Agilent Technologies Brings Advanced Measurement Expertise to PXI and AXIe

09/14/2010

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) expanded its test and measurement portfolio into the modular domain with the introduction of 46 new PXI and AXIe products.

The new products bring Agilent's measurement expertise - including advanced measurement software and high-performance hardware - to the modular form factor. These products also will enable new capabilities that were not previously available across analog, digital, RF, microwave and lightwave test technologies.

"Agilent is committed to provide exceptional test solutions in the platform that customers prefer -- whether a benchtop, handheld or modular format," said Ron Nersesian, president of Agilent's Electronic Measurement Group. "Rarely is a single hardware or software solution the right answer for every test scenario. Now whether they're involved in sophisticated research, development, design or manufacturing, system developers will be able to achieve new levels of speed, performance and flexibility with our PXI and AXIe products."

Agilent's lineup of 46 PXI and AXIe products includes digitizers, arbitrary waveform generators, digitizing oscilloscopes, digital multimeters (DMMs) and a range of switches. The modules include IVI-C, IVI-COM and LabVIEW(G) software drivers and enhanced input/output (I/O) libraries. All drivers are optimized for testing applications that require high performance, high speed and high throughput.

"Agilent is introducing a very impressive set of PXI and AXIe products and capabilities that provide an expanded range of options and potential for electronic test customers," said Galen Wampler, industry analyst at Prime Data. "Plus, their openness to work with other companies for the customer's benefit really makes them not only an all encompassing test company but a true test consultant."

AXIe and PXI Highlights

The industry's first single-vendor PXI microwave vector signal analyzer (VSA), the Agilent M9392A, is enhanced by Agilent's powerful and widely used 89600 VSA software. This combination enables detailed analysis of communications, radar and avionics signals up to 26.5 GHz and provides industry-leading instantaneous bandwidth of 250 MHz for use in next-generation wireless systems and other applications.

The new M9018A PXIe chassis provides the industry's highest performance and greatest flexibility with 16 hybrid slots. The M9018A is designed for data-intensive applications in communications, imaging and radar that require wide bandwidth from 1) module to module or 2) between the modules and the system controller.

The first two AXIe 1.0 chassis, which are two-slot (2U) and five-slot (4U) models, deliver the advantages of AXIe, robust power, cooling and timing systems - in a platform for multivendor systems. AXIe's large board size is ideal for high-performance instrumentation yet requires a minimum of rack space.

The Agilent U4301A PCIe Gen 3 analyzer, which is the first measurement module capable of working in an AXIe chassis, enables accurate multi-gigabit signal capture and protocol testing. The open-system nature of this module enables customers to analyze wider serial buses and perform multi-domain testing in digital and computing applications.

Additional information about Agilent’s modular test solutions is available at www.agilent.com/find/modular. An in-depth Agilent modular products backgrounder is available at www.agilent.com/find/modular_backgrounder.

About AXIe

AXIe is a standard based on AdvancedTCA with extensions for instrumentation and test. The mission of the AXIe Consortium is to provide an open standard that creates a robust ecosystem of components, products and systems for general-purpose instrumentation and semiconductor test. AXIe leverages existing standards from PXI, LXI and IVI. AXIe promises high scalability and performance that will address a range of platforms including bench top measurements, rack-and-stack modular, and ATE systems. www.axiestandard.org

Agilent Technologies, www.agilent.com