Agilent Technologies E8311A User manual

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Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern
Generators
Installation Guide

Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000
Notice
Copyright
 Agilent Technologies 1999, 2000. All rights reserved.
No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form or
by any means (including electronic storage and retrieval
or translation into a foreign language without prior
agreement and written consent from Agilent Technologies
Inc. as governed by United States and international
copyright laws.
Notice
The material contained in this document is subject to
change without notice. Agilent Technologies makes no
warranty of any kind with regard to this material,
including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Agilent Technologies shall not be liable for errors
contained herein or for incidental or consequential
damages in connection with the furnishing, performance,
or use of this material.
Warranty
This Agilent Technologies product has a warranty against
defects in material and workmanship for a period of three
years from date of shipment. During the warranty period,
Agilent Technologies will, at its option, either repair or
replace products that prove to be defective. For warranty
service or repair, this product must be returned to a
service facility designated by Agilent Technologies. The
Buyer shall pay Agilent Technologies round-trip travel
expenses. For products returned to Agilent Technologies
for warranty service, the Buyer shall prepay shipping
charges to Agilent Technologies and Agilent Technologies
shall pay shipping charges to return the product to the
Buyer. However, the Buyer shall pay all shipping charges,
duties and taxes for products returned to Agilent
Technologies from another country.
Agilent Technologies warrants that its software and
firmware designated by Agilent Technologies for use with
an instrument will execute its programming instructions
when properly installed on that instrument. Agilent
Technologies does not warrant that the operation of the
instrument software, or firmware, will be uninterrupted or
error free.
Limitation of Warranty
The foregoing warranty shall not apply to defects resulting
from improper or inadequate maintenance by the Buyer,
Buyer-supplied software or interfacing, unauthorized
modification or misuse, operation outside of the
environmental specifications for the product, or improper
site preparation or maintenance. No other warranty is
expressed or implied. Agilent Technologies specifically
disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability and
fitness for a particular purpose.
Exclusive Remedies
The remedies supplied are the Buyer's sole and exclusive
remedies. Agilent Technologies shall not be liable for any
direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential
damages, whether based on contract, tort or any other
legal theory.
Certification
Agilent Technologies certifies that this product met its
published specifications at the time of shipment. Agilent
Technologies further certifies that its calibration
measurements are traceable to the United States Institute
of Standards and Technology, to the extent allowed by the
Institute's calibrating facility, and to the calibration
facilities of other International Standards Organization
members.
Services and Support
Any adjustment, maintenance, or repair of this product
must be performed by qualified personnel. Contact your
customer engineer through your local Agilent
Technologies Service Center. You can find a list of local
service representatives on the Web at:
http://www.agilent.com/Service/English/index.html
Safety Summary
The following general safety precautions must be
observed during all phases of operation of this instrument.
Failure to comply with these precautions or with specific
warnings elsewhere in this manual violates safety
standards of design, manufacture, and intended use of the
instrument. Agilent Technologies Inc. assumes no liability
for the customer's failure to comply with these
requirements.
General
This product is a Safety Class 1 instrument (provided with
a protective earth terminal . The protective features of this
product may be impaired if it is used in a manner not
specified in the operation instructions.
All Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs used in this product are
Class 1 LEDs as per IEC 60825-1.
Environmental Conditions
This instrument is intended for indoor use in an
installation category II, pollution degree 2 environment. It
is designed to operate at a maximum relative humidity of
95% and at altitudes of up to 2000 meters. Refer to the
specifications tables for the ac mains voltage requirements
and ambient operating temperature range.
Before Applying Power
Verify that the product is set to match the available line
voltage, the correct fuse is installed, and all safety
precautions are taken. Note the instrument's external
markings described under “Safety Symbols” on page 8.
Ground the Instrument
To minimize shock hazard, the instrument chassis and
cover must be connected to an electrical protective earth
ground. The instrument must be connected to the ac
power mains through a grounded power cable, with the
ground wire firmly connected to an electrical ground
(safety ground at the power outlet. Any interruption of
the protective (grounding conductor or disconnection of
the protective earth terminal will cause a potential shock
hazard that could result in personal injury.
Fuses
Only fuses with the required rated current, voltage, and
specified type (normal blow, time delay, etc. should be
used. Do not use repaired fuses or short-circuited fuse
holders. To do so could cause a shock or fire hazard.
Do Not Operate in an Explosive Atmosphere
Do not operate the instrument in the presence of
flammable gases or fumes.
Do Not Remove the Instrument Cover
Operating personnel must not remove instrument covers.
Component replacement and internal adjustments must be
made only by qualified service personnel.
Instruments that appear damaged or defective should be
made inoperative and secured against unintended
operation until they can be repaired by qualified service
personnel.
Safety Symbols
Caution (refer to accompanying documents
Protective earth (ground) terminal
In the manuals:
WARNING
Warnings call attention to a procedure, practice, or the like,
which, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could
result in personal injury or loss of life. Do not proceed
beyond a Warning until the indicated conditions are fully
understood and met.
CAUTION
Cautions call attention to a procedure, practice, or the like,
which, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could
result in damage to or destruction of part or all of the
equipment. Do not proceed beyond a Caution until the
indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

