AT AT-LA500 User Manual

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Active Technologies S.r.l.

www.activetechnologies.it

AT-LA500

USB Logic Analyzer

USER MANUAL

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 1

Page 2

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL CONTENTS

Contents

ACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES S.R.L. .................................................................................................................................. 1

USB LOGIC ANALYZER .................................................................................................................................................. 1

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................ 7

OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................................................................................... 7

OPERATING PRINCIPLES...................................................................................................................................................... 7

GETTING STARTED ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................................................................................. 9

Minimum system requirements ..................................................................................................................................... 9

Suggested requirements ................................................................................................................................................ 9

INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION .............................................................................................................................................. 10

PROBES DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 12

INSTRUMENT DISCONNECTION ......................................................................................................................................... 13

PROBE CONNECTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 13

SOFTWARE LOADING ........................................................................................................................................................ 14

GUIDE TO THE FIRST ACQUISITION ................................................................................................................................... 15

Probe connection ........................................................................................................................................................ 15

Software loading ......................................................................................................................................................... 15

Create a Workspace .................................................................................................................................................... 15

AT-LA500 SOFTWARE ................................................................................................................................................... 19

MENU BAR ........................................................................................................................................................................ 20

File .............................................................................................................................................................................. 20

View ............................................................................................................................................................................. 20

Tools ............................................................................................................................................................................ 20

Window ....................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Help ............................................................................................................................................................................. 20

STATUS BAR ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21

TOOL BAR ......................................................................................................................................................................... 21

SOLUTION EXPLORER ....................................................................................................................................................... 22

SIGNAL DEFINITION ......................................................................................................................................................... 22

Adding a signal ........................................................................................................................................................... 23

Adding a bus ............................................................................................................................................................... 23

Removing a signal or a bus ........................................................................................................................................ 23

Editing a signal or bus name ...................................................................................................................................... 24

SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24

SAMPLING......................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Normal Timing Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 24

State Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 26

NORMAL AND STATE ANALYSIS TRIGGER ....................................................................................................................... 28

Trigger Levels ............................................................................................................................................................. 28

Edges and Levels ........................................................................................................................................................ 29

Conditions on edges.................................................................................................................................................... 29

Conditions on logic levels .......................................................................................................................................... 29

Relationship between trigger conditions .................................................................................................................... 30

Pretrigger, PretriggerHS and DelayHS ..................................................................................................................... 30

I2C TRIGGER ..................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Address ........................................................................................................................................................................ 32

Address&Data ............................................................................................................................................................ 34

Pretrigger .................................................................................................................................................................... 35

SPI/µWIRE TRIGGER ........................................................................................................................................................ 36

SPI Trigger Options.................................................................................................................................................... 37

Pretrigger .................................................................................................................................................................... 37

UART/RS232 TRIGGER ................................................................................................................................................... 38

UART Trigger Options ............................................................................................................................................... 39

Pretrigger .................................................................................................................................................................... 39

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PROBES ............................................................................................................................................................................. 40

DATA ACQUISITION ...................................................................................................................................................... 42

CHANNEL STATUS ............................................................................................................................................................ 42

Signal Definition Values ............................................................................................................................................. 42

Pod Status ................................................................................................................................................................... 42

START A DATA ACQUISITION ............................................................................................................................................ 43

STOPPING THE ACQUISITION ............................................................................................................................................. 43

TIPS FOR A GOOD ACQUISITION ........................................................................................................................................ 43

DATA VISUALIZATION ................................................................................................................................................. 45

MIXED SIGNAL DISPLAY MODE ....................................................................................................................................... 45

Analog-Digital Delay Alignement window ................................................................................................................ 45

WAVEFORM VIEW ............................................................................................................................................................ 46

Create a Waveform View window .............................................................................................................................. 46

Zoom ........................................................................................................................................................................... 48

Graph Property ........................................................................................................................................................... 49

Cursors ........................................................................................................................................................................ 50

Go To a Selected Target ............................................................................................................................................. 51

Search ......................................................................................................................................................................... 53

Serial Protocol Interpreter ......................................................................................................................................... 55

STATE LISTING ................................................................................................................................................................. 56

Create a State Listing window ................................................................................................................................... 56

Cursors ........................................................................................................................................................................ 57

Browse the State Listing window and export data ..................................................................................................... 58

Search ......................................................................................................................................................................... 59

Serial Protocol Interpreter ......................................................................................................................................... 60

AT-XSS EXPANSION BUS .............................................................................................................................................. 60

DIGITAL PATTERN GENERATOR-SAMPLER (OPTIONAL) ............................................................................... 62

PROBES DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 63

SIGNALS DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 64

COMMAND BAR ................................................................................................................................................................ 65

PROJECT WINDOW ............................................................................................................................................................ 65

TREE FUNCTIONALITIES ................................................................................................................................................... 66

SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................................................................... 66

GENERAL .......................................................................................................................................................................... 66

SERIALIZER (SDK ONLY) ................................................................................................................................................. 67

CLOCK GENERATOR ......................................................................................................................................................... 69

TRIGGERING ..................................................................................................................................................................... 70

Edges and Levels ........................................................................................................................................................ 70

Conditions on edges.................................................................................................................................................... 71

Conditions on logic levels .......................................................................................................................................... 71

Relationship between trigger conditions .................................................................................................................... 72

SIGNAL DEFINITION ..................................................................................................................................................... 73

Add a signal ................................................................................................................................................................ 73

Add a bus .................................................................................................................................................................... 73

Remove a signal or a bus ........................................................................................................................................... 74

Edit a signal or bus name ........................................................................................................................................... 74

STROBE .............................................................................................................................................................................. 75

DIGITAL EDITOR ............................................................................................................................................................ 76

Basic Waveform Commands ....................................................................................................................................... 76

New Waveform window .............................................................................................................................................. 76

Digital Editor Window ............................................................................................................................................... 77

Zoom ........................................................................................................................................................................... 78

Digital Editor Window Toolbar ................................................................................................................................. 80

Data Editor ................................................................................................................................................................. 83

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Waveform View Settings ............................................................................................................................................. 83

Cursors ........................................................................................................................................................................ 85

Go To a Selected Target ............................................................................................................................................. 86

Search ......................................................................................................................................................................... 86

Waveform Sequencer Editor ....................................................................................................................................... 88

DATA VISUALIZATION ................................................................................................................................................. 91

WAVEFORM VIEW ............................................................................................................................................................ 91

Create a Waveform View window .............................................................................................................................. 91

STATE LISTING ................................................................................................................................................................. 94

Create a State Listing window ................................................................................................................................... 94

Cursors ........................................................................................................................................................................ 95

