Tektronix AFG2021 Operating and maintenance manual

xx
AFG2021
Arbitrary Function Generator
ZZZ
Programmer Manual
*P077058701*
077-0587-01

AFG2021
Arbitrary Function Generator
ZZZ
Programmer Manual
xx
www.tektronix.com
077-0587-01

Copyright © Tektronix. All rights reserved. Licensed software products are owned by Tektronix or its subsidiaries
or suppliers, and are protected by national copyright laws and international treaty provisions.
Tektronix products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued and pending. Information in this publication
supersedes that in all previously published material. Specifications and price change privileges reserved.
TEKTRONIX and TEK are registered trademarks of Tektronix, Inc.
Contacting Tektronix
Tektronix, Inc.
14150 SW Karl Braun Drive
P.O. Box 500
Beaverton, OR 97077
USA
For product information, sales, service, and technical support:
In North America, call 1-800-833-9200.
Worldwide, visit www.tektronix.com to find contacts in your area.

Table of Contents
Preface.............................................................................................................. iii
Documentation................................................................................................ iii
Getting Started
Getting Started ............... ........................ ........................ .............. ....................... 1-1
Overview of the Manual .................................................................................... 1-1
Connecting the Interface.................................................................................... 1-2
Using the GPIB Port......................................................................................... 1-3
Setting the GPIB Address................................................................................... 1-4
Using TekVISA.............................................................................................. 1-4
Syntax and Commands
Syntax and Commands........................................................................................... 2-1
Command Syntax................................................................................................. 2-2
Backus-Naur Form Definition . .... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... .... .... ..... .... .... 2-2
Command and Query Structure ............................................................................ 2-2
SCPI Commands and Queries.............................................................................. 2-4
IEEE 488.2 Common Commands.......................................................................... 2-9
Command Groups .............................................................................................. 2-11
Command Descriptions........................................................................................ 2-17
Status and Events
Status and Events................................................................................................. 3-1
Status Reporting Structure.................................................................................. 3-1
Registers ...................................................................................................... 3-3
Queues ...................................................................................................... 3-10
Messages and Codes....................................................................................... 3-11
Programming Examples
Programming Examples ......................................................................................... 4-1
Appendices
Appendix A: SCPI Conformance Information ............................................................... A-1
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual i

Table of Contents
ii AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual

Preface
This manual provides operating information for the AFG2021 Arbitrary Function
Generator.
The manual consists of the following sections:
Getting Started covers operating principles of the instrument, which helps you
understand how your generator operates.
Syntax and Commands defines the command syntax and processing
conventions, describes command notation.
Status and Events explains the status information and event messages reported
by the instrument.
Programming Examples contains remote interface application programs to
help you develop programs for your application.
Appendix A: SCPI Conformance Information contains a list of commands
and SCPI information.
Documentation
In addition to this AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual,
the following documentation is available for this instrument:
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Quick Start User Manual. The quick start
user manual provides information on installation, general features, operating the
instrument, and user interface.
BuiltinHelpSystem. The built-in help system that is integrated with the User
Interface application that ships with this instrument.
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Specifications and Performance Verification
Technical Reference. The technical reference provides information on instrument
specifications and procedures for performance verification.
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Service Manual. The service manual
includes procedures to service the instrument to the module level. The manual
also includes adjustment procedures, theory of operation information, and a list of
replaceable parts.
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual iii

Preface
iv AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual

Getting Started

Getting Started
To help you get started with programming the instrument, this section includes the
following subsections
Overview of the Manual
Summarizes each major section of this manual.
Connecting the Interface
Describes how to physically connect the instrument to a controller.
Using GPIB Port
Describes how to use the GPIB port.
Setting the GPIB Address
Describes how to set the GPIB parameters from the front panel.
Using TekVISA
Describes how to use the TekVISA communication protocol.
Overview of the Manual
The information contained in each major section of this manual is described below.
Syntax and Commands Syntax and Commands, describes the structure and content of the messages your
program sends to the instrument. The following figure shows command parts as
described in the Command Syntax subsection.
Figure 1-1: Command parts
Section 2 also describes the effect of each command and provides examples
of how you might use it. The Command Groups subsection provides lists by
functional areas. The commands are listed alphabetically in the Command
Descriptions section.
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual 1-1

