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FPGA-Based Reconfigurable Measurement Instruments with Functionality Defined by User

Abstract

Using the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) with embedded software-core processor and/or digital signal processor cores, we are able to construct a hardware kernel for measurement instruments, which can fit common electronic measurement and test requirements. We call this approach the software-defined instrumentation (SDI). By properly configuring, we have used the hardware kernel to implement an-channel arbitrary waveform generator with various add-on functions, a wideband and precise network analyzer, a high-speed signal digitizer, and a real-time sweep spectrum analyzer. With adaptively reconfiguring the hardware kernel, SDI concept can easily respond to the rapidly changing user-application-specified needs in measurement and test markets.

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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Tsai, GR., Lin, MC. FPGA-Based Reconfigurable Measurement Instruments with Functionality Defined by User. EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process. 2006, 084340 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1155/ASP/2006/84340

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