Search ......................................................................................................................................................................... 97

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Overview

AT-LA is an instrument able to acquire digital data through 36 channels, divided in 4 banks of 9 channels each and to visualize their time behavior thanks to the dedicated software. AT-LA is available in different configurations, depending on the maximum available memory (varying from 2M to 4M samples). AT-LA is connected to the system under test by means of probes with different electrical characteristics, depending on the signals to be acquired. Each probe supports 18 channels, divided in two banks of 9 channels each. Each probe is hot pluggable and is automatically recognized. Four independent and programmable thresholds are available (one for each bank of 9 channels) and used by active probes to discriminate between low and high levels. Data acquisition starts when a triggering event is detected by the instrument. The trigger can be configured by the user by selecting the suitable conditions on signal edges or on the input signal levels. Furthermore, it is possible to generate internally a trigger event so that data acquisition is independent of applied signals and it is performed automatically (free acquisition) or enabled by the user (manual acquisition). AT-LA can also trigger on events occurring on many serial protocols (i.e. I2C, SPI, RS232) and then analyze the packets of data transferred. Once data acquisition is terminated, data are transferred to the PC through a USB 2.0 or a USB 1.1 connection and then visualized as waveforms or values. AT-LA can sample input signals by using an internal clock signal (Time Analysis), whose frequency can be reduced on the basis of the signal to be acquired, or it can synchronize signal sampling to a signal clock provided by the system under test (State Analysis).

Operating principles

Digital signals acquisition means: i) to sample input signals, ii) to convert this values in logic values (0 and 1), iii) to organize these values in a set of waveforms. To establish the logic value of a sampled signal, it is necessary to compare the input value to a reference voltage, called threshold, that can assume a fixed value or can be varied depending on the used probe. If the input value is greater then the threshold, it will be converted to a high logic state (1), otherwise it will be converted to a low logic state (0).

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL INTRODUCTION

To detect the trigger event starting data acquisition the signal status must be monitored continuously. The operating principle of a Logic Analyzer can then be schematically represented as:

Note: This manual refers to a single AT Logic Analyzer. However, since up to 8 AT-LA can be connected together to increase the number of examined channels up to 288.

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Getting started

Hardware requirements

Minimum system requirements

• Microsoft™ Windows® 2000 or XP operating system;

• Pentium® III processor;

• 128 MBytes RAM;

• 100 MBytes available on hard disk for software installation;

• 800x600 video resolution;

• USB 1.1 connection.

Suggested requirements

• Microsoft™ Windows® XP operating system;

• Pentium® IV processor;

• 512 MBytes RAM;

• 1024x768 video resolution;

• USB 2.0 connection.

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Instrument description

AT-LA500

50 0 MS/s USB Log ic A nal yze r

Ch. 35 - 18 Ch. 17 - 0

Pod B

AT-LA500 – Front view

USBAT EXPANSION BUSTRIGGER OUT TRIGGER IN DC INPOWER

Status

Pod A

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AT-LA500 – Rear view

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

• Pods A and B: probe connectors;

• Power led: it indicates whether the instrument is ON;

• Status led: it indicates the instrument status as further specified;

• Power connector: connector for the external power supply

• Power-on switch;

• USB connector;

• AT expansion bus connector: connector for the AT-expansion bus, a dedicated cable used

to connect several instruments and also to connect an external device, like an oscilloscope, (with optionally AT-scope card);

Status Led

The status led may be: ON, OFF, or blinking and it indicates different operating conditions.

The status led is ON when:

• The instrument is ON, it is connected to the PC and its drivers have been correctly installed.

The status led is OFF when:

• The instrument is switched on but is not connected to the PC;

• The instrument is switched on and it is connected to the PC but its drivers have not been

installed;

• The instrument has been disconnected following the procedure described in the Remove an

AT Logic Analyzer paragraph.

The status led is blinking when:

• The instrument is reconfiguring;

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Probes description

Probes have to be connected to the testing board by means of opportune connectors. Regarding the probes connected to the Pod A the correspondence between the pins and the number of channels is reported in the following tables:

Bank 0 (Ch. 8..0):

Ch.8 Ch.7 Ch.6 Ch.5 Ch.4 Ch.3 Ch.2 Ch.1 Ch.0

n.c. GND n.c. GND n.c. GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

Bank 1 (Ch 17..9):

n.c. n.c.

Ch.17 Ch.16 Ch.15 Ch.14 Ch.13 Ch.12 Ch.11 Ch.10 Ch.9

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

n.c. n.c.

Regarding the probes connected to the Pod B the correspondence between the pins and the number of channels is reported in the following tables:

Bank 2 (Ch. 26..18):

Ch.26 Ch.25 Ch.24 Ch.23 Ch.22 Ch.21 Ch.20 Ch.19 Ch.18

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

n.c. n.c.

Bank 3 (Ch. 35..27):

Ch.35 Ch.34 Ch.33 Ch.32 Ch.31 Ch.30 Ch.29 Ch.28 Ch.27

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n.c.

Page 13

The

All

Before disconnecting or switching OFF an

mouse

Analyzer”.

Note

Probe connection

Data acquisition requires at least

or removed even when the instrument is on and the software is under execution. Any time a probe is

connected or removed, the software notifies the event and consequently enables or disables t

setup parameters.

Note

Probes must be connected to the system under test by mean

the corresponding enumeration for signals and

Pod A correspond to channels 0..17, while those present on a probe connected to Pod B correspond

to channels 18..35

Note

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

n.c.

The

correspondence

All

cables are ground connected

nstrument disconnection

Before disconnecting or switching OFF an

mouse

button

Analyzer”.

Note

If an instrument that has not been disabled is switched off or disconnected, its software may

not work properly.

Probe connection

Data acquisition requires at least

or removed even when the instrument is on and the software is under execution. Any time a probe is

connected or removed, the software notifies the event and consequently enables or disables t

setup parameters.

Note

Never remove a probe during data acquisition: acquired data may not be coherent.

Probes must be connected to the system under test by mean

the corresponding enumeration for signals and

Pod A correspond to channels 0..17, while those present on a probe connected to Pod B correspond

to channels 18..35

Note

All ground connectors are electrically connected. A wrong connection may cause shor

circuits and damage the system under test.

between the channels and the pod cables

Colours

Brown

Orange

Yellow

Purple

GND

icon on the application bar and by selecting “

one probe connected to

Pod A

Channels

, it must be disabled by clicking with the left

grounds. Signals present on a probe connected to

GND

is the following:

Pod B

instrument. Probes can be plugged

of the provided connectors, following

Safely remove

USB Logic

white

GND

n.c.

