
update rate  
the rate at which a DAC is updated  
V
V
volts  
VCXO  
VI  
voltage controlled crystal oscillator  
virtual instrument—(1) a combination of hardware and/or software  
elements, typically used with a PC, that has the functionality of a classic  
standalone instrument (2) a LabVIEW software module (VI), which  
consists of a front panel user interface and a block diagram program  
W
waveform  
multiple voltage readings taken at a specific sampling rate  
waveform buffers  
the collection of 16-bit data samples stored in the waveform memory  
that represent a desired waveform. Also known as a waveform segment.  
waveform memory  
physical data storage on the DAQArb 5411 for storing the waveform  
data samples  
waveform segment  
waveform sequence  
See waveform buffer.  
See staging list.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
G-12  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Index  
analog output, 4-18 to 4-21  
Numbers  
+5V signal (table), 3-7  
analog output and SYNC out block  
diagram, 4-18  
output attenuation, 4-19 to 4-20  
output enable, 4-21  
A
output impedance, 4-20  
pre-attenuation offset, 4-21  
SYNC output and duty cycle, 4-19  
waveform, trigger, and marker timings  
(figure), 4-19  
analog filter correction, 4-24 to 4-25  
analog output, 4-18 to 4-21  
analog output and SYNC out block  
diagram, 4-18  
output attenuation, 4-19 to 4-20  
output enable, 4-21  
output impedance, 4-20  
pre-attenuation offset, 4-21  
specifications, A-1  
SYNC output and duty cycle, 4-19  
waveform, trigger, and marker timings  
(figure), 4-19  
Arb mode, 4-3 to 4-8  
minimum buffer size and  
resolution, 4-5  
waveform linking and looping,  
4-5 to 4-8  
waveform memory, 4-4  
waveform size and resolution,  
4-4 to 4-5  
ARB connector, 3-2  
Arb mode, 4-3 to 4-8  
calibration, 4-28  
DAQArb 5411 block diagram, 4-1  
digital pattern generation, 4-25 to 4-27  
data path (figure), 4-26  
timing (figure), 4-26  
direct digital synthesis (DDS) mode,  
4-8 to 4-11  
burst trigger mode, 4-15 to 4-16  
continuous trigger mode, 4-14  
minimum buffer size and resolution, 4-5  
single trigger mode, 4-12 to 4-13  
stepped trigger mode, 4-14 to 4-15  
VirtualBench-Arb (note), 4-2  
waveform linking and looping, 4-5 to 4-8  
waveform memory, 4-4  
DDS building blocks (figure), 4-9  
frequency hopping and sweeping, 4-11  
frequency resolution and lookup  
memory, 4-10 to 4-11  
waveform size and resolution, 4-4 to 4-5  
Arb operation  
marker output signal, 4-16 to 4-18  
generated marker positions  
(table), 4-17  
analog filter correction, 4-24 to 4-25  
markers as trigger outputs (figure), 4-17  
overview, 4-1 to 4-2  
© National Instruments Corporation  
I-1  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Index  
phase-locked loops, 4-22 to 4-24  
architecture (figure), 4-22  
master/slave operation, 4-23 to 4-24  
RTSI trigger lines, 4-27 to 4-28  
triggering, 4-11 to 4-16  
connectors. See I/O connector; SHC50-68  
50-pin cable connector.  
continuous trigger mode  
Arb mode, 4-14  
DDS mode, 4-14  
overview, 4-13  
customer communication, x, C-1 to C-2  
burst trigger mode, 4-15 to 4-16  
continuous trigger mode,  
4-13 to 4-14  
modes of operation, 4-12 to 4-16  
single trigger mode, 4-12 to 4-13  
stepped trigger mode, 4-14 to 4-15  
trigger sources, 4-11 to 4-12  
update rate, 4-3  
D
DAQArb 5411. See also Arb operation.  
block diagram, 4-1  
cabling, 1-5  
features, 1-1 to 1-2  
waveform generation, 4-2 to 4-3  
locking to National Instruments cards  
over RTSI bus (note), 3-3  
optional equipment, 1-5  
requirements for getting started, 1-2  
software programming choices, 1-3 to 1-4  
National Instruments application  
software, 1-3 to 1-4  
B
buffer size, 4-6  
buffers  
minimum buffer size and resolution, 4-5  
waveform buffer, 4-5  
bulletin board support, C-1  
burst trigger mode  
NI-DAQ driver software, 1-4  
unpacking, 1-6  
DDS mode. See direct digital synthesis (DDS)  
mode.  
