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PDFDirect Digital Synthesis. DDS uses digital control to derive the analog frequency source from a single reference clock frequency. Function generators utilize DDS to generate periodic signals at precise frequencies by choosing samples from memory rather than generating all samples of a waveform. By contrast, arbitrary waveform generators (AWGs) generate each sample of a waveform that is stored into memory. While AWGs allow a user to precisely define the waveform that is being generated, they are limited in the frequency precision they can achieve, particularly at high frequencies. In summary, this architecture provides the advantage of high-frequency resolution, phase-continuous switching, wideband tuning and temperature stability.
Additional References:
Understanding Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS)
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