Black

Red

Green

Blue

Gray

n.c.

Bank 0

GND

Bank 1

n.c.

colours

Bank 2

Bank 3

n.c.

on the

LA500

-in

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Software loading

Note: Before loading the AT-LA500 control software it is necessary that the instrument is switched

ON and connected to the PC and that the drivers have been correctly installed. If the Logic Analyzer is switched OFF or if it is non connected to the PC, the software DEMO version will be loaded.

Once the software has been loaded, the AT-LA Start Page window appears. At this point a new project can be created, or an existing project can be opened. If available, the list of the recent projects appears on the left of the main window. If an Internet connection is available, the Active Technologies website news are shown in the Start Page.

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Guide to the first acq

The procedure required to perform a data acquisition

Probe connection

Software loading

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Guide to the first acq

The procedure required to perform a data acquisition

Probe connection

Connect a probe to Pod A;

Connect channel 0 of the probe to a signal source of the system under test (for instance a

signal clock) whose

Connect the probe round to the signal ground;

Software loading

Check whether the instrument is connected to the PC and that is switched ON. Drivers must

have been correctly installed;

Launch

Workspace

Click on Create Workspace on the

In the

folder path where the acquired

press OK;

On the left of the main window will appear the project tree column;

Double click on the Signal Definition icon

LA software;

New Workspace window, you can insert the desired name for the project, and the

uisition

amplitude does not exce

Getting Started

and settings

here described

the probe limit;

box

data will be stored.

: the Signal Definition window will appear;

step

on the left of the main window.

Insert required data then

•

reate a

•

AT-

-by-step

•

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Enter a name of a signal in the

button to add it to the list of the signals;

Double click the Ch0 row on the channel list available on the right. This will set the

correspondence of the channel 0 of the AT

previous point. Click OK to close the Signal

Double click on the Setting icon

Bus or Signal Name

: the Settings window will appear;

box, i.e. CLOCK

LA500 with the signal “CLOCK” defined at

Definition window.

then click on the

•

the

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

• In the Sampling tab, choose the better Sample Rate (i.e. 5x the frequency of the signal to

acquire);

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In the Triggering tab, click on

(it now contains also the signal name: CLOCK); click on the “both edges” icon

the condition A of the trigger level 0 is verified on every event occurring on

the AT

In the Probes tab you can set the threshold of the logic levels detected by the AT

This options is available only for active probes. Press OK to close the window;

Press the Start button

channel

the Add All button

Waveform View. Cli

window on the trigger event.

0, the instrument will trigger,

on the toolbar to start the acquisition. At the first edge on the

then click OK. Now you can examine acquired data on the

ck on the

ConditionA

hen a

branch of the Level0 tree; click on the Ch0 row

Signal Selection window will appear. Click on

button on the toolbar to center the Waveform

. Now

the channel 0 of

LA500.

•

-LA500;

Go to

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

AT-LA500 Software

AT-LA Software allows controlling all settings related to the instrument and to the open acquisition windows. Closing the AT-LA Navigator means to exit from the instrument control program.

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Menu bar

The following menu are available on the menu bar:

File

• New Workspace: it allows creating a new workspace, by specifying its name and its work

directory;

• Open Workspace…: it allows opening an already existing project;

• Open Settings…: it allows loading settings already saved;

• Open Signal Definition… : it allows loading signal definitions already saved;

• Save Settings As…: it allows saving current settings with another name;

• Save Context: it allows saving current project;

• Save Acqisition As...: it allows saving current acquisition data with another name

• Save Signal Definition As…: it allows saving current signal definition with another name;

• Import Acquisition…: it allows loading acquisitions data previously saved;

• Close Current Window: Closes the window currently selected;

• Close All Window: Closes all the windows in the project;

• Exit: it allows closing the program.

View

• AT-LA Solution Explorer: it shows the project explorer tree;

• AT-LA Start Page: it shows the Start Page, with the recent projects list.

Tools

• Pod Status…: it opens the Pod Status Reader window, that shows the current logic status of

all the inputs;

• Options: it allows changing the default projects folder;

• Analog Delay...: it opens the Analog Delay window, that allows aligning correctly digital

and analog data in the Mixed Signal Display Mode (see Analog-Digital Delay Alignement window chapter for details)

Window

• Lists the name of the project windows and allow showing the one which is selected.

Help

• About…: it shows the information related to the current software release.

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Status

The status bar

notify the insertion or removal of a probe.

Tool

Following controls and indicators are available on the main tool bar

Note:

the

automatically restart after every acquisition until the

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Status

bar

The status bar

notify the insertion or removal of a probe.

Tool

Following controls and indicators are available on the main tool bar

Note:

When Single acquisition is selected, the AT

the button is pressed

automatically restart after every acquisition until the

on the bottom side of the main window shows the status of the AT

; when Co

It allows creating a new project;

allows opening an existing project;

It allows saving the current project;

It allows saving the current acquisition

will be stored

the Solution Explorer tree;

It shows the Solution

It allows visualizing the status of inputs in real time;

It allows choosing between

acquisition

It starts the data acquisition;

stops the data acquisition;

force

shows the

ntinuous acquisition is selected, the AT

and the saved acquisition will be added to

trigger event;

current status of the acquisition.

LA500 will perform only one acquisition

button is pressed.

Explorer;

ingle

LA500. It also

: all parameters

ontinuous

when

LA500 will

bar

or C

s the

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Solution Explorer

This area contains a list of shortcuts to open the Waveform View, the State Listing, the Settings window and the Signal Definition window. It also contains user saved acquisitions. By double clicking with the left mouse button on the Waveform View icon, on the State Listing icon, on the Settings icon or on the Signal Definition icon, the corresponding window will be opened or created.

Signal Definition

This panel allows defining a list of signals or bus and choosing their correspondence to the channels of the AT-LA500. Only the signals defined in this panel can be viewed in the Waveform View or State Listing windows. The right table shows all the AT-LA500 channels and the colors of the correspondent wires.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 22

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Note

the projects (i.e. for the I

Adding a signal

To add a signal to the list, write the desired name in the

then double click on the desired channel

signal name and channel. You can also select the desired channel row and click on

methods can be used also to change any previously defined correspondence.

Adding a bus

To add a bus to the list, write the desired name in the

select the rows of the channels that will form the bus in the right table. Click on

selected signals to the bus.

Note

To chose a group of consecutive channels, click on the first one, keep pressed the Shift key, then

click on the last one. All the

Removing a signal or a bus

To remove a signal or a bus,

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SER MANUAL

Note

When a signal protocol trigger is selected, their standard signals are automatically added to

the projects (i.e. for the I

Adding a signal

To add a signal to the list, write the desired name in the

then double click on the desired channel

signal name and channel. You can also select the desired channel row and click on

methods can be used also to change any previously defined correspondence.

