High Frequency Parameters Of Automated Measuring Systems Based On TestStand

In recent years, with the rapid development of new microwave systems continue to emerge along with microwave technology, the efficiency and accuracy of the measurement techniques have become increasingly demanding. Meanwhile, with the rapid development of computers and instruments, as well as the interface bus protocol standardization, intelligent, automated microwave measurement becomes a trend. In this process, LabVIEW has gradually become the mainstream tool for automatic measurement system development. TestStand, the immediate implementation of the test execution management software platform developed by NI, is used to organize, control and implementation of the automated prototyping, verification or manufacturing test systems. And it is based on a high-speed multi-threaded execution engine, and its performance can meet the most stringent test processing capacity requirements. By joining in the test program written by LabVIEW, TestStand is able to quickly create a test sequence. In view of this, for the subject of measuring high-frequency parameter automation for the development of microwave measurement techniques, modular instruments, and modular system design of an automatic measurement of the automated measurement system for microwave high-frequency parameters has been developed.This paper based on the existing laboratory E8363C Agilent PNX Series vector network analyzer, the B1500A semiconductor analyzer, N5181A analog signal generator, knots and equipment manual, the instrument firmware, microwave measuring principle, as well as previously developed audio chip automatic measurement systems experiences, is to develop high-frequency parameters of automated measuring systems. It is developed according to the NI-VISA instrument driver, and the firmware version of the instrument via the VISA API interface, instrument control, as well as the GUI re-developed to meet different measurement needs. Three different instruments have been made modular, systematic, integrated in a control interface, and finally combined with the TestStand process of instrument control, data and storage conditions of the real-time, reaching from the instrument initialization, measurement conditions set and save storage, measurement parameters, analysis and storage, the purpose of fully automated.The features and innovations of this paper are:(1) By the basis of the instrument and the firmware, the instruments are controlled modular, integrated. And the function of the instrument is improved.(2) TestStand has been added into the measurement. From the settings of the instruments to the parameters storage, the measurement has been built automated.(3) A system has been developed for a set of data storage, algorithms, automatic tabulation, automatic mapping. And all of these have been built in one of the storage system.