User`s guide

iv Agilent E6432A Microwave Synthesizer User’s Guide
In This Book...
In this user guide you will learn about:
• Installation
• Hardware Front Panel Connectors and LEDs
• Soft Front Panel Controls and its Various Pull Down Menus and Dialog Boxes
• Remote Programming with VXIplug&play Functions in C, VEE, or LabVIEW
• Applications and Example Programs
• Specifications and Characteristics
• Getting Additional Help from Agilent Technologies
This user guide prepares you for your first steps in using the Agilent Technologies E6432A
microwave synthesizer in a VXI system. The standard Agilent Technologies E6432A
microwave synthesizer is a C-size, VXI, modular microwave source optimized for system
use that occupies three slots in a VXI mainframe. The arbitrary waveform generators
(ARBs) for generating AM, FM, and Pulse drive signals are external to the synthesizer and
take additional VXI slots.
Fast Response to VXI Host Interface
The synthesizer is based on a drift canceling circuit employing a fast tuning microwave
VCO. In addition, the synthesizer’s assist processor is optimized for fast data throughput
and the phase-locked loops are optimized for fast settling. The resulting frequency
switching times are in the hundreds of microseconds. Settling time for an amplitude
change is similar.
Register Based
To keep the synthesizer's response fast, it is register based with a minimum of "smarts."
This gives the user the maximum amount of flexibility in how the synthesizer is used.
How to proceed…
First, refer to installation to learn about the hardware and software requirements for
using this product. After installing the Agilent Technologies E6432A VXIplug&play driver
software, become familiar with the features available on the hardware front panel
connectors and LEDs. When ready, become familiar with the soft front panel and its
various pull down sub-windows and dialog boxes. Finally, learn how to program with
VXIplug&play functions using C, Agilent Technologies VEE, or National Instruments
LabVIEW.