Adding a bus

To add a bus to the list, write the desired name in the

select the rows of the channels that will form the bus in the right table. Click on

selected signals to the bus.

Note

To chose more than one channel keep pressed the Ctrl key and click on the desired c

To chose a group of consecutive channels, click on the first one, keep pressed the Shift key, then

click on the last one. All the

Removing a signal or a bus

To remove a signal or a bus,

C the SCL and SDA

channels between the first and the last will be selected.

select it then click on

signals)

row of the right table

Bus or Signal Name

Bus or

to set the correspondence

Signal Name

click on

between

Both these

to add all

hannels

box

and

box and

click on ,

then

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Editing a signal or bus name

To change the name of a signal, select it, change its name in the Bus or Signal Name box and click on .

Settings

The Settings panel allows configuring AT-LA500 for a correct acquisition. It is divided in several tabs: Sampling, Triggering, and Probes. The Sampling tab and Triggering tab change depending on the selected Sampling Method.

Sampling

Within the Sampling tab it is possible to set the clock source, the sampling method, the sampling frequency and the AT-XSS Bus master if available. Furthermore, the acquisition time is shown. Five sampling modes are available within the Sampling Method menu ring:

• Normal Timing

• State Analysis

• I2C

• SPI/µWire

• UART/RS232

If more than one instrument are connected together by means of the AT-XSS Expansion Bus, the user can select the instrument where to set the trigger by using the menu ring AT-XSS Bus Master. Using the radio buttons Logic Analyzer Trigger Master and Oscilloscope Trigger Master it’s possible to select the trigger signal source, if an oscilloscope is present and connected; all the ATLA500 instruments connected together, can be triggered by the oscilloscope.

Note: The trigger event will be always generated evaluating only one of the connected instruments. For a better acquisition is suggested to set the trigger settings on a middle positioned Logic Analyzer.

Normal Timing Analysis

When this sampling mode is selected, data acquisition is performed by AT-LA500 by using an internal clock. The sampling frequency can be selected by means of the Sample Rate [S/s] menu ring. In addition, when configured in Normal Timing Analysis, the AT-LA500 also acquires data at

1.5GS/s. This is useful to detect glitches or skew between signals. These data are identified with the “HS” (High Speed) prefix. The High Speed sample rate is fixed, and the correspondent memory depth is 1kSample for each channel. However, it is possible to set a pretrigger and a delay specific for the HS acquisition data.

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Note: For a correct acquisition, the sampling frequency should be at least 4 or 5 times higher than the maximum frequency of the signals to be acquired.

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

State Analysis

When this sampling mode is selected, data acquisition is triggered by a specific event. If a clock signal is present in the system under test, this sampling mode allows synchronizing the data acquired by AT-LA500.

In the Expected Clock Frequency [Hz] control the clock frequency applied to the instrument can be entered. This feature allows dimensioning correctly the time bars in the visualization windows. Signals determining the clocks are divided in 4 groups of 4 signals, one for each bank. The division is the following:

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 26

Clock Channel

0 0, 9, 18, 27

1 1, 10, 19, 28

2 2, 11, 20, 29

3 3, 12, 21, 30

Page 27

For each clock it is possible to select one channel among four available. This feature allows using

all the programmable thresholds with the maximum flexibility.

For each clock it is possible to select the event triggering data acquisition. The possible c

Each sample will be acquired when at least one condition is verified on the signal edges and at least

one condition on the signal levels. The

condition that has been set.

Note

Not

Samples acquired during this phase are meaningless.

-LA500 – U

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For each clock it is possible to select one channel among four available. This feature allows using

all the programmable thresholds with the maximum flexibility.

For each clock it is possible to select the event triggering data acquisition. The possible c

Each sample will be acquired when at least one condition is verified on the signal edges and at least

one condition on the signal levels. The

condition that has been set.

Note

t least one condition on an edge of at least one clock must be set.

Not

efore commuting to an external clock, the instrument requires an initialization phase.

Samples acquired during this phase are meaningless.

Don’t care (the signal will be ignored);

High logic value;

Low logic value;

Rising edge;

Falling edge;

Any edge.

Resultin

indicator summarizes the logic

hoices are:

: A

e: B

g Clock

quation

Page 28

Normal and State Analysis

All trigger

and the name of this tab changes depending on the Sampling Method selected.

Trigger Levels

tree positioned on the left side of this tab.

To add a trigger level click on

To remove a trigger level click on

Each trigger level has 2 trigger condition “A” and “B”. Selecting one of the conditions

the tree, the correspondent settings pattern will be automatically updated on controls/indicators at

the right side o

the action to do when the condition appears.

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Normal and State Analysis

All trigger

levels and conditions

and the name of this tab changes depending on the Sampling Method selected.

Trigger Levels

AT-LA500 permits to edit up to 31 trigger levels,

tree positioned on the left side of this tab.

To add a trigger level click on

To remove a trigger level click on

clear all the trigger settings and to

Each trigger level has 2 trigger condition “A” and “B”. Selecting one of the conditions

the tree, the correspondent settings pattern will be automatically updated on controls/indicators at

the right side o

the action to do when the condition appears.

• None

• Trigger

Jump to

f this tab. For each condition

Level

necessar

a new trigger level will be added at the end of the list.

The condition happening will be ignored (Never Trigger);

The condition happening leads to a Trigger event;

The condition happening leads to a jump at trigger Level

where

Trigger

for data acquisition can be set in this tab.

this command will remove the last l

get the default trigger conditions click on

the user, by using the menu ring

is the number of one of the present trigger levels.

are represented with the symbol

possible actions

evel from the list.

Action,

The controls

in the

can also set up

ies

which

•

are:

A or

Page 29

Note

Edges and Levels

In order to set the condition “A” or “B” the user must properly set the state of the Logic Analyzer

channels.

To set

correspondent to the channel to set in the table on the right side of the window (note that the column

Signal Names

on the desired button on the top. If more than one signal

will be applied to all selected signals. Also, it is possible to set a level setting to all selected signals

by writing

Note:

mode.

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger conditi

edge, on a

edges of several signals, the trigger event will be determined by the

condition. If no trigger cond

will never

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger condition must be detected on a high or

a low logic level. When the trigger conditions have been set on logic levels of several signals, the

trigger event will be determined by

If no trigger conditions on logic levels have been set for any signal, the trigger conditions on logic

levels

The trigger condition set on logic levels is useful when the trigger event

specific pattern.

