M9032A and M9033A System Synchronization Modules

Introduction

The M9032A and M9033A are high-performance System Synchronization Modules used to synchronize multiple modules across multiple chassis.

Description

The M9032A/M9033A PXIe System Synchronization Module (SSM) provides multi-module/multi-chassis synchronization and triggering for Keysight’s modular systems, as well as other Keysight instruments. It meets the STM specifications documented in the PXI Express Hardware Specification.

The M9032A is a single slot and the M9033A is a double slot 3U PXIe module that is compatible with Keysight’s PXIe chassis. It includes a high-quality Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) reference clock, flexible signal connections between front panel and backplane trigger resources, and accurate phase measurement capability on select clock paths, in order to achieve a very tight synchronization among various measurement products.

The M9032A/M9033A modules use the newly defined System Sync standard to distribute reference clock, low-latency LVDS triggers, and high bandwidth/speed information through Multi-Gigabit Transceiver (MGT) links across multiple instruments. The System Sync connector provides a forward and reverse clock link to facilitate cable delay measurement and compensation, up to 12 LVDS pairs for low latency trigger or data transition, and another 4 MGT pairs (TX and RX) for higher bandwidth data transfer, up to 5 Gbps.

These modules can also support time synchronization to common time standards delivered through various options. These options enable these modules to synchronize measurement systems to actual Time of Day marks, allowing for precisely time-stamped measurement data from spatially dispersed equipment to be correlated.

The M9032A/M9033A modules include a Virtex UltraScale Plus FPGA to support enhanced features in the future versions of the software.

Key Features

• Two form factors: single and double PXIe slot

• PathWave Test Sync Executive support

• Virtex UltraScale+ VU3P FPGA with PathWave

Front panel

The M9032A and M9033A front panels have 4 SMP male connectors: External Reference Clock output, programmable trigger input/output, time reference or PPS input, and External Reference Clock input. The M9032A features one System Sync Upstream and one System Sync Downstream connector, and the M9033A features one System Sync Upstream and four System Sync Downstream connectors.

M9032A and M9033A Software Overview

PathWave Test Sync Executive

The PathWave Test Sync Executive enables rapid development of high performance, multi-channel, real-time synchronous solutions. It is enabled on the M9032A and M9033A with option HV2 and has seamless interaction with PathWave FPGA (option PWP). The Sync Executive features:

• Transparent multi-module synchronization by precisely time aligning multiple channels in the same module or across several modules 

• Real-time synchronous execution including sequencing, branching, and looping 

• Time-deterministic hardware-based execution 

PathWave FPGA

PathWave FPGA is a system-level FPGA development environment which enables you to open and customize the M9032A and M9033A. When combined with option PWP, you now have access to the user-programmable FPGA and can insert your custom logic into the instrument. You can begin from HDL or a design in the included library and add or import Vivado and MATLAB components. Key benefits.