RF synthetic instrumentation: ATS technology insertion and implications

This paper describes an evaluation of RF synthetic instrumentation (RFSI) technology for potential inclusion into upgrade and optimization efforts for automatic test systems (ATSs). We examine basic software radio technology and its potential to emulate discrete RF measurement instrumentation, and/or RFSI. We discuss performance criteria for RF ATE and constraints imposed on RFSI implementations due to limitations in the digitization process (A-to-D conversion and D-to-A conversion) and digital signal processing (DSP). We discuss trade-offs between discrete and synthetic test system architectures and briefly consider the conceptual outlook for RFSI technology insertion into established ATS product lines.