Measurement and Automation: GPIB & Bus Expansion0 pages

4-1 www.adlinktech.com
High-Performance IEEE-488 GPIB Interface Cards
Features
¡ Fully compatible with the IEEE-488 standard
¡ Supports a 32-bit 3.3 V or 5 V PCI bus
¡ PXI specification Rev. 2.2 compliant (PXI-3488)
¡ Up to 1.5 MB/s data transfer rates
¡ Built-in FIFO for read/write operations
¡ Provides APIs compatible with NI-488.2 driver software*
¡ Supports industrial-standard VISA library
¡ Interactive utility for testing and diagnostics
¡ Operating Systems
• Windows Vista/XP/2000/2003 Server
¡ Recommended Software
• VB/VC++/BCB/Delphi
• LabVIEW*
• LabWindow/CVI*
LPCI-3488A/PXI-3488
Introduction
The IEEE-488 standard, also known as GPIB, is a bus interface that connects instruments with a computer to
form an ATE system. GPIB was initially developed by Hewlett Packard and was recognized as an IEEE
standard in 1978. The IEEE-488.1-1978 standard defines the convention for electrical and mechanical bus
characteristics, as well as the state diagram for each bus function. In 1987, another standard was derived
from the original IEEE-488.1-1978 and known as IEEE-488.2-1978. It was introduced to define data formats,
common commands, and control protocols for instruments. In general, IEEE-488.1 defines hardware
specifications, and IEEE-488.2 defines software specifications. The IEEE-488 standard has been widely
accepted by instrument vendors over the past few decades. Today, GPIB is still the most popular interface
between computer and instruments.
5system
Management
lines
3 handshake
lines
8 data lines
Instrument A
Able to Talk,
Listen and Control
ex: Computer
Instrument B
Able to Talk
and to Listen
ex: Oscilloscoae
Instrument C
Able to Listen
ex: Function
Generator
EOI
IFC
SRQ
ATN
REN
DAV
NRFD
DI01-8
Handshake and data signals on the GPIB bus
NDAC
Linear instrument connection Star instrument connection Instrument A
Instrument B
Instrument C
Instrument A
Instrument C
Instrument D
Instrument B
ADLINK GPIB Data Xfer Rate (Small Block Data)
200
400
600
800
1000
Data Xfer Rate (KB/s)
Block Size (Bytes)
0 200 400 600 800 1000
ADLINK GPIB Data Xfer Rate (Large Block Data)
Data Xfer Rate (KB/s)
Block Size (KBytes)
0
400
600
200
1000
800
1200
1400
1600
15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150
ADLINK's LPCI-3488A and PXI-3488 GPIB controller interface cards are fully compatible with the IEEE-488.2
instrumentation control and communication standard and are capable of controlling up to 14 stand-alone
instruments via IEEE-488 cables. The LPCI-3488A and PXI-3488 are designed to meet the requirements for
high performance and maximum programming portability. The LPCI-3488A is developed using ADLINK's
intellectual property in FPGAs which incorporates a GPIB controller, provides reliable GPIB bus control
capability, and supports a transfer rate up to 1.5 MB/s. With APIs that are compatible with NI-488.2* driver
software and VISA support, the LPCI-3488A and PXI-3488 offer the best compatibility with your existing
applications and instrument drivers
Performance
ADLINK's expertise in PCI and PXI interface cards was leveraged when developing these newly designed
GPIB interface card. The LPCI-3488A, which is the low-profile PCI form factor, supports both 3.3 V and 5 V PCI
buses and can be adapted to most industrial and desktop computers. The PXI-3488 is compliant with PXI
specification Rev. 2.2 and can be used with most PXI and CompactPCI system. A built-in FIFO is placed
between the GPIB bus and PCI controller to buffer GPIB read/write operations. This FIFO eliminates the gap
between the slow GPIB bus (~1.5 MB/s) and the fast PCI bus (132 MB/s), and dramatically increases overall
system performance.
5system
Management
lines
3 handshake
lines
8 data lines
Instrument A
Able to Talk,
Listen and Control
ex: Computer
Instrument B
Able to Talk
and to Listen
ex: Oscilloscoae
Instrument C
Able to Listen
ex: Function
Generator
EOI
IFC
SRQ
ATN
REN
DAV
NRFD
DI01-8
Handshake and data signals on the GPIB bus
NDAC
Linear instrument connection Star instrument connection
Instrument A
Instrument B
Instrument C
Instrument A
Instrument C
Instrument D
Instrument B
ADLINK GPIB Data Xfer Rate (Small Block Data)
200
400
600
800
1000
Data Xfer Rate (KB/s)
Block Size (Bytes)
0 200 400 600 800 1000
ADLINK GPIB Data Xfer Rate (Large Block Data)
Data Xfer Rate (KB/s)
Block Size (KBytes)
0
400
600
200
1000
800
1200
1400
1600
15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150
LPCI-3488A
PXI-3488