By using the

events on logic levels.

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Note

henever the acquisition starts the Logic Analyzer waits for the conditions at Level0.

Edges and Levels

In order to set the condition “A” or “B” the user must properly set the state of the Logic Analyzer

channels.

ach channel state can assume the following attribute:

Don’t care (the signal will be ignored);

High logic level;

Low logic level;

Rising edge;

Falling edge;

Any edge;

Sets the value entered in the near control box to a bus

To set

on a

correspondent to the channel to set in the table on the right side of the window (note that the column

Signal Names

on the desired button on the top. If more than one signal

will be applied to all selected signals. Also, it is possible to set a level setting to all selected signals

by writing

its value in hexadecimal format then clicking the

Note:

Some channels can’t also be available if they are used as Clock sources on State Analysis

mode.

onditions on edges

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger conditi

edge, on a

falling

edges of several signals, the trigger event will be determined by the

condition. If no trigger cond

will never

occur

onditions on logic levels

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger condition must be detected on a high or

a low logic level. When the trigger conditions have been set on logic levels of several signals, the

trigger event will be determined by

If no trigger conditions on logic levels have been set for any signal, the trigger conditions on logic

levels

always

The trigger condition set on logic levels is useful when the trigger event

specific pattern.

By using the

events on logic levels.

channel, first select the condition A or B of the desired level, then click on the row

contains the user defined names for the signals to ac

edge or for any

considered as

Level Condition

of the two

itions on edges have been set

the occurrence

verified.

: menu ring it is possible to select among several conditions for trigger

edge

the occurrence

are

. When the trigger conditions have been set on

f all conditions simultaneously.

quire). To set a condition, click

selected, the same level or edge setting

on must be detected on a

for any signals

occurrence

, trigger

must be detected for a

rising

at least one

on edges

: W

are

Va button.

events

Page 30

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

•

Trigger when EQUAL:

The trigger event occurs when the state of the evaluated signals is equal to the specified pattern;

Trigger when NOT EQUAL:

The trigger event occurs when the state of the evaluated signals is different from the specified pattern;

Trigger when CHANGED:

The conditions chosen by the user on logic levels are ignored. AT-LA500 will simply use the information related to which channels are to be examined for trigger detection.

Relationship between trigger conditions

A relationship between trigger conditions on edges and trigger conditions on logic levels can be set by the user, by using the Trigger condition menu ring. Several options are available:

Edge OR Level:

Edge AND Level:

Edge BEFORE Level:

Edge AFTER Level:

ALWAYS:

NEVER:

Note: The trigger event is detected in an asynchronous way, independently of the sampling frequency. If this frequency is too low or an external clock is used, the trigger event, even if correctly detected, may not be visualized in the Waveform or Data Windows.

A trigger condition occurs when one between an edge condition or a logic level condition is detected;

A trigger condition occurs when an edge condition and a logic level condition are satisfied simultaneously;

A trigger condition occurs when an edge condition has been detected at least once before that on logic levels;

A trigger condition occurs when an edge condition has been detected at least once after that on logic levels;

A trigger condition occurs automatically when data acquisition starts. Any setting on edges or on logic levels will be ignored;

Trigger is inhibited. Any setting on edges or on logic levels will be ignored. A trigger event, however, can be activated manually during data acquisition.

Pretrigger, PretriggerHS and DelayHS

The Pretrigger control allows specifying the position in which the trigger event will be located with respect to the AT-LA500 memory. If the most meaningful data must be sampled after the trigger detection, low pretrigger percentage must be selected. On the contrary, if signal evolutions before trigger event must be analyzed, a high pretrigger percentage is more suitable. The High Speed data have a dedicated PretriggerHS control to set the trigger position respect to the 1kSample HS memory. It is also possible to insert a programmable delay to shift the High Speed data acquisition to help to focus the event to examine if this is far from the trigger instant.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 30

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Note: The PretriggerHS can only assume values in the range 10% - 90%.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 31

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

I2C Trigger

In this mode, the AT-LA500 can trigger when a selected event occurs on a I2C (Inter Integrated Circuit) bus. Furthermore, the acquired data are decoded and shown in the Waveform View and State Listing windows.

To set up the AT-LA500 for an I2C acquisition, the following steps are required:

• Connect a Passive Probe or a High-Z Probe to the pod A. In this case you also have to

correctly set the threshold voltage in the Probes tab of the Settings window;

• Connect at least one grounded pin (white wires) to the ground of the board to test;

• Connect the Channel 0 (black wire) to the SDA line of the I2C bus to test;

• Connect the Channel 1 (brown wire) to the SCL line of the I2C bus to test.

Note: It is not possible to use a Low-C Probe to analyze an I2C bus: this could prevent the system under test to work properly.

The I2C trigger has 2 different options: Address and Address&Data. These options are selectable by using the I2C Trigger Type control.

Address

In this mode, the AT-LA500 can trigger when the I2C bus addresses one or more peripheral. In the Trigger On control, it is possible to choose which operation has to be triggered. The available options are:

• Read or Write: trigger on every operation on the bus;

• Read: trigger when the bus is performing a read operation, ignoring the ACK bit;

• Write: trigger when the bus is performing a write operation, ignoring the ACK bit;

• ACK R/W: trigger on every acknowledged operation on the bus;

• ACK Read: trigger on an acknowledged read operation on the bus;

• ACK Write: trigger on an acknowledged write operation on the bus;

• NACK R/W: trigger on every not acknowledged operation on the bus;

• NACK Read: trigger on a not acknowledged read operation on the bus;

• NACK Write: trigger on a not acknowledged write operation on the bus;

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 32

Page 33

In the

leaving X on the don’t care bits. Furthermore, it is possible to choose if the inserted value should

match or not match the one to trigger on.

It is possible to add other

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just described.

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table, modify the required

parameters, then click on

When more than one address condition

which is possible to choose between:

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

In the

Address Value

leaving X on the don’t care bits. Furthermore, it is possible to choose if the inserted value should

match or not match the one to trigger on.

It is possible to add other

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just described.

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table, modify the required

parameters, then click on

When more than one address condition

which is possible to choose between:

Sequence

specified

: the AT

control it is possible to insert the 7

: the AT

LA500 trigger

address conditions (up to 15) in the

to apply them.

LA500 triggers when all the

Additional Conditions

set, the

when at least one of the

bit binary value of the address to trigger,

Conditions Operator

entered

Additional Conditions

frame, then click on

address conditions are verified in the

address conditions

control is enabled, by

on the

verified.

•

• OR

order;

frame

are

entered

Page 34

Address&Data

When this option is selected, the AT

address followed by one or more data bytes.

