Agilent’s new family

today introduced its family of six new microwave synthetic instruments, which are said to be the highest-performing synthetic instruments available today.

Agilent’s new product line is said to support the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) NxTest vision of flexible, modular, and morphable instrumentation, and will be LXI (LAN eXtension for Instruments)-compliant.

Synthetic instrumentation is a modular hardware and software test initiative driven by the DoD as part of its NxTest vision. This concept involves linking individual hardware and software test modules together to emulate standard instruments in a new, compact form factor.

The result is a morphable, common system architecture that enables the DoD’s prime contractors to design scalable automated test systems (ATSs), giving them the flexibility to insert technology and transform the ATS to accommodate new measurement applications. The reusability of modules in different measurement scenarios reduces the total lifetime costs of the ATS by extending the system’s longevity, and provides obsolescence protection.

The LXI standard defines small, modular instruments using low-cost, open-standard LAN (Ethernet) as the system backbone. LXI was developed to offer the size and integration advantages of modular instruments without the cost and constraints of card-cage architectures. Agilent says the standard will evolve to take advantage of current and future LAN capabilities that go well beyond legacy test and measurement connectivity capabilities.