Providing clean, ultra-fast signals for an EW test set
Problem: A defense contractor needed a broadband synthesizer to test the EW suite of fighter aircraft on the flight line. This synthesizer needed to generate a wide array of clean, arbitrary test waveforms at high switching speeds. The synthesizer had to also fit the footprint of the incumbent, lower performance synthesizer in four 6U VME slots.
Solution: Given our standard synthesizer's size, it was relatively straightforward to migrate the design to a VME form factor, which offered increased real estate. Signal purity was achieved with a single mix/divide expander and two direct conversion expanders. Our standard software easily accommodated the customer's requirement to produce a range of complex test signals.