The controls related to the address have the same meaning of t

described

To set the data, it is necessary to fill the

data byte to trigger

bus. Furthermore, with the

It is possible to add other

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just described.

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table, modify the required

parameters, then click on

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Address&Data

When this option is selected, the AT

address followed by one or more data bytes.

The controls related to the address have the same meaning of t

described

To set the data, it is necessary to fill the

data byte to trigger

bus. Furthermore, with the

ACK or NACK

ACK

NACK

It is possible to add other

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just described.

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table, modify the required

parameters, then click on

, and choose if this value should match or not match the one

: trigger on an acknowledged data;

: trigger on a not acknowledged data.

control, it is possible to choose between:

: the acknowledge bit is ignored;

conditions (up to 15) in the

to apply them.

LA500 triggers when a on the bus is detected the selected

Data Value

Additional Conditions

controls by writing the 8

Address

Additional Conditions

frame, then click on

trigger type case

bit binary value of the

detected on the

frame on the

•

And

just

data

Page 35

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

When more than one data condition are set, the Conditions Operator control is enabled, by which is possible to choose between:

• Sequence: the AT-LA500 triggers when the address condition and all the entered data

conditions are verified in the specified order;

• OR: the AT-LA500 triggers when the address condition and at least one of the entered data

conditions are verified.

Pretrigger

The Pretrigger control on the bottom side allows specifying the position in which the trigger event will be located with respect to the AT-LA500 memory. If the most meaningful data must be sampled after the trigger detection, low pretrigger percentage must be selected. On the contrary, if signal evolutions before trigger event must be analyzed, a high pretrigger percentage is more suitable.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 35

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

SPI/µWire Trigger

In this mode, the AT-LA500 can trigger when a selected event occurs on a SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) or µWire bus. The AT-LA500 can trigger on SPI operations addressing up to 8 different peripherals by monitoring the related SSn (Slave Select) signals. Furthermore, the acquired data are decoded and shown in the Waveform View and State Listing windows. The Protocol control allows to select between SPI and µWire protocol. When the µWire protocol is selected, some controls are disabled. The following description refers to the more general SPI protocol trigger settings options.

To set up the AT-LA500 for a SPI acquisition, the following steps are required:

• Connect a probe to the pod A of the AT-LA500;

• Connect at least one grounded pin (white wires) to the ground of the board to test;

• Connect the Channel 0 (black wire) to the SCLK line of the SPI bus to test.

• Connect the Channel 1 (brown wire) to the MOSI line of the SPI bus to test;

• Connect the Channel 2 (red wire) to the MISO line of the SPI bus to test.

• Optionally, connect Channels 3 to 10 to the SSn lines of the SPI peripherals of the board

under test;

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 36

Page 37

SPI Trigger Options

The AT

Trigger On

SPI peripherals have 2 configuration bits to allow 4 working modes, depending on the clock

polarity (CPOL) and phase (CPHA). The four mode are:

The

Since every SPI peripheral has its own SSn enable signal, it is possible to connect these lines to the

channels 3 to 10 of the AT

detection. The

have to be enabled. For example, if the SSn1 and SSn2 box are checked, the AT

when the selected condition is verified on the SPI peripheral whose SSn signal is connected to

channel 3 or on the one whose SSn signal is connected to channel 4.

select, all these lines will be ignored.

To set the data

binary value of the data byte

or not match the one

It is possible to add other data

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just described.

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table, modify the required

parameters, then click on

When more than one data condition

possible to choose between:

Pretrigger

The

will be located with respect to the

sampled after the trigger detection, low pretrigger percentage must be selected. On the contrary, if

signal evolutions before trigger event must be analyzed, a high pret

suitable.

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

SPI Trigger Options

The AT

LA500 can trigger on SPI events occurring on the MOSI or on the MISO lines

Trigger On

control allows to s

SPI peripherals have 2 configuration bits to allow 4 working modes, depending on the clock

polarity (CPOL) and phase (CPHA). The four mode are:

Mode 0

Mode 1

Mode 2

Mode 3

The

Clock Polarity

Since every SPI peripheral has its own SSn enable signal, it is possible to connect these lines to the

channels 3 to 10 of the AT

detection. The

have to be enabled. For example, if the SSn1 and SSn2 box are checked, the AT

when the selected condition is verified on the SPI peripheral whose SSn signal is connected to

channel 3 or on the one whose SSn signal is connected to channel 4.

select, all these lines will be ignored.

To set the data

binary value of the data byte

or not match the one

It is possible to add other data

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just described.

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table, modify the required

parameters, then click on

When more than one data condition

possible to choose between:

Sequence

conditions are verified in the specified

: the AT

conditions are verified.

Pretrigger

The

Pretrigger

will be located with respect to the

sampled after the trigger detection, low pretrigger percentage must be selected. On the contrary, if

signal evolutions before trigger event must be analyzed, a high pret

suitable.

control allows to s

: CPOL = 0; CPHA = 0;

: CPOL = 0; CPHA = 1;

: CPOL = 1; CPHA

: CPOL = 1; CPHA = 1;

and

Enabled Slave Select

gger on

detected on the bus.

: the AT

LA500 triggers when

on the bottom side

elect between these two options.

= 0;

Clock Phase

LA500 and

, it is necessary to fill the

leaving X on the don’t care bits

conditions (up to 15) in the

to apply them.

LA500 triggers when the address condition and all the entered data

= 0;

controls allows to select between these modes.

to select which ones should be evaluated during the trigger

frame lists all the SSn

Additional Conditions

set, the

order;

the address condition and at least one of the

allows specifying the position in which the trigger event

LA500

Data Value

Conditions Operator

memory. If

available signals. Check the ones that

controls by writing the 8

, and choose if this value should match

Additional Conditions

frame, then click on

control is enabled, by which is

most

LA500 will trigger

If none of the SSn boxes is

meaningful data must be

r percentage is more

. The

frame on the

entered data

•

to tri

-bit

•

• OR

control

are

AT-

the

rigge

Page 38

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

UART/RS232 Trigger

In this mode, the AT-LA500 can trigger when a selected event occurs on a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver and Transmitter) bus. Furthermore, the acquired data are decoded and shown in the Waveform View and State Listing windows.

To set up the AT-LA500 for an UART acquisition, the following steps are required:

• Connect a High-Z Probe to the pod A. In this case you also have to correctly set the threshold

voltage in the Probes tab of the Settings window;

• Connect at least one grounded pin (white wires) to the ground of the board to test;

• Connect the Channel 0 (black wire) to the RxD line of the UART bus to test;

• Connect the Channel 1 (brown wire) to the TxD line of the UART bus to test.

