Standards for Waveform Metrology Based on Digital Techniques

Over the last decade the use of digital synthesis and sampling techniques for generating and measuring electrical waveforms has increased dramatically with the availability of improved digital-to-analog (D/A) and analog-to-digital (A/D) converters and related devices. With this evolution has come the need for physical laboratory standards and test methods to support the performance specifications of digital devices and the instruments in which they are used. This article describes the research and development at NIST of several laboratory standards and test systems that utilize “digital technology” for characterizing data converters and for implementing various waveform synthesis and sampling instruments.