AlazarTech ATS9360 User Manual
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AlazarTech ATS9360 User Manual

12 bit, 1.8 gs/s waveform digitizer for pci express gen2 bus
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ATS9360 User Manual
12 Bit, 1.8 GS/s
Waveform Digitizer for PCI Express Gen2 Bus
Written for Hardware Version 1.2
April 2013 Edition
Part Number: 9360-USR-1

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  • Page 1 ATS9360 User Manual 12 Bit, 1.8 GS/s Waveform Digitizer for PCI Express Gen2 Bus Written for Hardware Version 1.2 April 2013 Edition Part Number: 9360-USR-1...
  • Page 3 Canada H9R 4S2 Telephone: (514) 426-4899 Fax: (514) 426-2723 E-mail: info@alazartech.com Web site: www.alazartech.com To comment on the documentation for ATS9360, send e-mail to support@alazartech.com. Information required when contacting AlazarTech for technical support: Owned by: ___________________________ Serial Number: ___________________________ Purchase Date:...
  • Page 4 Important Information Warranty The ATS9360 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. AlazarTech, Inc. will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during the warranty period.
  • Page 5 Warning Regarding Use of AlazarTech Products ALAZARTECH, INC. PRODUCTS ARE NOT DESIGNED WITH COMPONENTS AND TESTING FOR A LEVEL OF RELIABILITY SUITABLE FOR USE IN OR IN CONNECTION WITH SURGICAL IMPLANTS OR AS CRITICAL COMPONENTS IN ANY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS WHOSE FAILURE TO PERFORM CAN REASONABLY BE EXPECTED TO CAUSE SIGNIFICANT INJURY TO A HUMAN.

  • Page 6: Compliance

    Classification requirements are the same for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Canadian Department of Communications (DOC). Changes or modifications not expressly approved by AlazarTech Inc. could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under the FCC Rules.
  • Page 7 To obtain the DoC for this product, click Declaration of Conformity at http://www.alazartech.com/support/documents.htm. This web page lists all DoCs by product family. Select the appropriate product to download or read the DoC.

  • Page 8: Table Of Contents

    CHAPTER 2 - INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION...9 What You Need to Get Started ..........10 Unpacking ..................11 Installing the ATS9360 ...............12 Installing the ATS9360 in a Linux System........20 Compiling the ATS9360 Linux Driver .........21 Updating ATS9360 Driver ............22 CHAPTER 3 - HARDWARE OVERVIEW........24 Input Connectors ................26...

  • Page 9: Chapter 1 - Introduction

    Chapter 1 - Introduction This chapter describes the ATS9360 and lists additional equipment. ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 10: About Your Ats9360

    About Your ATS9360 Thank you for your purchase of an ATS9360. This PCI Express (PCIe Gen2 x8) based waveform digitizer has the following features:  Two 12-bit resolution analog input channels  Real-time sampling rate of 1.8 GS/s to 1 KS/s with internal clock and 1.8 GS/s to 300 MS/s with external...
  • Page 11 All ATS9360 digitizers follow industry-standard Plug and Play specifications on all platforms and offer seamless integration with compliant systems. Detailed specifications of the ATS9360 digitizers are listed in Appendix A, Specifications. ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 12: Acquiring Data With Your Ats9360

    You can acquire data either programmatically by writing an application for your ATS9360 or interactively with the AlazarDSO software for Windows. If you want to integrate the ATS9360 in your test and measurement or embedded OEM application, you can program the digitizer using C/C++, MATLAB or LabVIEW for Windows or C for Linux operating systems.
  • Page 13 Interactively Controlling your ATS9360 with AlazarDSO The AlazarDSO oscilloscope emulation software for Windows allows you to interactively control your ATS9360 as you would a desktop oscilloscope. To launch the AlazarDSO, select Start » Programs » AlazarTech » AlazarDSO The following screen will be displayed. If you connect the input to a signal generator and click on Start button, you should see the signal on the screen.
  • Page 14 ATS-SDK API The ATS-SDK, sold separately, API is used for programming the ATS9360 in C/C++ and MATLAB. It provides the exact same API that is used for writing AlazarDSO software. To help you get started, ATS-SDK comes with examples you can use or modify.
  • Page 15 Sample programs are supplied in C. The API is identical to the Windows API. Note that you will need to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement with AlazarTech in order for the source code of the drivers to be shared with you. ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 16: Optional Upgrades

    Optional Upgrades AlazarTech offers the following upgrades and accessories for use with your ATS9360 digitizer:  ATS9360: Standard External Clock Upgrade (300MHz to 1.8 GHz)  ATS9360: Screened External Clock Upgrade (75MHz to 1.8GHz)  AlazarDSO – Stream To Disk Module ...

