12-bit dual-channel PCIe card samples at 2x 3.2 Gsample/s
Called the M5i.3321-x16, it features 1 GHz bandwidth front-end amplifiers with programmable full-scale ranges of ±200 mV to ±2.5 V, plus variable offset. Other models in the M5i family offer 2 GHz bandwidth.
Full input capacity can be streamed to the host computer via the unit’s 12.8Gb/s 16-lane PCIe Gen 3 interface – to PC memory for storage or to GPUs based on CUDA for live processing.
“Its ability to stream data, as quickly as it is acquired, directly to the PC environment opens the door for anyone who wants to use the latest CPU and GPU hardware for signal processing and analysis,” said the company’s technical director, Oliver Rovini. “For example, we tested the card running at full speed and performing direct RDMA data transfers to an Nvidia RTX A4000 model GPU. Once there, the GPU, with its 6144 cores, can perform functions such as average continuous for noise reduction and MPoint-FFTs for spectral analysis.This is non-stop processing of all streamed data, even when the digitizer is sampling incoming signals at 3.2 GS/s on both channels.
2Gsamples of memory are provided onboard, with an 8Gsamples option, which can function as a ring buffer, as a transient recorder, or as a FIFO buffer to stream acquired data directly to the bus. It can also be split into segments to record multiple events.
Trigger events are time-stamped and trigger modes include soft, window, reset, logic, and delay.
The front panel features SMA connectors for channel inputs, clock and trigger inputs and outputs, as well as four multifunctional digital I/O lines – clock and trigger connections allow the board to be synchronized with additional digitizers or other measuring devices.
The boards will work with Windows or Linux, and a software development kit allows them to be programmed in languages such as C, C++, C#, Delphi, VB.NET, J#, Python, Julia, Java, LabView and Matlab, as well as driver libraries and programming examples.
For users who don’t want to write their own code, the company offers board control, data display, analysis, storage, and documentation through its SBench 6 Professional.
It also has a software package for CUDA GPUs, called SCAPP, which allows users to develop their own processing routines. It includes drivers and working examples.
It is made in Germany and comes with a five-year warranty.
Applications are anticipated with fiber optics, mass spectrometry, semiconductor testing, RF logging, AI, radar, lidar, communications, astronomy, and quantum technology.