Pulse Measurements Interactive Example

The Pulse Measurements Interactive Example enables you to connect and configure vector signal transceivers (VSTs) and optional hardware in order to complete pulse stability and pulse profile measurements. Use the example to determine the performance of the device being tested.

The Pulse Measurements Interactive Example is located at: C:\Program Files\National Instruments\PRFM Library.

Refer to the following figure for an overview of the Pulse Measurements Interactive Example.

Figure 17. Pulse Measurements Interactive Example Environment


  1. Menu Bar
  2. Configuration Pane
  3. Display Pane

Configuration Pane Status Indicator

The Status Indicator on the configuration Pane displays the following states.

  • Initializing—The application is starting up, including initializing the user interface of the interactive example, internal registers, and events.
  • Ready—The application is initialized properly and waiting for user intervention to configure or connect the hardware.
  • Configuring—The application is committing changes to the parameters and configuring hardware changes.
  • Active—The user clicked COMMIT in the menu bar, and the hardware is connected and configured without error. The application waits for the user to initiate measurement.
  • Active - Recording—The user clicked RECORD to initiate a measuring command and the DUT is connected. The application is measuring and recording data in the designated file.
  • Error - Disconnected—An error has occurred during configuration or execution. The status indicator displays an error message, and the application automatically reverts to the last safe state. The user can correct the error and redo any actions necessary. Errors are automatically logged in a text file in the following location: \Documents\LabVIEW Data\Pulse Measurements\System Level Errors\System Errors.txt.
  • Off—The application exits following a user command, such as clicking Stop, closing the panel, navigating to File » Exit, or an error occurred during application startup.

    • Configuration Pane Controls

    The Configuration Pane features the following buttons:

  • COMMIT—Click to commit any modifications made in the Configuration Pane to the hardware. For new hardware settings, the previous session with the hardware is closed, then reconfigured with the new parameters. Click this button only when you finish adjusting the generation and acquisition parameters.
  • RECORD/STOP RECORDING—Click RECORD to begin data recording in the selected file location. Data is recorded in a .tdms file and includes pulse stability measurements and raw I/Q data. Click STOP RECORDING to end the measurement.

    • Display Pane

    The display pane is divided into three sections—Main Measurement Results, Measurement Information, and Additional Burst Information.

  • Main Measurement Results—Includes the results of the pulse stability measurement. Use the drop-down menu to check the values of the following specific measurements:
    • Pulse to Pulse Stability Plot displays the results of a single-burst or multi-burst pulse-to-pulse stability. If multi-burst averaging is disabled, the results displayed in this graph are single burst measurement, where each sample on the x-axis corresponds to a selected measurement point, and the corresponding y-value is the pulse-to-pulse stability measurement for this point, calculated with respect to all the pulses acquired in the burst. If multi-burst averaging is enabled, the data viewed correspond to the value averaged across the configured number of bursts.
    • Pulse to Pulse Stability Trend displays a running average of pulse stability plot, where each point is the average of results of all measurement points within a single burst.
    • Pulse Amplitude Profile displays the amplitude pattern of the pulses in a burst.
    • Pulse Phase Profile displays the phase pattern of the pulses in a burst.
    • Intra-Pulse Stability: By Pulse displays the results of the intra-pulse stability measurement per point for the selected pulse under the Advanced tab. If multi-burst averaging is enabled, then the results are the average of the measurement for the same pulse across all the acquired bursts
    • Intra-Pulse Stability: By Burst displays the results of the intra-pulse stability measurement per point averaged across all pulses in an acquired burst. If multi-burst averaging is enabled, then the results are the average of the measurement across all bursts.
    • Pulse Table displays the measurement results of each pulse. If multi-burst averaging is enabled, the result for each pulse is the average of the measurement for that pulse across all bursts. The pulse table contains the following measurement information:
      • Pulse No. displays the position of the pulse in the burst.
      • Amplitude (dBm) displays the difference between High State Level and Low State Level.
      • High State Level displays the level at which a pulse or transition waveform is defined to be in its highest state.
      • Low State Level displays the level at which a pulse or transition waveform is defined to be in its lowest state
      • Pulse Width display the time difference, in seconds, between the first two mid-reference level crossings of the pulse.
      • Period (s) displays the time, in seconds, between adjacent mid-reference level crossings in the same direction. The reciprocal of this value is the signal frequency.
      • Duty Cycle (%) displays a fraction of a period specified by the pulse duration divided by the period * 100.
      • Rise Time displays the time, in seconds, from when the waveform crosses the low reference level until it crosses the high ref level.
      • Fall Time (s) displays the time, in seconds, from when the waveform crosses the high reference level until it crosses the low reference level.
      • Overshoot (dB) displays the rising edge post transition overshoot, which is the height of the local maximum following the rising transition of the pulse.
      • Droop (%) displays the difference in height between the point at the start of and the end of the pulse top relative to straight line fit to the top of the pulse
      • Ripple (%) displays the difference between the point furthest above and furthest below a straight line fit to the top of the pulse.
  • Measurement Information—Includes specific measurement information. Use the drop-down menu to check the values of the following specific measurements:
    • Selected Measurements Points displays a plot of the selected measurement points with respect to the pulse width. The green plot corresponds to the mask of a single pulse width, and the points in red each represent a selected measurement point.
    • Stimulus Frequency Vs. Time displays a preview of the stimulus frequency response, showing the variation in frequency with respect to time.
    • Stimulus IQ displays a preview of the stimulus I/Q data.
    • Pulse Stability Scalar Values displays a table of the scalar average stability measurements for each selected point.
  • Additional Burst Information—Includes additional information on the bursts acquired. Use the drop-down menu to view the following information:
    • Measurements Summary displays measurement statistics including:
      • Actual Generation Sampling Rate (S/S) displays the actual sampling rate used for the generator which may have been coerced from the value configured for Generation Sample Rate (S/s).
      • Generation Power Level displays the power level you requested when configuring Power Level dBm.
      • Actual Acquisition I/Q Rate displays the I/Q rate chosen for the acquisition based on the configured measurement bandwidth.
      • Analysis Reference Level displays the reference level used by the analyzer.
      • Measurement Duration (s) displays the duration of the measurement for all pulses and bursts.
      • Number of Pulses Per Burst displays the number of pulses in each burst.
      • Number of Bursts Averaged displays the number of bursts used for averaging across a single measurement.
      • Average Phase Stability displays the pulse-to-pulse phase stability averaged across all measurement points, pulses, and bursts.
      • Average Amplitude Stability displays the pulse-to-pulse amplitude stability averaged across measurement points, pulses, and bursts.
      • Average Total Stability displays the pulse-to-pulse total stability averaged across all measurement points, pulses, and bursts.
    • Burst IQ Data displays the I/Q data of a single burst.
    • Burst Magnitude Vs. Frequency displays the magnitude, in dBm, of the FFT spectrum of a single burst.
    • Burst Phase Vs. Frequency displays the phase, in radians, of the FFT spectrum of a single burst.
    • Burst Frequency Vs. Time displays a plot of the frequency over time of a single burst.
    • Burst Spectrum displays the magnitude of the power spectrum, in dBm, of a single burst before any filtering is applied.