Agilent E6432A
VXI Microwave Synthesizer
Product Note
An Introduction to the
Agilent E6432A plug&play Driver
A4032A
POWER
On
Standby
High performance microwave
capability in VXI
G
10 MHz to 20 GHz
G
–90 dBm to +20 dBm
G
< 400 µs frequency switching time
G
1 Hz frequency resolution
G
AM, FM and Pulse modulators
G
VXI plug&play driver
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National Instruments has two ver-
sions of the MXI interface that are
usable in a host controller. The older
VXI-MXI-1 slot 0 controller and its
host card (the AT-MXI interface) do
not operate correctly with E6432A,
due to the AT-MXI interface’s inabili-
ty to access more than 64k of A24
address space. (Remember, a mini-
mum of 256k is required.) The
newer MXI interface from National
Instruments (the VXI-MXI-2 inter-
face) and its host controller card
(the PCI-MXI interface) work
In the programming examples shown
later, we will show that in VEE,
the ViInitialize function call is sent
automatically at the first call to
the instrument. In NI LabView, the
ViInitialize function call must be
sent explicitly as the first call to
the instrument.
Initializing the Instrument
After installing the interfaces and
drivers using the procedures given in
the user documentation, it is time to
apply power to the VXI mainframe
and check out the system.
Register-based devices typically
do not contain a processor and
firmware that perform bootstrap and
self-test functions at power on. These
functions are jointly executed by the
host controller and the device. For
the E6432A, the functions are per-
formed when the host controller
issues the ViInitialize function call
through the plug&play driver. When
power is first applied to the E6432A,
the red FAIL LED is lit. This LED
remains lit until a successful
The Soft Front Panel
All functions of the E6432A are
represented in the soft front panel
(SFP). The online help system docu-
ments the SFP and the plug&play
driver completely. The E6432A SFP
is accessed through the Start menus
of Windows NT. If no VXI interface
is installed on the computer, or the
hardware is not present, the SFP
may be run in Demo Mode as a
learning and demonstration tool.
The online help system will be
fully functional.
properly with all of the application
programs listed.
A new serial interface for VXI based
on IEEE-1394 is available from
Agilent (the E8491A). This interface
has nearly the same performance as
MXI-2 in many applications. The
E8491A is supported for use with
the E6432A.
completion of the ViInitialize
function call. Within this function
call are commands that:
G
issue the bootstrap commands
to initialize the onboard assist
processor
Embedded controllers are available
from both Agilent and National
Instruments. Those controllers that
contain the Intel Pentium® processor
and run Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
are supported for use with the
E6432A.
G
perform a comprehensive
digital self-test
G
G
perform a limited analog self-test
preset the instrument to
a known state
G
G
query the error buffers for
any error conditions
issue the command to extinguish
the red FAIL LED after a
successful completion
Pentium is a U.S. registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
3
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Table 1
Features of the plug&play Driver
Set RF Output (On/Off)
Get RF Output (On/Off)
Set Freq, ALC, Atten, Bit
Set Freq, ALC, Atten
Get Freq, ALC, Atten
Set Frequency
HPE6432_SetRfOutputState
HPE6432_GetRfOutputState
HPE6432_SetFreqAlcAttenBit
HPE6432_SetFreqAlcAtten
HPE6432_GetFreqAlcAtten
HPE6432_SetFrequency
HPE6432_SetAlcAtten
Driver functions are divided into
these major categories:
G
Initializing the instrument
G
Setting and enabling frequency
and power
G
Selecting and enabling
Set ALC, Atten
modulation types
Set Output Power
Power Search
HPE6432_SetOutputPower
HPE6432_PowerSearch
HPE6432_SetRefSource
HPE6432_GetRefSource
HPE6432_SetDwellTime
HPE6432_GetDwellTime
HPE6432_SetSettlingTime
HPE6432_GetSettlingTime
G
Selecting and enabling
trigger modes
Set Reference Source (Int/Ext)
Get Reference Source (Int/Ext)
Set Dwell Time
G
Selecting operation modes
G
Managing the list
G
Querying status and errors
Get Dwell Time
Set Settling Time
Table 1 is a list of instrument
functions available for setting
output functions.