  • Page 17: Chapter 2 - Installation And Configuration

    Chapter 2 - Installation and Configuration This chapter describes how to unpack, install, and configure your ATS9360. ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 18: What You Need To Get Started

    What You Need to Get Started To set up and use your ATS9360, you will need the following:  One or more ATS9360 digitizers  ATS9360 Installation Software on USB Disk ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 19: Unpacking

     Remove the digitizer from the package and inspect the digitizer for loose components or any other sign of damage. Notify AlazarTech if the digitizer appears damaged in any way. Do not install a damaged digitizer into your computer. ...

  • Page 20: Installing The Ats9360

    Installing the ATS9360 There are four main steps involved in installation: 1. Physically install the digitizer(s) in your computer. 2. Install ATS9360 software driver 3. Install AlazarDSO software that allows you to setup the hardware, acquire signals and view and archive them 4.
  • Page 21 8-lane ATS9360 card is compatible with any 8-lane or 16-lane connector on the motherboard. Make sure that your computer is powered off before you attempt to insert the ATS9360 digitizer in one of the free PCI Express slots. For best noise immunity, leave as much room as possible between your ATS9360 and other hardware.
  • Page 22 Install ATS9360 software driver The following instructions guide you through the process of installing the ATS9360 in a computer running Windows 8, 7, Vista or Windows XP operating systems. Other operating systems, such as Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 95 and Windows 98SE and Linux are not covered here.
  • Page 23 Windows operating system will detect the presence of a new PCI express card and will attempt to install the device driver if found on the computer. a) If the ATS9360 device driver is not found, Windows will display the following dialog box Click Close.
  • Page 24 Autorun.exe program on the USB flash drive. The following splash screen will be displayed. Click Install ATS9360 Driver. c) After clicking on Install ATS9360 Driver, Windows will display the Welcome to the AlazarTech ATS9360 Device Driver Installer Click Next.
  • Page 25 ATS9360 driver files in the operating system driver store. The following final screen will confirm that the driver has been installed. Now your ATS9360 is fully installed and is ready to use. ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 26 Install AlazarDSO software that allows you to setup the hardware, acquire signals and view and archive them If you are installing from the USB flash drive shipped with the ATS9360 digitizer, run the Autorun.exe:  Click on Install AlazarDSO ...
  • Page 27 ATS-SDK-Setup-6.1.0.exe or ATS-VI-Setup-6.1.0.exe for the respective programs. Follow the instructions on the screen. Note that you must have already installed the ATS9360 drivers for any of the sample programs included with the ATS-SDK or ATS-VI to work properly. ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 28: Installing The Ats9360 In A Linux System

    Installing the ATS9360 in a Linux System ATS9360 is fully compatible with the popular Linux operating system. AlazarTech supplies binary drivers that have been tested under CentOS 6.3 x86_64 with kernel 2.6.32- 279.5.2.el6.x86_64, which is binary compatible with RHEL 6.3.

  • Page 29: Compiling The Ats9360 Linux Driver

    Compiling the ATS9360 Linux Driver If you need to compile the ATS9360 driver for a version of Linux other than CentOS 6.3, follow these steps: 1. Install the Linux kernel header files. 2. Extract the driver sources using the command "PlxLinux_ATS9360_5.6.15.tgz ".

  • Page 30: Updating Ats9360 Driver

    This section of the manual takes you through the steps required to update the device driver for the ATS9360 PCI Express waveform digitizer. In other words, this section shows you how to install a newer version of the driver, when you already have a previous version of the driver installed on your machine.
  • Page 31 4. The following dialog box will be displayed showing the progress of installation of ATS9360 driver files. 5. The following final screen will confirm that the driver has been installed. a. Click Finish. ATS9360 driver has now been updated ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 32: Chapter 3 - Hardware Overview

    Chapter 3 - Hardware Overview This chapter includes an overview of the ATS9360, explains the operation of each functional unit making up your ATS9360, and describes the signal connections. Following is a high-level block diagram of ATS9360. ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 33 ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 34: Input Connectors

    Input Connectors ATS9360 digitizers have five SMA connectors, one for ECLK (External Clock) Input, two for CH A and CH B analog input connections, one for the TRIG IN (External Trigger) input and one for AUX I/O (Auxiliary Input or Output).

  • Page 35: Signal Connections

    Use the TRIG IN input for an external trigger only; data on the TRIG channel cannot be digitized. If External Clock Upgrade is installed on your ATS9360, use the ECLK input for clocking the ATS9360 in applications that require an external clock. Consult the chapter...

  • Page 36: Analog Input

    For accurate measurements, make sure the signal being measured is referenced to the same ground as your ATS9360 by attaching the cable’s ground shield to the signal ground. The External Trigger input (labeled TRIG IN) has a ±2.5 V analog Input range with 50input impedance, or a 3.3V or...
  • Page 37 Appendix A, Specifications. Multiple Record Acquisition The ATS9360 allows the capture of multiple records into the on-board memory. This allows you to capture rapidly occurring triggers in OCT, ultrasound or radar applications.

  • Page 38: Calibration

    Externally recalibrate the ATS9360 when this calibration interval has expired. This requires three very simple steps: 1. Verify whether or not ATS9360 is still within its specifications. If it is, then your calibration can be extended by another one-year period 2.

