Introduction
WaveStation waveform generators provide a wide range of standard and arbitrary waveforms, a variety of modulation schemes and a simple front panel for easy, powerful, flexible waveform generation
In addition to the standalone capabilities of the WaveStation, it incorporates a 10 MHz reference and external trigger inputs which allow multiple units to be synchronized so that you can obtain multiple outputs which are locked together in time.
Figure 1 shows the basic connection diagram for locking two WaveStations together into a 4 channel arbitrary waveform generator.
The 10 MHz reference inputs on the rear panel of the WaveStation are used to synchronize the individual timebases. The External Trigger input initiates the waveform outputs using a common signal.
WaveStation Settings
The WaveStation setup to use the 10 MHz reference clock input is as follows:
Clock Setup:
Start with the front panel Utility pushbutton then make the indicated menu selection.
Utility > Page 1/2 > System > Page 1/2 > Clk Source > External
In a similar manner the external trigger input is enabled starting with the Burst pushbutton
The trigger setup:
Burst > Source > External > N-Cycle > page 1/2 > Cycles > Set #Cycles (1) >
If the signals are set to the prescribed levels and connected correctly then the result will be a single cycle of the desired waveform generated once for each trigger input as shown in Figure 2:
The outputs from the two units (C1 vs C2 and C1 vs C4) are synchronized within a 16 ns window ( one 125 MHz clock period). Outputs from within the same unit (C1 and C3) are synchronized within 0.106 ns.
At this point fixed delays can be removed using channel deskew on each scope channel