Getting Started
Figure 1-2: Functional groupings and an alphabetical list of commands
Status and Events The program may request information from the instrument. The instrument
provides information in the form of status and error messages. The following
figure illustrates the basic operation of this system. Section 3, Status and Events,
describes how to get status or event information from the program and details
the event and error messages.
Figure 1-3: Event-driven program
Connecting the Interface
The AFG2021 with Option GL has a 24-pin GPIB connector on its rear panel, as
shown in the following figure. (The AFG2021 base model provides a USB port
only.) This connector has a D-type shell and conforms to IEEE Std 488.1-1987.
Attach an IEEE Std 488.1-1987 GPIB cable (Tektronix part number 012-0991-00)
to this connector.
1-2 AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual

Getting Started
Figure 1-4: GPIB connector (rear panel with Option GL only )
Using theGPIBPort
The instrument has Talker/Listener functions through which it can communicate
with other devices, as well as the external controller, located on the bus.
Figure 1-5: GPIB connection
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual 1-3

Getting Started
GPIB Requirements Observe the following rules when you use your instrument with a GPIB network
Assign a unique device address to each device on the bus. No two devices
can share the same device address.
Do not connect more than 15 devices to any one bus.
Connect one device for every 2 m (6 ft) of cable used.
Do not use more than 20 m (65 ft) of cable to connect devices to a bus.
Turn on at least 2/3 of the devices on the network while using the network.
Connect the devices on the network in a star or linear configuration, as shown
in the following figure. Do not use loop or parallel configurations.
Figure 1-6: Typical GPIB network configurations
Setting the GPIB Address
When you use the GPIB port to communicate with an external controller, follow
these steps to set the address of the instrument.
1. Press the Utility button.
2. Press the I/O Interface button.
3. Press the GPIB button.
4. Press the Address button.
5. Turn the general purpose knob to set the GPIB Address.
6. Press the Return to up menu button when you have set the GPIB address to
save the setting.
NOTE. The GPIB address cannot be initialized by the *RST command.
Using TekVISA
TekVISA is Tektronix implementation of VISA (Virtual Instrument Software
Architecture), an industry-standard communication protocol. VISA provides
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Getting Started
a common standard for software developers so that software from multiple
vendors, such as instrument drivers, can run on the same platform. TekVISA
is industry-compliant software, available with selected Tektronix instruments.
You can use this software to write (or draw) interoperable instrument drivers in
a variety of Application Development Environments (ADEs). It implements
a subset of Version 2.2 of the VISA specification for controlling GPIB and
serial (RS-232) instrument interfaces locally or remotely via an Ethernet LAN
connection.
Installation Use an internet browser to access the Tektronix Web site (www.tektronix.com)
and download the current TekVISA to your PC. Unzip the downloaded file in a
temporary directory of your choice and run Setup.exe.
NOTE. The details on TekVISA concepts and operations are explained in the
TekVISA Programmer Manual that can be also found on the Tektronix Web site.
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual 1-5

Getting Started
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Syntax and Commands

Syntax and Commands
This section provides the following information:
CommandSyntaxdefines the command syntax and processing conventions.
Command Groups describes command groups which lists the commands
by function.
Command Descriptions describes the notation of each of the commands in
alphabetical order.
AFG2021 Arbitrary Function Generator Programmer Manual 2-1

Command Syntax
Command Syntax
You can control the operations and functions of the instrument through the
GPIB interface using commands and queries. The related topics listed below
describe the syntax of these commands and queries. The topics also describe the
conventions that the instrument uses to process them. See Command Groups
(See page 2-11.)for a listing of the commands by command group, or use the
index to locate a specific command.
Backus-Naur Form Definition
This manual may describe commands and queries using the Backus-Naur Form
(BNF) notation. The following table defines the standard BNF symbols.
Table 2-1: BNF symbols and meanings
Symbol Meaning
<> Defined element
:= Is defined as
| Exclusive OR
{ } Group; one element is required
[] Optional; can be omitted
.. . Previous element(s) may be repeated
( ) Comment
Command and Query Structure
Commands consist of set commands and query commands (usually simply called
commands and queries). Commands change instrument settings or perform a
specific action. Queries cause the instrumenttoreturndataandinformationabout
its status.
Most commands have both a set form and a query form. The query form of
the command is the same as the set form except that it ends with a question
mark. For example, the set command DISPlay:BRIGhtness has a query form
DISPlay:BRIGhtness?. Not all commands have both a set and a query form;
some commands are set only and some are query only.
A few commands do both a set and query action. For example, the *CAL?
command runs a self-calibration program on the instrument, then returns the
result of the calibration.
A command message is a command or query name, followed by any information
the instrument needs to execute the command or query. Command messages
consist of five element types.
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