Data acquisition solutions

Aqiris' Cougar series has been expanded to include two models (the Cougar3400-2 and Cougar3400-4) that use the company's 12 bit 400 MS/s digitiser technology.

Cougar data acquisition packages include a modular crate, a fast (100 MBps) interface to the PC, one or more 12 bit digitiser cards and powerful software drivers. They connect directly to any PCI slot of a Pentium-based PC to create measurement systems that lead the marketplace in terms of accuracy, throughput and flexibility.

At the heart of the Cougar3400 series is the DC440 Dual-Channel Digitizer Card designed to perform measurements of high precision on signals up to 300 MHz in frequency. The Cougar3400-2 includes one DC440 for dual-channel recording, while the Cougar3400-4 has two DC440s for quad-channel applications. If required, systems with more channels (up to 14) can also be configured by using a larger CompactPCI crate.

Each channel of the DC440 features a 12 bit digitiser that samples signals at rates up to 400 MS/s and stores the data in up to 4 Mpoints of acquisition memory. Other banner specifications include a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 65 dB and a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) of 80 dB. Combined with a very low noise floor spectrum (-90 dB), the systems are suitable for applications where high dynamic range and low measurement error are essential.