Arb mode, 4-15 to 4-16  
DDS mode, 4-16  
DGND signal (table), 3-6  
Dig Out connector, 3-4 to 3-5  
pin assignments (figure), 3-5  
signal descriptions (table), 3-6  
digital pattern generation, 4-25 to 4-27  
data path (figure), 4-26  
bus interface specifications, A-4  
C
cables  
part numbers for recommended  
cables, 1-5  
timing (figure), 4-26  
requirements for getting started, 1-2  
calibration, 4-28  
clock specifications  
digital pattern output specifications, A-5  
digital trigger specifications, A-4  
direct digital synthesis (DDS) mode,  
4-8 to 4-11  
external clock reference input, A-6  
internal clock, A-6  
burst trigger mode, 4-16  
continuous trigger mode, 4-14  
DDS building blocks (figure), 4-9  
definition, 4-8  
configuration. See installation and  
configuration.  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
I-2  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Index  
frequency hopping and sweeping, 4-11  
frequency instruction, 4-9  
frequency resolution, 4-10 to 4-11  
lookup memory, 4-9, 4-10 to 4-11  
single trigger mode, 4-13  
stepped trigger mode, 4-15  
time instruction, 4-9  
update rate (note), 4-3  
VirtualBench-Function Generator  
(note), 4-2  
I
installation and configuration  
hardware configuration, 2-2  
installation procedure, 2-1 to 2-2  
installing optional memory module, 2-2  
unpacking DAQArb 5411, 1-6  
instruction FIFO, 4-3  
internal clock specifications, A-6  
I/O connector, 3-1 to 3-6  
ARB connector, 3-2  
documentation  
Dig Out connector, 3-4 to 3-5  
illustration, 3-1  
pin assignments (figure), 3-5  
PLL Ref connector, 3-3 to 3-4  
SYNC connector, 3-3  
conventions used in manual, x  
organization of manual, ix  
E
electronic support services, C-1 to C-2  
e-mail support, C-2  
equipment, optional, 1-5  
external clock reference input  
specifications, A-6  
L
LabVIEW software, 1-3  
LabWindows/CVI software, 1-3  
linking and looping. See waveform linking and  
looping.  
EXT_TRIG signal (table), 3-6  
lookup memory, DDS mode  
frequency generation process, 4-10  
loading cycles of waveforms,  
4-10 to 4-11  
F
fax and telephone support, C-2  
Fax-on-Demand support, C-2  
FIFO, instruction, 4-3  
restrictions, 4-9  
synthesizing arbitrary waveforms,  
4-10 to 4-11  
FIFO memory, 4-3  
filter characteristics, A-2 to A-3  
frequency hopping and sweeping, 4-11  
frequency resolution, DDS mode, 4-10 to 4-11  
FTP support, C-1  
M
manual. See documentation.  
marker offset, in stages, 4-6  
marker output signal, 4-16 to 4-18  
generated marker positions (table), 4-17  
markers as trigger outputs (figure), 4-17  
specifications, A-5  
H
hardware configuration, 2-2  
MARKER signal (table), 3-6  
master/slave operation, 4-23 to 4-24  
© National Instruments Corporation  
I-3  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Index  
mechanical specifications, A-6  
memory, waveform. See waveform memory.  
memory module, installing, 2-2  
RTSI trigger lines, 4-27 to 4-28  
locking DAQArb 5411 to other National  
Instrument cards (note), 3-3  
purpose and use, 4-27 to 4-28  
specifications, A-4  
minimum buffer size and resolution, 4-5  
trigger lines and routing (figure), 4-27  
N
National Instruments application software,  
1-3 to 1-4  
S
NI-DAQ driver software  
installing latest version (note), 2-1  
overview, 1-4  
sequence list, 4-5  
SHC50-68 50-pin cable connector, 3-6 to 3-7  
signal connections, 3-1 to 3-8  
I/O connector, 3-1 to 3-6  
ARB connector, 3-2  
O
DAQArb 5411 connector  
(figure), 3-1  
operational mode specifications, A-4  
output. See analog output; SYNC output.  
