Moore’s Law and Modular Instrument Technology Speaker/Author:Paul Packebush Senior Group Manager Corporate Metrology, R&D National Instruments N Mopac Expwy Austin, TX 78759

2 Moore’s Law: Alive and Well at Intel Moore’s Law: the number of transistors on a chip roughly doubles every two years

3 Impact of Moore’s Law Inexpensive memory Higher speed processing Rise of programming languages

4 Moore’s Law for Instrumentation VXI PXIe cRIO

5 Modular Instrumentation

6 Resolution (Bits) K10K100K1M10M100M1G10G100G Frequency (Hz) NI PXI ½-digit FlexDMM NI PXI-5922, 24-bit, 15 MS/s Agilent 6030A, 15-bit, 500MHz Phase Matrix 26.5 GHz Signal Analyzer PXI Measurement Capability More than 1,500 Instruments from 60+ Vendors

7 Modular Instrument Architecture Instrument Module and I/O Communication Bus Processing and Memory Instrument Driver Software Application Software Operating System (OS) PXIe, PCI, USB, Ethernet, etc. CPU, FPGA, etc. DLL,.NET, etc. LabVIEW, C#, VB, etc. Instrumentation Platform

8 Instrument Modules Modular Instruments are available in an array of form factors:  PXI/PXIe, Ethernet, PCI, USB, cPCI, AXIe,...

9 Instrument Platforms Platforms required to calibrate modules are typically made up of a module specific chassis and controller  Costs of chassis and controllers can range from $1k to $20k

10 Connectivity Small form factors require high density connectors Semi-ridged and custom Module to Module connectivity

11 Example Calibration Station Hybrid PXI/PXIe Chassis connected via MXI PCI, PCIe, PC Card USB, Firewire, etc. Ethernet Other Instruments and Platforms USB GPIB Calibration standards or other DUTs

12 Instrument Driver – Traditional GPIB Driver Calibration Software Mfg A Instrument 1 Mfg A Instrument 1 Mfg A Instrument 2 Mfg A Instrument 2 Mfg B Instrument 1 Mfg B Instrument 1 Mfg B Instrument 2 Mfg B Instrument 2

13 Instrument Driver – Modular Instruments Calibration Software Mfg A Instrument 1 Mfg A Instrument 1 Mfg A Instrument 2 Mfg A Instrument 2 Mfg B Instrument 1 Mfg B Instrument 1 Mfg B Instrument 2 Mfg B Instrument 2 MFG A PXI Driver 1 MFG A PXI Driver 1 MFG B PXI Driver MFG B PXI Driver MFG A PXI Driver 2 MFG A PXI Driver 2

14 Vendor Supplied Application Software Soft Front PanelOff-the-Shelf Application Software

15 Custom Calibration Software Instrument supplier must provide:  Clearly written calibration procedure Required platforms and connectivity Required calibration standards Supported software development ADEs  Driver and configuration software  Driver capable of measurement adjustment  Software development support Laboratory must have:  Software development skills  Development and verification process  Time

16 Application Software for Calibration SoftwareProsCons Soft Front Panel (SFP) Easy to use No development costs Familiar interface (buttons and knobs) Limited capabilities for verification No adjustment capabilities Unknown measurement methods Cannot automate Off-the-Shelf Application No development costs Immediately available Software maintenance Easy to use Procedures and software supported and verified by vendor Purchase price Software maintenance costs Flexibility of standards Custom Application Expose full capabilities Automated procedure Flexibility of standards Procedure control Incorporation into existing systems In-house development Time investment Manpower investment Software maintenance Integration time Software testing

17 Modular Instrument Repair Typical repair is only at the module level  Identify and replace damaged instrument module e.g. entire PXIe module Circuit repair is often reserved for manufacturer  Requires custom test fixtures, software and stations Minor maintenance is sometimes possible  Replace fuses  Cleaning fans

18 Modular Instrument Architecture Instrument Module and I/O Communication Bus Processing and Memory Instrument Driver Software Application Software Operating System (OS) PXIe, PCI, USB, Ethernet, etc. CPU, FPGA, etc. DLL,.NET, etc. LabVIEW, C#, VB, etc. Instrumentation Platform