Military &

Aerospace
Applications in
RF

Agenda
Synthetic Instrumentation
Field Test
Radar
Flight Termination System
Software Defined Radio with FPGA Technology
Frequency Extensions to 26.5 GHz
Declassification & Data Sanitization
Long Term Product Support

Synthetic Instrumentation
A reconfigurable system that links a series of elemental
hardware and software components with standardized
interfaces to generate signals or make measurements
using numeric processing techniques.
Synthetic Instrument

Source: Synthetic Instrumentation Working Group

Virtual Instrumentation
Virtual instrument system
(n.): Software-defined
system, where software
based on user requirements
defines the functionality of
generic measurement
hardware

Source: National Instruments

Industry Trend to Software-Based Systems

From the Department of Defense:

Recent commercial technology allows for the

development of synthetic instruments that can be
configured in real time to perform various test
functions.A single synthetic instrument can
replace numerous single function instruments
thereby reducing the logistics footprint and solving
obsolescence problems.
Report to Congress on the activities of the DoD Office of Technology
Transition, February 2002

Traditional vs. Virtual Instrumentation

GSM Tester
WLAN Tester

All in one
PXI platform!

Spectrum

Radio Tester
Power Meter
RFID Tester
Images courtesy of Agilent, Tektronix, R&S, Anritsu

MultiProtocol
UUT

Lower cost
Higher performance
Smaller size
Flexibility
Easy upgrades
User-defined

Features of RF for Field Testing

Form Factor & Size
Cost
Operating Temperature Range
Data Streaming with RAID technology
COTS integration with laptops
Software Flexibility

PXI vs. GPIB

Reduce system size
by 90% and increase
wallet size by 100%
with the NI modular
instrumentation.

NI Solution: $39,545
.67 ft3 (.019 m3)

Traditional Solution: $82,972

6.12 ft3 (.1734 m3)

PXI Data Streaming Capabilities

Device memory
BW = 2 GB/s, Depth = 512 MB

Controller memory
BW = 110 MB/s, Depth = 4 GB

Controller hard drives

BW = 110 MB/s, Depth = 2 TB

Direct-to-disk controllers
BW = 120 MB/s, Depth = 3.2 TB

Additional Field Testing Features

0 to 55 C operating temperature &
-40 to 71 C storage temperature
Hardware calibration controlled
with built-in IC sensors
2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7400
dual-core processor controllers
Portable PXI DC
Touch screen LCD option
Chassis &
Controller
Laptop control option
RAID Disk
GPS time stamping & location
Streaming
(optional)
with PXI-6682

RF Analyzer

15
Touch
Screen
LCD
GPS Time &
Location
Stamping

Spectrum Monitoring & Interference Analysis With

High Speed I/Q Recording
OASIS by Summitek Instruments
OASIS Streaming System enables high
speed I/Q recording for up to 8.5 hours
Perform unattended data logging for
hours, days or weeks for later analysis
A 20MHz instantaneous bandwidth can
be recorded at frequencies up to 7.2 GHz
Multiple Streaming Systems can be
deployed in a single chassis.
Integrated GPS timestamps and location.
Export data for demodulation and signal
characteristics analysis.
Includes power spectrum playback tool

Radar Applications
Customize pulse profiles including
rise time and fall time
AM, FM, PM modulation
Scripting for memory space
savings and flexibility
Calculate transmit to receive
delay with PXI timing and
synchronization platform
Hardware delays as small as 25
nanoseconds for Doppler effect
with PCI-5640R

Demonstration of RADAR chirp generation

Leveraging the Modular Instruments Platform

Common use/features

SMC Advantages

Quickly deploy new ADCs, DACs

Scalability across bus technologies

PXI_CLK10

PXI Bus

PXI_StarTrig
PXI_Trig(0:7)

SMC (Synchronization
and Memory Core)
Timing and Synchronization
Engine
Deep Onboard Memory

PCI Bus

NI MITE
PCI
Interface

Data
Movement
Core

Analog or
Digital
Front-End
DataStream
FPGA

Synchronization Phase Lock

100 MHz clocks not phase locked
Module 1 Clock

Module 2 Clock
PXI Reference Clock

10 MHz Ref clock

PLL
Module 1 Clock
PLL
Module 2 Clock

100 MHz clocks synchronized from

10 MHz Ref clock via PLL

Picosecond-level Accuracy with Trigger Clock (TClk)

The TClk protocol
1. The master will send the Start Trigger
only on the falling edge of its TClk,
once trigger conditions have been
met.
2. All the slaves as well as the master
will start acquisition on the
immediate next rising edge of each
TClk.

KOR Electronics Electronic Environment Simulator

Challenge
Generate up to 10 precise synchronized pulse trains of
varying pulse widths, amplitudes, periods and lengths to
simulate a RADAR environment.

Products
PXI-5421, PXI Triggering

Results
NI-TClk enables very tight synchronization between
modules to generate complex signals with
100 MS/s precision.

Flight Termination System

Implemented in all missiles and rockets as a safety
precaution to protect civilians
Activated by Range Safety Officer (RSO)
Uses a coded FM radio signal
FTS can be tested by PXI-5671 to generate pattern of
tones and intervals leveraging AWG features
Low cost and flexible solution compared to existing
hardware for FTS test

Demonstration of FTS Signal Simulation

Software Defined Radio with Reconfigurable FPGA

PCI-5640R IF RIO board
Xilinx FPGA for user-definable
reconfigurable processing
LabVIEW FPGA designs I/O
2 input channels, 100 MS/s, 14 bits
with built-in digital downconversion
2 output channels, 200 MS/s, 14 bits
with built-in digital upconversion
250 kHz to 80 MHz analog frequency
range
Direct memory access (DMA) for data
streaming

NI,BAE, & PMI Joint SI Alliance

PMI

BAE

RF/MW :
SI subsys. supplier: Up/Down Converter
SI DSP Software,
Technology to
SI Calibration,
26.5GHz
& Integration

NI
SW & Modular HW:
LabVIEW/LabWindows,
PXI Platform,
High Speed I/O,
& Digitizers

PXI 26 GHz Downconverter (3U)

Declassification & Data Sanitization

Defense Security Service (DSS)
requires declassification
procedure to remove hardware
from classified area
All memory and drive devices
must remove secure information
NI provides complete
declassification procedures on NI
Developer Zone website for RF
and modular instruments

Obsolescence of Products
Semiconductor technology rapidly outdates
components and devices
NIs approach uses Form, Fit, Functional migration
for hardware and software
Provide similar feature sets for easy upgrade replacements
Software preserved and hardware connectors preserved or
adapted for older systems

Scope migration ex: NI 5102 to NI 5112 to NI 5114

National Instruments
Has a Long History of
Continuity

TestStand
PXI
VXI
LabWindows/CVI
LabVIEW

Instrument Control Interfaces

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010