Test and measurement basics
Digital and Analogue Instrumentation, by Nihal Kularatna, The Institution of Electrical Engineers, Stevenage, UK, 2003. ISBN: 0-85296-999-6. 645 pages. Price: $100.
Rick Nelson, Chief Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 10/1/2004
This compendium of test and measurement information covers the gamut of relevant topics—from waveform basics to instrument operation. An introductory chapter defines base and derived units, including those related to physical, electrical, and luminosity measurements, and introduces sampling as well as factors that contribute to measurement errors. Additional introductory material describes the enabling technologies at the heart of modern instrument systems—including system-on-chip devices, FPGAs, data converters, and digital signal processors (DSPs).
A chapter on waveform parameters covers periodic and nonperiodic signals and describes the use of
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There are two weak chapters. In a chapter on instrument buses and VLSI testing, the instrument connection schemes covered are limited to GPIB, VXI, and RS-232. A very brief section on IC test describes a rack-and-stack approach and notes without elaboration that special ATE systems with a tester-per-pin architecture are available. The DSP chapter provides a lot of good information, but the reader is left to infer its applicability to test and measurement.
In general, though, the author (who has enlisted colleagues to assist with some of the chapters) has done a fine job providing clear, complete, concise, and well-organized test and measurement information.
