Sweep frequency with NI 5673E

[1111111111111111]

Hello! I'm want use NI 5673E generator. In the examples I found the "frequency sweep" example for 5673E.  

My question is: what is the maximum speed of the generator can sweep. How to estimate time the frequency sweep program? For example, I have the frequency range from 2 GHz to 3 GHz, step 1 MHz. How long will it take?How much is the shortest time it can

sweep the frequency with step = 1 MHz, 0.1MHz? Milliseconds, microseconds can nanosecond?

[Chris-NI · Accepted solution]

Hello,

Using RF List Mode on your PXIe-5673E will be the most efficient approach for your sweeping application.  The smallest step time you can get is 5 us on this hardware.  However, the speed at which you sweep should be a factor of your specific requirements, such as frequency and power accuracy (more tuning time needed for better performance).  Larger step sizes will require more tuning time for equivalent performance.  It is also worth noting that the maximum amount of steps (limited by onboard memory) in List Mode is 250.  This means that you'd need to reconfigure your sweep after 250 MHz (1 MHz/step * 250 steps) in software.  At that point, your total sweep time will be a function of your computer performance.

I would recommend you take a look at the PXIe-5673E's specifications starting on page 5 to read about tuning times.  Also, here is a link to the deprecated documentation we have online for RF List Mode:

Configuration List - http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/371025K-01/TOC112.htm

For the most up to date and complete documentation on RF List Mode, please refer to your computer's RFSG help documentation.

Regards,

[1111111111111111]

Thank you very much for your help. I will investigate.

[Chris-NI]

My pleasure.  I wanted to provide a quick update on some additional information I've come across since posting:

As of RFSG 1.7 and later, List Mode is no longer limited to 250 steps.  A software layer using DMA now allows more points to be specified (limited only by your PC's RAM).

Regards,

[1111111111111111]

Yes, today I made a sweep of more than 250 steps. I'm using version RFSG 1.7.3.