Get Settling Time
List Modes, Trigger Modes and
Markers
In many instances, the systems
programmer has a predefined list
of test frequencies, amplitudes, and
marker events that are defined by the
needs of the test program. Often, sig-
nal sources and measuring receivers
must be coordinated to be at the
same test frequencies simultaneously
to make measurements. Users want
to minimize system time between
measurements, since performing
precision measurements can be
time consuming.
To assist the programmer with
efficient synchronization between
signal source and measuring receiver,
the E6432A implements a list mode
that holds up to 128k list entries.
Each entry may hold a frequency
value, an ALC value, an attenuator
value, and a mode byte that sets
various conditions at that entry
point. For example, the mode byte
has bits for enabling or disabling RF
blanking at that entry point, putting
out a sync marker at that entry, or
enabling long blanking to provide
extra settling time at that entry.
The E6432A plug&play driver
includes a comprehensive online
help system, with complete
documentation that should be used
as the primary reference source for
the instrument. All aspects of using
and programming the E6432A and
the SFP are fully documented. The
help system may be installed and
run on a separate computer without
other modules of the plug&play
driver installed.
4
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Table 2
To make the most of this list mode,
comprehensive triggering is available
for executing the list entries in the
most useful way for the test program.
Input triggering can be from the front
panel SMB connector, over the VXI
TTL backplane triggers, VXI0-VXI7,
or manually via the SFP. Any one
of the backplane triggers can be
assigned to Trigger In. The Trigger
Out, or settled marker, is a synchro-
nization signal that can be used as a
data-ready flag, a trigger to a meas-
uring receiver, or a timing signal for
the host controller. It is always avail-
able at the front panel. Any one of
the VXI backplane triggers can be
assigned to Trigger Out.
Trigger In
Automatic (default)
trigger once
Trigger In disabled
wait for trigger, then run list once
wait for trigger to advance to next list entry
settled marker - always enabled
Sync In disabled
triggered
Trigger Out
Sync In
auto (default)
wait
wait for sync to start list
restart
abort list and restart from beginning
combines wait for start and abort/restart
wait for start/restart
disabled (default)
Sync Out
list entry does not generate sync marker on
settled (Trigger Out still enabled)
enabled
list entry generates sync marker on settled
(and Trigger Out marker)
Repeat
run list continuously until aborted
Blanking
enabled (default)
blank RF while tuning (minimum 270 µs
settling time on frequency changes)
disabled
do not blank RF while tuning
Long blanking
disabled (default)
frequency settled to within 50 kHz when
Trigger Out edge occurs
Sync In is a reset trigger. It may be
set to abort a list and reset the list
pointer to the beginning of list mem-
ory. It may be used to run a list. It
may be disabled. Any one of the VXI
backplane triggers may be assigned
to Sync In. Sync Out is the program-
mable marker. Any entry in the list
mode may enable the Sync Out mark-
er. If enabled, it will coincide with
the Trigger Out, or settled marker,
for that list entry. Any one of the VXI
backplane triggers may be assigned
to Sync Out.
enabled
RF blanking extended to 350 µs. Frequency
settled to noise level when Trigger Out edge
occurs.
Attenuator switch
blanking always extended to 20 ms
An example function call to down-
load an array of list entry points is:
Once downloaded, the list is execut-
ed by calling Hpe6432_run_list().
Depending on the trigger mode set,
the list is run all the way through,
repeated until aborted, or executed
one entry per input trigger.
ViSTATUS HPE6432_WriteListPoints
(ViSession instrumentHandle,
ViUInt32 startingPoint ViReal64
Frequency[], ViReal64 ALC_value[],
ViInt16 Attenuator[], ViInt16
featureBits[], ViInt16 alcOffset[],
ViUInt32 numberOfPoints);
Table 2 summarizes the trigger,
marker, and blanking modes.
5
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Programming Examples
Figure 1
A typical VEE
program for
controlling a signal
source in a test
program.
Figure 2
A LabView program
that initializes the
Agilent E6432A,
sets frequency and
amplitude, enables or
disables pulse
modulation, and
closes the session.
6
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Figure
A Visual Basic
programming
example calling the
initialization routine.
Note that all functions
return VI_SUCCESS,
which is zero for
success and non-zero
for error conditions.
7
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Related Agilent Literature
Creating Frequency Lists
Using a Spreadsheet and
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