Contents
Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000 3
Contents
Introducing the Agilent E8311/12A Pulse and Pattern
Generators 5
What You Can Do with the Agilent E8311/12A 6
Basic Features 6
Automated Testing 6
The Front Panels 7
Front Panel Agilent E8311A 7
Front Panel Agilent E8312A 8
Inputs and Outputs 9
LEDs on the Front Panel 10
Installing the Agilent E8311/12A 11
Selecting a Mainframe Slot 12
Setting Logical Addresses of the VXI Instruments 13
Installing the Instrument in the Mainframe 14
Installing the Software 15

Contents
4Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000

Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000 5
Introducing the Agilent E8311/12A Pulse
and Pattern Generators
The purpose of this introductory chapter is to give a general overview of
the Agilent E8311A and Agilent E8312A VXI instruments.
The main features and methods of use are described in “What You Can
Do with the Agilent E8311/12A” on page 6.
The front panels with their inputs and outputs are depicted and
described in “The Front Panels” on page 7.
For detailed information on how to program the instruments, please
refer to the Quick Start Guide (pdf file . To view or print this manual,
open the Windows Start menu and select Programs – Vxipnp –
Agilent E8311/12A – Quick Start Guide.

Introducing the Agilent E8311/12A Pulse and Pattern Generators What You Can Do with the Agilent E8311/12A
6Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000
What You Can Do with the
Agilent E8311/12A
This section introduces the basic features and methods of use of the
Agilent E8311A VXI instrument. Reference is made to the differences
between the Agilent E8311A and the Agilent E8312A instruments.
Basic Features
The Pulse and Pattern Generators generate all the standard pulses and
digital patterns needed to test all current logic technologies (for
example, TTL, CMOS, ECL, PECL, LVDS, GTL and other digital designs
up to 165 MHz with the Agilent E8311A instrument and up to 330 MHz
with the Agilent E8312A instrument.
The instruments feature two internal oscillators:
• a synchronously triggerable internal oscillator
• an accurate, stable internal PLL
For even more accuracy, an external frequency reference can be
connected.
The instruments provide a reliable and wide range of signals. Any timing
parameter can be varied without glitch and drop out. This contributes to
more accurate and reliable characterizations of the device under test
(DUT .
With the Agilent E8311A the output channels can be used separately or
be added to form complex signals such as multi-level waveforms (analog
channel add .
Automated Testing
Using the VXIplug&play driver commands, the new product can be
easily integrated into all phases of test-system development such as
planning rack integration and test program generation. These benefits
combined with the low cost of ownership make the Agilent E8311/12A an
invaluable instrument for a wide range of technical applications.

The Front Panels Introducing the Agilent E8311/12A Pulse and Pattern Generators
Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000 7
The Front Panels
This section shows the front panels of both Agilent E8311A and E8312A
instruments and describes their input and output connectors.
Front Panel Agilent E8311A
The following figure shows the front panel of the Agilent E8311A with its
input and output connectors.

Introducing the Agilent E8311/12A Pulse and Pattern Generators The Front Panels
8Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000
Front Panel Agilent E8312A
The following figure shows the front panel of the Agilent E8312A with its
input and output connectors.

The Front Panels Introducing the Agilent E8311/12A Pulse and Pattern Generators
Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000 9
Inputs and Outputs
The major inputs and outputs of the instruments Agilent E8311A and
Agilent E8312A are:
(For more details, please refer to “Using the Agilent E8311/12A” in the
Quick Start Guide.
•EXTERNAL IN
Can be used to connect an external arming source (triggered or gated
modes and to generate leading and trailing edges (external width
mode .
• CLOCK/REF IN
Can be used to connect either an external clock signal or a reference
signal for the internal PLL if a higher frequency accuracy than 0.01% is
required.
• STROBE OUT
Is used only in burst and in pattern mode.
– In burst mode the strobe output rises at the start of the first pulse
period and falls at the start of the last pulse period.
– In pattern mode the strobe output can be programmed for each bit.
You can set the output levels to TTL or ECL.
• TRIGGER OUT
Marks the start of each pulse period.
You can set the output levels to TTL or ECL.
•OUTPUT
–Agilent E8311A:
The output connectors provide the normal signal output for
channel 1 and channel 2.
–Agilent E8312A:
The output connectors provide the normal and inverted signal
outputs for channel 1 and channel 2.