Note: It is not possible to use a Low-C Probe or a Passive Probe to analyze a RS232 bus: this could prevent the system under test to work properly and damage the probes.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 38

Page 39

UART Trigger Options

The AT

Trigger On

The

from 5 bits to 9 bits.

The

300, 600,

To set the data to trigger on, it is necessary to fill the

binary value of the data byte,

or not match the one detected on the bus.

It is possible to add other data conditions (up to 15) in the

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just d

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table

parameters, then click on

When more than one data condition

possible to choose between:

Pretrigger

The

will be located with respect to the

sampled after the trigger detection, low pretrigger percentage must be selected. On the contrary, if

signal evolutions before

suitable.

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

UART Trigger Options

The AT

LA500 can trigger on

Trigger On

control allows to select betwee

The

Polarity

The

control allows to choose the parity bit type to trigger on. The options are:

None

Don’t care

Even

Odd

Mark

Space

The

Packet Size

from 5 bits to 9 bits.

The

Baud Rate

300, 600,

1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 76800, 115200, 128000 and 153600 bps.

To set the data to trigger on, it is necessary to fill the

binary value of the data byte,

or not match the one detected on the bus.

It is possible to add other data conditions (up to 15) in the

bottom side of the window. The controls have the same meaning of the ones just d

To add a condition, fill the controls on the

To remove a condition, select the correspondent row in the table, then click on

To edit a condition, double click on the correspondent row in the table

parameters, then click on

When more than one data condition

possible to choose between:

Sequence

conditions are verified in the specified

: the AT

conditions are verified.

Pretrigger

The

Pretrigger

will be located with respect to the

sampled after the trigger detection, low pretrigger percentage must be selected. On the contrary, if

signal evolutions before

suitable.

control allows to select betwee

control allows to select the polarity of the UART signal to analyze.

: use this option if the parity bit is not present in the

: the parity bit will be ignored during the trigger detection;

: trigger on data followed by even parity bit;

: trigger on data followed by odd parity bit;

: trigger on data followed by a mark bit;

on data

control selects the number of data bits for every transfer on the bus. The range is

control re

: the AT

LA500 triggers when

on the bottom side

UART

followed by a space bit.

presents the data rate of the UART bus. The available values are 75, 150,

leaving X on the don’t care bits,

to apply them.

LA500 triggers when the address condition and

trigger event must be analyzed, a high pret

events occurring on the

n these two options.

Additional Conditions

set, the

order;

the address condition and at least one of the

allows specifying

LA500

Data Value

Conditions Operator

memory. If

RxD

protocol;

controls by writing the

nd choose if this value should match

Additional Conditions

frame, then click on

control is enabled, by which is

the position in which the trigger event

the most

or on the

escribed.

, modify the required

all the entered data

meaningful data must be

r percentage is more

lines. The

5 to 9

frame on the

entered data

Parity

•

: trigger

TxD

•

• OR

control

bit

are

AT-

rigge

Page 40

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Probes

This tab allows setting the threshold levels for each bank (only for probes supporting this option).

If more than one AT-LA500 are connected used, the AT-LA Number menu ring allows to select the instrument to set.

The threshold for each bank can be set manually by writing its value in V in the corresponding control. Depending on the probe type, the threshold voltage must be confined in a range automatically set by AT-LA500 when the probe is plugged-in.

Furthermore it is possible to set all thresholds to the same value by entering the selected value in the Set All Thresholds to control and by clicking on Apply Thresholds.

In addition, for sake of simplicity, some threshold voltages are already available for the mostly used logic families in the Set All Thresholds to menu ring:

• TTL (1.5V)

• CMOS (2.5V)

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 40

Page 41

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

• ECL (-1.3V)

• PECL (3.7V)

• LVPECL (2V)

• LVCMOS 1,5 (750mV)

• LVCMOS 1,8 (900mV)

• LVCMOS 2,5 (1.25V)

• LVCMOS 3,3 (1.65V)

• LVDS (100mV)

The appropriate value can be selected by means of the Threshold Presets menu ring and then the Set all key must be pressed.

Note: If an active probe is not connected to a Pod, it is not possible to set a specific threshold voltage for the corresponding banks.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 41

Page 42

Data Acquisition

Channel Status

Once one or more probes have been connected to the system u

can be examined in real time. This feature is activated by clicking on the

from the

The opened panel is formed by two tab

Signal Definition Values

If signals have been associated to the

tab

bus are represent

Pod Status

In the

symbols:

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Data Acquisition

Channel Status

Once one or more probes have been connected to the system u

can be examined in real time. This feature is activated by clicking on the

from the

Tools

The opened panel is formed by two tab

Signal Definition Values

If signals have been associated to the

tab

This option is useful, for instance, to detect the values of b

bus are represent

Pod Status

In the

Pod Status

symbols:

It indicates that a voltage below the threshold value is present on the corresponding

channel;

It indicates

edge);

Pod Status…

ed with its own value.

frame

that a commutation is present on the corresponding channel (rising or falling

the status of each

Signal Definitions Value

channels

channel

, they will be represented in the

is represented in real time by means of three

, the logic level of each input

and

us signals, since every signal and

key in the

Status

Signal Definition

tool bar

menu,

nder test

command.

les:

Pod

le.

Page 43

Start a data acquisition

Once

button

The

Note

or they m

If the trigger event does not occur, it can

data

If the sampling frequency is very low or if an external clock is used whose

longer verified, data acquisition may stop

Memories

Stopping the acquisition

Data acquisition may be stopped at any time by

If the

terminated.

If the

filling), data already acquired will be transferred to the PC for their visualization and/or storage.

Tips

Some tips allow improving data acquisition:

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

It indicates that a voltage above the threshold value is present on the corresponding channel.

Start a data acquisition

Once

LA500

button

of the

The

status box on the tool bar shows

•

• Waiting for trigger at Level

• Waiting for

• Waiting for Serial Protocol Trigger

• Trigger Detected

• Reading

• Acquisition Data R

Note

f the sampling frequency is extremely high, these messages may appear only for few instants

or they m

y even not appear.

If the trigger event does not occur, it can

data acquisition.

If the sampling frequency is very low or if an external clock is used whose

longer verified, data acquisition may stop

Memories

may remains visualized for a long time.

Stopping the acquisition

Data acquisition may be stopped at any time by

If the

terminated.

If the

button

filling), data already acquired will be transferred to the PC for their visualization and/or storage.