  • Page 39: Optional External Clock

    Optional External Clock ATS9360 PCI Express Digitizer optionally allows you to supply the ADC clock. This option is extremely important in many RF applications in which phase measurements must be made between the inputs themselves or between the inputs and an external event.
  • Page 40 The unique Dummy Clock Switchover capability of ATS9360 allows the sampling clock to be switched to a nominal 250 MHz clock while the user-supplied clock is out of specification.
  • Page 41 Reference clock frequency must be 10 MHz +/- 0.25 MHz. Amplitude can be a ±200mV sine or square wave. In 10 MHz PLL external clock mode, the ATS9360 can generate any sample clock frequency between 300 MHz and 1800 MHz that is a multiple of 1 MHz.

  • Page 42: Streaming Using Data Fifo

    Streaming Data Across the Bus One of the most unique features of the ATS9360 is its on- board, dual-port FIFO and the associated Dual-DMA engine. This combined by the advanced, fully asynchronous software driver allows data transfer to host PC memory without any appreciable “in-process”...
  • Page 43 2048 bytes (a paltry 2 MB/s throughput). In other words, digitizers that specify raw data throughput of 100 MB/s can hardly handle 2MB/s effective throughput due to operating system related delays in issuing re-arm commands. ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 44 A PCI or PCI Express digitizer being used in a PRF or streaming application is, by definition, doing “burst DMA for lengthy period”, and is a type of product that can negatively impact response times of the RTOS. ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 45 This requires a software handshake which is heavily dependent on the operating system response time. ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 46 ATS9360 solves this problem by providing a FIFO and an advanced dual-DMA engine that can stream data to PC host memory at up to 3.5 GB/s (exact rate is motherboard dependent). Bottom line is that software does not have to wait until the end of data capture to read the acquired data.
  • Page 47 ATS9360’s proprietary AutoDMA circuitry allows the acquisition system to be re-armed by a hardware command and data transfer to be initiated by the hardware itself, thus removing virtually all “in-process”...
  • Page 48 NPT AutoDMA can easily acquire data to PC host memory at the maximum sustained transfer rate of the motherboard without causing an overflow. This is the recommended mode of operation for most ultrasonic scanning, OCT and medical imaging applications. ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 49 In this mode, data starts streaming across the PCIe bus as soon as the ATS9360 is armed for acquisition. It is important to note that triggering is disabled in this mode. Continuous AutoDMA buffers do not include headers, so it is not possible to get trigger time-stamps.
  • Page 50 This is the recommended mode for RF signal recording that has to be started at a specific time, e.g. based on a GPS pulse. ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 51 No programming is required. Note, however, that the speed with which data can be stored to memory will be limited by the lower of: 1. ATS9360 Bus Throughput (3.5 GB/s) 2. PCI Express throughput supported by the motherboard 3.
  • Page 52 CAPACITY WRITE SPEED RAM Disk Few 10’s GB > 5.0 GB/s PCIe SSD Upto 800 GB ~ 1.4 GB/s RAID SSD 2 TB 2.8 GB/s RAID HDD SAS 40 TB 2.3 GB/s ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 53: Appendix A - Specifications

    Appendix A - Specifications This appendix lists the specifications of the ATS9360. These specifications are typical at 25 °C unless otherwise stated. The operating temperature range is 0 to 50 °C. System Requirements Personal computer with at least one free x8 or x16 PCI Express slot (must be...
  • Page 54 There is no upper limit on the maximum record length. Number of Records Software selectable from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of infinite number of records Pre-trigger depth From 0 to 4096 Post-trigger depth Record Length – Pre-Trigger Depth ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 55 Dynamic Parameters Typical values measured on the 200 mV range of CH A of a randomly selected ATS9360. Input signal was provided by a Marconi 2018A signal generator, followed by a 9-pole, 10 MHz band-pass filter (TTE Q36T-10M- 1M-50-720BMF). Input frequency was set at 9.9 MHz and output amplitude was 135 mV rms, which was approximately 95% of the full scale input.
  • Page 56 This implies that the trigger system may not trigger reliably if the input has an amplitude less than ±10% of full-scale input range selected Trigger level accuracy ±5%, typical, of full-scale input range of the selected trigger source ATS9360 User Manual...
  • Page 57 (single channel mode) Certification and Compliances CE Mark Compliance Materials Supplied One ATS9360 PCI Express Card One ATS9360 Install Disk on USB flash drive One ATS9360 User Manual All specifications are subject to change without notice ATS9360 User Manual...

  • Page 58: Appendix B - Benchmarks

     Given the constantly changing nature of computers, these benchmarks are provided as a reference only and AlazarTech assumes no liability in case the computer you purchase behaves differently than what was observed in AlazarTech’s laboratory. Model...
  • Page 60 ALAZAR TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6600 Trans-Canada Highway, Suite 310 Pointe-Claire, QC CANADA H9R 4S2 Tel: (514) 426-4899 Fax: (514) 426-2723 E-mail: info@alazartech.com Web: www.alazartech.com...

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