The SDR14 is a high-speed digitizer in the ADQ V6 Digitizer family with two analog inputs and two analog outputs, making it ideal for software defined radio applications. The unique combination of dynamic range and sampling frequency is enabled by SP Devices' ADX IP-core – a mismatch error correction technology for time-interleaved ADCs.

The SDR14 offers a remarkable 800 MSPS per channel, 14-bit digitization with two single-ended analog inputs that are AC-coupled with a 50 Ohm input impedance. This makes the dual-input SDR14 the ideal platform for IF sampling radio front-ends as well as image reject mixers or dual receiver systems. At the output side, each channel can reconstruct at 1600 MSPS with 14-bit resolution, and the analog outputs can be configured either as DC or AC-coupled with 50 Ohms single-ended output impedance.

The dual DC-coupled device is suitable for Zero-IF transmitters while the AC-coupled output is optimized for IF signal generation. The SDR14 supports waveform recording and arbitrary waveform generation as well as real-time data streaming. The FPGA is an open architecture providing an easy access embedded real-time signal processing.

In test and measurement (T&M) systems performance and signal fidelity is key and achieving high performance often require the use of very expensive custom components. By using signal processing technology from SP Devices, performance degrading artifacts originating from the analog domain is compensated for in the digital domain and as a result our customers can stay ahead of competition and achieve state-of-the-art performance based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components.

SP Devices’ proprietary ADX interleaving IP enables unprecedented sampling rates and high effective bandwidth with no loss of dynamic range while the ADL linearization IP improves the linearity of the analog input path and therefore increase the dynamic range and the total performance of the T&M system. In summary, the use of ADX and ADL IP from SP Devices will provide the performance needed for these advanced T&M systems while allowing for the use of COTS components.

Time-interleaving of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) is a way to increase the overall system sampling rate by using several ADCs in parallel. The challenge is to handle the mismatch between the individual ADCs, especially at higher frequencies. With its unique self-learning and high-resolution capabilities, SP Devices' ADX technology offers previously unseen performance. Corrections are made transparently and in real-time without any need for calibration signals or idle time slots during which to perform calibration. The mismatch correction algorithm supports a resolution of up to 16 bits, with a preserved SFDR of up to 95 dB, depending on the properties of the specific ADC array.

We help our customers to improve competitiveness regardless of where they are positioned in the value chain. The offering from SP Devices covers the complete range from Silicon Manufacturers to System Integrators. SP Devices' products are available as Silicon IP, FPGA IP, reference designs, and complete digitizer boards.

The ADX interleaving technology is available as silicon IP for chip manufacturers and semiconductor companies who need to increase ADC sampling speed. ADX is also available as FPGA IP, targeting the market of system suppliers, digitizer companies, and T&M companies.

For customers who do not want to design their own digitizer solution, SP Devices offers both off-the-shelf digitizer solutions as well as customized digitizers.

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Read previous issues online:

Issue #2, 2011 : SP Devices and LeCroy collaborate on new products
Issue #1, 2011 : PCI Express Interface Added to Our Most Powerful Digitizers
Issue #2, 2010 : Release of our Latest 14-bit ADC Evaluation Module Which Features 1.6 GS/s
Issue #1, 2010 : Ultra High-Speed Digitizers with Xilinx Virtex 6 FPGAs