Dig Out connector, 3-4 to 3-5  
pin assignments (figure), 3-5  
PLL Ref connector, 3-3 to 3-4  
SYNC connector, 3-3  
P
PA<0..15> signal (table), 3-6  
PCLK signal (table), 3-6  
power-up and reset conditions, 3-8  
SHC50-68 50-pin cable connector,  
3-6 to 3-7  
phase-locked loops, 4-22 to 4-24  
architecture (figure), 4-22  
master/slave operation, 4-23 to 4-24  
PLL Ref connector, 3-3 to 3-4  
pin assignments  
signal descriptions (table), 3-6  
sine spectral purity specifications, A-2  
single trigger mode  
Arb mode, 4-12 to 4-13  
DDS mode, 4-13  
software programming choices, 1-3 to 1-4  
National Instruments application  
software, 1-3 to 1-4  
Dig Out connector (figure), 3-5  
SHC50-68 50-pin cable connector  
(figure), 3-7  
PLL Ref connector, 3-3 to 3-4  
Plug and Play capability, 1-1, 4-1  
power-up and reset conditions, 3-8  
pre-attenuation offset, 4-18, 4-21  
NI-DAQ driver software, 1-4  
specifications  
analog output, A-1  
bus interface, A-4  
digital pattern output, A-5  
external clock reference input, A-6  
filter characteristics, A-2 to A-3  
internal clock, A-6  
R
reference clock, PLL Ref connector, 3-3  
requirements for getting started, 1-2  
reset conditions, 3-8  
marker output, A-5  
RFU signal (table), 3-6  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
I-4  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 
Index  
mechanical, A-6  
operational modes, A-4  
sine spectral purity, A-2  
SYNC out, A-4  
trigger specifications  
digital trigger, A-4  
RTSI, A-4  
triggering, 4-11 to 4-16  
burst trigger mode, 4-15 to 4-16  
timing I/O, A-3  
triggers  
continuous trigger mode, 4-13 to 4-14  
modes of operation, 4-12 to 4-16  
single trigger mode, 4-12 to 4-13  
stepped trigger mode, 4-14 to 4-15  
trigger sources, 4-11 to 4-12  
digital trigger, A-4  
RTSI, A-4  
voltage output, A-1 to A-2  
stages  
instructions, 4-6  
maximum number (note), 4-6  
waveform linking and looping, 4-5  
waveform staging block diagram, 4-6  
staging list, 4-3, 4-5  
U
update rate, 4-3  
stepped trigger mode  
Arb mode, 4-14 to 4-15  
DDS mode, 4-15  
SYNC connector, 3-3  
SYNC output  
V
VirtualBench software  
overview, 1-3 to 1-4  
VirtualBench-Arb (note), 4-2  
VirtualBench-Function Generator  
(note), 4-2  
analog output and SYNC out block  
diagram, 4-18  
duty cycle, 4-19  
voltage output specifications, A-1 to A-2  
changing, 4-19  
example (figure), 3-3  
software control of, 3-3  
purpose and use, 4-19  
routing to RTSI lines, 3-3  
specifications, A-4  
W
waveform generation, 4-2 to 4-3. See also Arb  
mode; direct digital synthesis (DDS) mode.  
data path block diagram, 4-3  
overview, 4-2 to 4-3  
system requirements, 1-2  
process of waveform generation  
(figure), 4-8  
specifications, A-3  
T
VirtualBench-Arb (note), 4-2  
VirtualBench-Function Generator  
(note), 4-2  
technical support, C-1 to C-2  
telephone and fax support, C-2  
timing I/O specifications, A-3  
transistor-transistor-logic (TTL), SYNC  
connector, 3-3  
waveform linking and looping, 4-5 to 4-8  
block diagram for waveform staging, 4-7  
concept of linking and looping  
(figure), 4-6  
© National Instruments Corporation  
I-5  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
 
Index  
waveform generation process  
(figure), 4-8  
waveform staging, 4-6 to 4-7  
waveform memory  
Arb mode, 4-3  
architecture (figure), 4-4  
overview, 4-4  
waveform sampling and interpolation,  
B-1 to B-2  
waveform segment, 4-5  
waveform size and resolution, 4-4 to 4-5  
minimum buffer size and resolution, 4-5  
waveform memory, 4-4  
waveform staging, 4-6 to 4-7  
block diagram, 4-7  
instructions in stages, 4-7  
maximum number of stages (note), 4-7  
DAQArb 5411 User Manual  
I-6  
© National Instruments Corporation  
 

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