MIL/aero venue showcases general-purpose instruments

Autotestcon 2007 provided test and measurement companies a chance to highlight their instrument offerings for commercial as well as military applications. ZTEC Instruments debuted its ZT4610 VXI digital oscilloscope, which targets high-density aerospace and defense ATE applications. Aeroflex announced that its Synthetic Multifunction Adaptable Reconfigurable Test Environment (SMART^E), which includes hardware, software, test practices, and support, is based on the company’s fifth-generation synthetic technology for providing synthetic test systems for testing radar, satellite payloads, and T/R (transmit/receive) modules and subsystems for phased-array radar antennas (see listing in Product Update). The company also announced a modular PXI RF test platform for wireless applications up to 6 GHz. With this platform, the company is targeting not only military/aerospace test applications but commercial cellular ones as well (see "Aeroflex PXI RF platform operates to 6 GHz").

Agilent Technologies released the latest version of the Agilent Virtual Rack platform, which provides an interactive way for aerospace/defense companies to create flexible system frameworks with minimal effort in the integration, automation, maintenance, and evolution of test systems. Metrikos, in conjunction with Huntron, demonstrated its patent-pending near-field signature-analysis technology, which supports close proximity sensing of EM fields emanating from active or passive circuitry; its noncontact measurement capability could make it particularly useful for troubleshooting conformally coated boards in military applications.

SenarioTek highlighted its new technology for correcting RF test-system calibration errors due to the changes in environment, including temperature changes as well as changes related to repeatability issues in switches, cables, and connectors. Geotest—Marvin Test Systems debuted a slew of PXI products, including a standards module, a differential digitizer, 3U and 6U chassis, a signal generator, a digital I/O instrument, and controllers. National Instruments announced its NI PXIe-5672, an RF vector signal generator that delivers signal generation from 250 kHz to 2.7 GHz, 20 MHz of instantaneous bandwidth, and real-time data streaming at up to 25 Msample/s (see "National Instruments debuts PXI RF vector signal generator").

Keithley Instruments announced two additions to its Series 2600 SourceMeter instruments for semiconductor parametric analysis and testing. The Models 2635 and 2636 provide resolutions as fine as 1 fA to support test of semiconductor, optoelectronic, and nanotechnology devices. The company also highlighted its new Series 3700 system-switch/multimeter and plug-in card family (see "Keithley debuts LXI system-switch/multimeter"). JTAG Technologies introduced its ProDFT service for testability analysis and report generation. A ProDFT report equips the user to optimize a board or system design for testability as well as to rapidly prepare the tests using JTAG Technologies’ ProVision development suite.

Data Translation highlighted its new TEMPpoint series of temperature-measurement instruments (see "Measure 48 temperatures, all at once"). Pickering Interfaces showcased its new high-performance, high-density RF switching systems, which are usable to 3.5 GHz. GaGe Applied Technologies exhibited the new Cobra CompuScope family of 8-bit, 1- or 2-Gsamples/s digitizers. The company also highlighted its LapScope PCI expansion chassis, which enable laptop computers to accommodate GaGe’s CompuScope and CompuGen cards.

Amrel introduced its eController with Ethernet, which controls the company’s eLoad electronic loads and ePower power supplies while consolidating an arbitrary waveform generator, a waveform digitizer, and a waveform editor within a single GUI. Intepro Systems displayed its first LXI-based power-supply test system, the I-9500LXI, which targets the test of power converters under 1000 W.

Diagnosys displayed its PinPoint II, PinPoint UDA, and S500 functional test systems. Teradyne exhibited its Spectrum CTS commercial avionics test system as well as the Spectrum-9100 functional test platform for factory and depot environments.