Introducing the Agilent E8311/12A Pulse and Pattern Generators The Front Panels
10 Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000
LEDs on the Front Panel
The LEDs on the front panel are:
• “Failed” LED
This red LED is lit during module initialization. If it does not turn off
after initialization, please contact your local Agilent support center.
• “Access” LED
This green LED flashes while the module is accessed by the controller.
NOTE If the “Access” LED flashes continuously, for example,
flash–flash–flash, pause, flash–flash–flash, pause and so on, please
record this error code (number of continuous flashes and contact
your local Agilent support center.
• LEDs at the outputs
These green LEDs show the current state of the outputs (on or off .

Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000 11
Installing the Agilent E8311/12A
The Agiilent E8311/12A are VXI instruments that plug into a
VXI mainframe. Installing the instruments requires the following steps:
1“Selecting a Mainframe Slot” on page 12
2“Setting Logical Addresses of the VXI Instruments” on page 13
3“Installing the Instrument in the Mainframe” on page 14
4“Installing the Software” on page 15

Installing the Agilent E8311/12A Selecting a Mainframe Slot
12 Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000
Selecting a Mainframe Slot
The first step to install a VXI instrument is to select a free slot in the VXI
mainframe.
When you have selected a slot, enter the instrument model number,
name, and serial number for the instrument in the VXI Mainframe
Overview table. You should maintain such a table for each mainframe in
order to keep track of the installed instruments.
Slot Model Number Instrument Name Logical Address Serial Number
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Setting Logical Addresses of the VXI Instruments Installing the Agilent E8311/12A
Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000 13
Setting Logical Addresses of the
VXI Instruments
When you have selected the slot for the VXI instrument, the next step is
to set the instrument logical address (LADDR as required. You can
generally use the factory-set (default logical address.
If you need to set another logical address, use the following guidelines
(see the applicable Mainframe User’s/Service Manual for more
information .
The logical address for each VXI instrument is set by the Logical Address
(LADDR switch on the instrument. The logical address value is the sum
of the values of the logical address switches set to the closed position.
The following figure shows the defaults for the Agilent E8311A (LADDR
111 and the Agilent E8312A (LADDR 112 :
After setting the address switches, record the logical address in the VXI
Mainframe Overview table.
0
1
0
1
01234567
Address Switches set to 111
0
1
0
1
01234567
Address Switches set to 112

Installing the Agilent E8311/12A Installing the Instrument in the Mainframe
14 Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000
Installing the Instrument in the
Mainframe
After setting the logical address as required, you can then install the
instrument in the mainframe.
1Turn mainframe power off.
2Install the instrument in the slot you previously identified.
3Turn mainframe power on.
WARNING In operation the side covers of the instrument may become very hot.
Therefore be very careful when you remove the VXI instruments from
the mainframe.
CAUTION
Do not touch the connectors on the rear side of the
instruments to protect against electrostatic discharge
to the instruments.

Installing the Software Installing the Agilent E8311/12A
Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000 15
Installing the Software
The Agilent 81100 Graphical User Interface and the VXIplug&play
drivers must be installed on the control PC. Depending on the system
configuration, this may either be an external PC or a PC embedded in the
VXI mainframe.
NOTE Before installing the software make sure that the I/O Libraries for
Instrument Control are already installed on the control PC.
1If required, connect a CD-ROM drive to the PC.
2Insert the CD labeled “Agilent 81100 Pulse/Data Generator Family”
(Part No. E8311-10020 into the CD-ROM drive.
3The installer starts automatically when the CD is inserted. If it does
not, open the Explorer, select the CD-ROM drive, and run
\Setup.exe .
4Then follow the instructions on screen:
– Choose the destination folder.
– Select the program folder
VXIPNP.
– Select the components you want to install.

Installing the Agilent E8311/12A Installing the Software
16 Agilent E8311/12A 165/330 MHz Pulse and Pattern Generators, April 2000

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Copyright Agilent Technologies 1999, 2000
Edition 1.0, E0400
Printed in Germany April 2000
E8311-91020