Transcript
Software-Defined and Synthetic Instruments David R. Carey PhD Associate Professor Wilkes University
The Problem with Legacy Instrumentation
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The Problem with Legacy Instrumentation • Historically, there is a unique set of instrumentation for a given lab. • Traditional labs often employ “box” instruments with inflexible firmware and
functionality • Obsolescence is a problem • Software reuse is a problem • Supporting new or emerging test requirements is an major issue • The Challenge: Employ a new test and measurement paradigm • Software-Defined Instrumentation • Synthetic Instrumentation
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TMDE Inventory •
15,000 pieces of TMDE
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Modernization Alternatives Alternatives Extend: Replace with same instruments
Advantages • No Hardware or Software Changes
•Higher Downtime
• Low Risk, Simple
•Eventually the product will go out of support
• Least Expensive
Replace Obsolete Instruments Upgrade equipment through emulation Rehost/Migrate Modernize
Disadvantages
• Greater reliability
•Can Be Expensive
• Faster test
•Risk measurement issues
• Lower cost of ownership
•Possible Requalification
• Minimum Hardware and Software Changes • Greater Reliability
•Most Expensive
• Faster Test
•Greatest Risk
• Lowest cost of ownership (excluding acquisition cost)
•Maximum Hardware and Software changes
• Greatest future longevity
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Synthetic Instrumentation Solution Solution Requirements • Reduce the amount of discrete instruments in inventory. • Existing experiments must be preserved. • Stem the tide of instrumentation obsolescence There is a need to evolve instrumentation. - SI offers a transformational technology - Incorporate SI technology into the lab Framework Require a standardized process to incorporate SI technology
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Synthetic Instrumentation
SI Solution: <$150K, 0.67 ft3
Traditional Solution: >$500K, 72 ft3 7
Moore’s Law “The complexity for minimum component costs has increased at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year... Certainly over the short term this rate can be expected to “Cramming more components onto integrated circuits", Gordon continue, if not to increase.” Moore, Electronics Magazine 19 April 1965
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Moore’s Law “The complexity for minimum component costs has increased at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year... Certainly over the short term this rate can be expected to “Cramming more components onto integrated circuits", Gordon continue, if not to increase.” Moore, Electronics Magazine 19 April 1965
• Increases by an order of magnitude approximately every 7.5 years • Can be extended to performance of computing devices
• Can be extended to cost of computing devices • Can be extended to the size of computing devices
~ 7.5 YRs
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What are the Expectations of Next-Generation Instrumentation – The “Moore” Machine
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What are the Expectations – The “Moore” Machine
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What are the Expectations – The “Moore” Machine
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What are the Expectations – The “Moore” Machine
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What are the Expectations – The “Moore” Machine
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What are the Expectations – The “Moore” Machine More Functionality
Reduced Cost
Smaller Footprint
Accelerated Delivery
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The Evolution of the Software-Defined Radio 1970
Software-Defined Radios are related to Software-Defined and Synthetic Instruments
Digital Radio 1988
