New serial-data standards are operating at continuously rising speeds. Yet most patterngenerator solutions are either limited in their capabilities or very costly. Now, a pair of pattern generators is promising to provide solid performance at reasonable prices. The 8-GHz model 12040 and 12.5-GHz model 12050 pattern generators boast a 20-ps 10-to-90-percent rise time that ensures low-distortion data patterns. Output levels are programmable from 250 mV to 2 V. In addition, the instruments' offset voltage is programmable within a 2-to-+3-V window. The pattern generators flaunt a 35-percent to 65-percent programmable crossing point. Users may select from pre-defined PRBS patterns or programmable user-defined data patterns as large as 512 kb. The 12040 and 12050 include a large front-panel, touchscreen graphical user interface (GUI) and Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) port for ease of connectivity to a personal computer. They offer a DCcoupled differential output and both clock and trigger outputs. Applications for these pattern generators include telecommunications systems, serial-data, highspeed- component, and high-speed-device testing. P&A: starting at $25,945.
Picosecond Pulse Labs, Inc., 2500 55th St., Boulder, CO 80301; (303) 443-1249, FAX: (303) 447-2236, Internet: www.picosecond.com.