Using The Instrument 3-20
Using the Soft
Trigger
There are a number of commands that are available to trigger the
Model 3152. The soft trigger command is one of them. To use the
soft trigger command, place the instrument in the TRIG:SOUR EXT
mode. Soft trigger is ignored in the internal or TTLTrg<n> modes.
Use the following SCPI commands to trigger the instrument:
TRIGger
The IEEE-STD-488.2 common command *TRG will have the same
effect. Use either software command to trigger the Model 3152 in
Trigger, Burst and Triggered Sequence Advance modes.
Generating
Arbitrary
Waveforms
The Model 3152 cannot generate arbitrary waveforms without first
loading them into memory. A description of the arbitrary waveform
function and an explanation on how to load waveforms into memory
is given in the following paragraphs.
What Are Arbitrary
Waveforms?
Arbitrary waveforms are generated from digital data points which
are stored in memory. Each data point has vertical resolution of 12
bits (4096 points), i.e., each sample is placed on the vertical axis
with a precision of 1/4096.
Arbitrary waveform memory has the capacity to store up to 64K of
horizontal data points (512K optional). Each horizontal point has a
unique address - the first being 00000 and the last 64435. In cases
where smaller wavelengths are required, the Model 3152's
waveform memory can be divided into smaller segments. Then it is
possible to select which segment is sampled, how many times and
in what sequence.
When the instrument is programmed to output arbitrary waveforms,
a clock samples the data points (one at a time) from address 0 to
the last address. The rate at which each sample is replayed is
defined by the sample clock rate parameter. The Model 3152
provides programmable sample clock rates from 100 mHz to 100
MHz.
Unlike the built-in standard waveforms, arbitrary waveforms must
first be loaded into the instrument's memory. Correct memory
management is required for best utilization of the arbitrary memory.
An explanation of how to manage the arbitrary waveform memory
is given in the following paragraphs.
Arbitrary Memory
Management
The Model 3152's arbitrary memory consists of a fixed length of
65,536 words. 1K is always reserved for the built-in standard
waveforms. The maximum size arbitrary waveform that can be
loaded into memory is 64536 points long. A 512K point RAM is
offered as an option in cases where a larger memory bank is
required. For the 512K point option, the maximum waveform size
is 523288 points. It is not always necessary to use the complete
length of this memory. The memory can be partitioned into smaller
segments and different waveforms can be loaded into each
segment. The memory can be partitioned into 4096 segments, each
having a unique length and identity. Minimum segment length is 10
points. Information on how to partition the memory is given in the
following paragraphs.
Summary of Contents for 3152
Page 16: ...Getting Started 1 7 Figure 1 1 Segment 1 Sin x x Waveform Figure 1 2 Segment 2 Sine Waveform...
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Page 80: ...SCPI Command Reference 4 17 Figure 4 1 SCPI Status Registers...
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