Modular Radio 1991
Software Radio 1995
Software-Defined Radio 1999
Cognitive Radio
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The Evolution of the Software-Defined Instruments 1970
Software-Defined Radios are related to Software-Defined and Synthetic Instruments
Digital Radio
SOFTWARE-DEFINED INSTRUMENT
1988
Modular Radio
DEVICE UNDER TEST
1991
FREQUENCY CONVERSIO N
ADC
FREQUENCY CONVERSIO N
DAC
Software Radio 1995
Software-Defined Radio 1999
Cognitive Radio
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PROCESSING
The Evolution of the Software-Defined Instruments 1983
Virtual Instrument VXI/VME PXI/PCI
Signal Analyzers Synthetic Instrument Embedded Instrumentation
PXIe/PCIe LXI Class A
Modular Instrument
Software-Defined Instrument PXIe/PCIe
Cognitive Instrument
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Software-Defined and Synthetic Instruments SIGNAL CONDITIONING
FREQUENCY TRANSLATION
SIGNAL CONVERSION
SIGNAL PROCESSING
DATA/CONTROL PROCESSING
MEASUREMENT SCIENCE SOFTWARE MODULES SPECTRUM ANALYSIS
INPUT
DSO VSA PHASE NOISE NOISE FIGURE CNTR/SINAD/DIST POWER/BER RADIO TESTING CELLULAR STDS
SIGGEN / ARB / AFG
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DIGITAL TESTING DATA BUS ANALYSIS
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A reconfigurable system that links a series of elemental hardware and software components with standardized interfaces to generate signals or make measurements using numeric processing techniques
Synthetic Instrumentation A Disruptive Technology Reduced Footprint Reduced Cost
Improved Performance
Improved Measurement Time
TE performance required at the high end of the market
CLASSIC INSTRUMENT
Predicted SI Performance
FASTER
PERFORMANCE
Measured SI Performance
TE performance required at the low end of the market
TIME
SYNTHETIC INSTRUMENT
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Software-Defined and Synthetic Instrument Applicability MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS • • • • •
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Spectrum Analyzers Digital Storage Oscilloscopes Vector Signal Analyzers Vector Network Analyzers Phase Noise Testers Modulation Analyzers (VSA) Distortion Analyzers Frequency Counters RF Pulse Counters RF Power Meters Transmission Line Test Sets (VNA) Radio Test Sets RADAR Test Sets RFI Measurement Test Sets Data Communication Analyzers Digital Multi-Meters / Voltmeters DMM / Ammeters – Handheld Cable Testers - Handheld
STIMULUS INSTRUMENTS • • • • •
• • • •
RF Signal Generators Vector Signal Generators (VSG) Pulse Generators RF Pulse Generators Sweep Generators Function Generators Arbitrary Waveform Generators BER Generators Bus Emulators
CONCLUSION Except for the “corner” cases, Synthetic Instruments can replace all traditional instruments SI Applicability LEGEND • Applicable • Maybe Applicable • Not Applicable 21
Synthetic Instrument – An Example
PROCESSOR
8-BITFPGA14-BIT ADC ADC
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RF DOWN CONVERTER
Synthetic Instrument – An Example HARDWARE MODULES · · · ·
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RF RECEIVER AM FM PM SSB
RF RECEIVER OFDM QBL-MSK CPM DIGITAL I/Q
RF SIG GEN
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AM FM
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PHASE MOD
· · · ·
RF SIG GEN OFDM QBL-MSK CPM DIGITAL I/Q
DUAL CH DIGITIZER
AF SIG GEN #1 (ARB)
RF POWER METER
AF SIG GEN #2 (ARB)
DMM
DIGITAL DATA GEN (BER)
MIL-STD 1553 TESTER
CONTROLLER
AM FM PM I Q OFDM QBL-MSK CPM
SYN INST Physical Interface
SPLITTER
RF OUT #1 RF OUT #2 AF OUT #1 AF OUT #2 REF OSC OUT BER DATA OUT DC POWER RF CABLE INTERFACE RF INPUT RF POWER METER DSO #1 DSO #2 DMM-HIGH DMM-LOW MIL-STD-1553 I/F
INTERNAL OSC DC POWER SOURCE (5-36 VDC) FUSE
SOFTWARE MODULES DMOD
SPEC AN
DSO
RF COUNTER
RF ERROR METER
AF COUNTER
AF LEVEL METER
SINAD METER
PM DEVIATION METER
FM DEVIATION METER
DISTORTION METER
RF POWER METER
BER METER
AM MOD METER
AM/FM/PM/SSB
MOD AM/FM/PM/SSB
AF SIG GEN #1
AF SIG GEN #2
DMM
LAN USB RS232 IEEE-488.1-1987 IEEE-488.1-1997
DATA CAPTURE
MIL-STD-1553 TESTER
CAL
VIDEO KEYBOARD MOUSE
VSA
VSG
UI/REMOTE STIM CNTL
POWER SWITCH POWER IND
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Software-Defined Instrument Breakout Role The FPGA SIGNAL CONDITIONING
FREQUENCY TRANSLATION
SIGNAL CONVERSION
SIGNAL PROCESSING
DATA/CONTROL PROCESSING
MEASUREMENT SCIENCE SOFTWARE MODULES SPECTRUM ANALYSIS
INPUT
DSO VSA PHASE NOISE NOISE FIGURE CNTR/SINAD/DIST POWER/BER
PROCESSING • • • •
Signal Processing Data Processing Display Processing Control Processing
RADIO TESTING CELLULAR STDS
SIGGEN / ARB / AFG DIGITAL TESTING DATA BUS ANALYSIS
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FPGA Performance Evolution Maximum Capability Logic Cells Block RAM DSP Slices Peak DSP Performance Transceivers Peak Transceiver Speed Peak Serial Bandwidth (Full) PCIe Interface Memory Interface I/O Pins
Virtex-4 Family 200K 10K 192 24 6.6 Gb/s
896
Artix-7 Family 215K 13 Mb 740 929 GMAC/s 16 6.6 Gb/s 211 Gb/s x4 Gen2 1,066 Mb/s 500
Kintex-7 Family 478K 34 Mb 1,920 2,845 GMAC/s 32 12.5 Gb/s 800 Gb/s x8 Gen2 1,866 Mb/s 500
Virtex-7 Family 1,955K 68 Mb 3,600 5,335 GMAC/s 96 28.05 Gb/s 2,784 Gb/s x8 Gen3 1,866 Mb/s 1,200
Let’s Look at how we can use the FPGA in High Performance Synthetic Instruments
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The PXIe FlexRIO: User-Defined Instrument PXIe-7965R
PXIe-7975R
ANALOG
PXIe-5122
ADC P2P
PXIe-7975R
FPGA PCIe
PXIe-8135
HOST
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Virtex-5 SX95T FPGA 512 MB DDR2 Supports FAM Supports P2P streaming LabVIEW FPGA compatible
RESULT
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• Kintex-7 FPGA • 2 GB DDR3 • High-speed data streaming to host at 1.6 GB/s • Supports FAM • Supports P2P streaming • LabVIEW FPGA compatible
The FlexRIO Adapter Module Solving the Data Transport Bottleneck EXAMPLE FAMs
ANALOG NI-5731
ADC
DIRECT I/O PXIe-7975R
FPGA PCIe
PXIe-8135
HOST
P/N
FAM
DESCRIPTION
5791
TRANSCEIVER
100 MHZ
5792
RECEIVER
200 MHZ
5793
TRANSMITTER
200 MHZ
5781
ADC/DAC
100 MSPS
5782
TRANSCEIVER
250 MSPS
5731
ADC
400 MSPS, 14-BIT
5771
ADC
3 GSPS, 8-BIT
5772
ADC
1.6 GSPS, 12-BIT
AT-1120
ADC
2 GSPS, 14-BIT
6581
DIGITAL I/O
200 MBPS, 54 CH
6583
DIGITAL I/O
300 MBPS, 32 LVDS
6587
DIGITAL I/O
1 GBPS, 20 LVDS
RESULT 27
The Vector Signal Transceiver PXIe-5644R
PXIe-5645R REFERENCE
RF DOWN CONVERTER
CLOCKING
ADC
PCIe G1 x4 BACKPLANE
ADC
TRIGGERS RF UP CONVERTER
DAC
FPGA DAC
DIO
DRAM
SRAM
CONCLUSION The FPGA is the Breaking Out Role for Synthetic Instruments 28
Summary
DSP
Electromagnetics
Electronics
Circuit Theory
Digital
Communication Systems
Synthetic Instruments will replace many classic “box” instruments in classes and labs that traditionally use the standard “rack-n-stack” test equipment • The FPGA is critical to fielding high performance Synthetic Instruments • Synthetic Instruments will evolve toward embedded instrumentation •
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Conclusion •
A methodology for mitigating instrumentation obsolescence was presented. •
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Enhancing laboratory equipment sustainability via inserting test equipment functionality employing synthetic instrumentation technology.
SI technology represents a major paradigm shift in current support equipment hardware & software sustainability approaches. It will have a profound impact on the process of supporting and maintaining legacy equipment now and into the future. The subject methodology was validated at Tobyhanna Army Depot. The proof-of-concept demonstration validated the concept of replacing legacy COTS instruments with synthetic instrument technology. 30
Thank You! Questions
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