Tips

for a good acquisition

Some tips allow improving data acquisition:

lectrical contact

has been set correctly, data acqu

External Trigger

Acquisition Data

is pressed before a trigger event occurred, data acquisition is automatical

is pressed after a trigger event occurred (for instance to abort a too slow memory

Filling Memories

must be checked when connecting probes

the acquisition status.

The project has been loaded and the AT

ready to acquire;

(AT

selected serial protocol;

data;

Data acquisition is terminated and data are

transferring to the PC;

Data acquisition is terminated and data have been

transferred to the PC.

forced manually by clicking on the

or i

isition can be starte

The possible options are:

LA500 is waiting for the trigger event at Level

LA500 is waiting for an external trigger event

card is needed);

LA500 is waiting for a

LA500 detected a trigger event and it is sampling

t can proceed very slowly and

button

by clicking on the

trigger event on the

trigger

the

LA500 is

during

condition is no

Filling

AT-

Ready

: I

tool bar.

eady

-scope

• E

button

message

clicking on

the

;

Page 44

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

• Connect as many grounds as possible to the system under test. All grounds are connected

together, therefore it is important to check all ground connections to avoid short circuits;

• Once probes have been connected, check the input status on the Channels Status window to

verify that the visualized behavior corresponds to the expected one;

• When active probes are used, set the threshold level to a value suitable to the signal nature;

• If data acquisition is performed in the State Analysis mode, it is convenient to use active

probes for signal clocks. In this case a correct setting of threshold values allows using the clock signal with the correct duty-cycle. Signal clocks, furthermore, must be (if possible...) not affected by noise or disturbs that may activate erroneous acquisitions. Depending on clock signal frequencies, it could be necessary to invert the trigger setting on edge conditions to get a better acquisition;

• If data acquisition is performed in the Timing Analysis mode or in the serial protocol

analysis, select the most suitable sampling frequency. If the sampling frequency is too low, acquired data may be not coherent, while a too high frequency can evidence spikes or propagation delays, furthermore reducing the useful acquisition time window.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 44

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Data Visualization

Two different window types are available to visualize the acquired data: Waveform View and State Listing. It is also possible to visualize digital signals and analog data (acquired by an external device) together. This feature is called Mixed Signal Display Mode.

Mixed Signal Display Mode

The Mixed Signal Display Mode allows the user to visualize digital and analog data in the same window. To acquire Analog data the AT-LA500 software can be installed on a PC based oscilloscope connected to the AT-LA500 by means of the TriggerIN and TriggerOUT rear connectors (use 1m length BNC cable) and the USB 2.0 connection.

The AT-LA500 TriggerIN input must be connected to the oscilloscope TriggerOUT, and the ATLA500 TriggerOUT output to the oscilloscope TriggerIN.

The Mixed Signal Display Mode is available for Normal Timing and Serial Protocol Analysis acquisition modes. In Normal Timing mode, the AT-LA500 can send/ receive the Trigger pulse to/from the oscilloscope. For Protocol Analysis AT-LA500 can only send the trigger pulse to the oscilloscope through the TriggerOUT output.

If the AT-LA500 is set to receive the Trigger pulse from the oscilloscope, the Trigger condition must be set manually, if AT-LA500 is the Trigger master, the oscilloscope settings will be set by the AT-LA500 software automatically.

Note: The analog data visualized on the Waveform View are the same shown by the oscilloscope. Thus, only the channels of the oscilloscope that are turned on will be visualized in the Waveform View.

The names associated with the analog data are Analog Ch0, Analog Ch1, Analog Ch2, Analog Ch3. The analog data properties can be changed as for any digital data.

Analog-Digital Delay Alignement window

To open the Analog-Digital Delay Alignement window, click on the Analog Delay item of the Tools menu on the menu bar. The Analog Samples Delay(ns) box allows to change (if it’s necessary), the delay between digital and analog signals, to obtain the correct alignement. For example, if in the Waveform Window, analog and digital signals are affected by a delay of 3ns, Analog Samples Delay(ns) value must be changed by 3ns.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 45

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Waveform View

Create a Waveform View window

To open the Waveform view, double click on the icon in the Solution Explorer. When a new acquisition is complete, and the Waveform View window is not yet open, a Signal Selection window will appear to select which signals or groups of signals among those that have been acquired are to be visualized, then the Waveform View window will be shown.

Note: The High Speed signals acquired will appear with the user defined name and the “HS” prefix. Analog data will not be shown in this list: they will be automatically added to the Waveform View.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 46

Page 47

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

select it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time

To remove a signal from the visualization list, select it on the right side table and click on

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

Note

on the

Note

automatically

The Waveform Window allows analyzing acquired data in a graph containing digital

waveforms.

Note

In the Waveform View,

The icon of an opened bus becomes

It is possible to drag and drop the waveforms and change their order, to help the user to focus the

time relationship between edges. To do this, click on a signal name and drag it in the new position.

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

select it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time

To remove a signal from the visualization list, select it on the right side table and click on

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

Note

Signals

on the

icon in the Waveform View window toolbar

Note

hen the trigger is set on a serial protocol mode, the signal protocol names are

automatically

The Waveform Window allows analyzing acquired data in a graph containing digital

waveforms.

Note

Waveform

In the Waveform View,

The icon of an opened bus becomes

It is possible to drag and drop the waveforms and change their order, to help the user to focus the

time relationship between edges. To do this, click on a signal name and drag it in the new position.

can be added in

shown. They can’t be removed from the Waveform View window.

Single signals are visualized as digital signals, while grouped signals are represented as

View w

, just click on

(removed from) the Waveform View

can be opened only a

indicated by a

. Double click on it to

fter the first data acquisition

icon on the left.

window at any time

Double click on it to open a bus.

close a bus.

rm View

window,

by clicking

and analog

: W

uses.

Wavefo

indow

a bus is

Page 48

In the same way, it is also possible to in

from it.

To resize the signals amplitude, just drag the line between signals name

On the right of every signal or bus name, a number indicates the value that this signal or bus

assumes at the time

Cursors

By clicking with the right mouse button on the signal name column, a shortcut menu will appear

with these options:

Zoom

instruments, placed on the upper side toolbar:

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

In the same way, it is also possible to in

from it.

To resize the signals amplitude, just drag the line between signals name

On the right of every signal or bus name, a number indicates the value that this signal or bus

assumes at the time

Cursors

chapter).

By clicking with the right mouse button on the signal name column, a shortcut menu will appear

with these options:

• Add samples scale

Remove samples scale

• Analog mode display

•

Waveform View Settings

MSB on top

LSB on top

Zoom

move along the waveforms and to zoom, the Waveform View window provides many

instruments, placed on the upper side toolbar:

position of the master cursor (the cursors properties are described in the

Remove signals

Select

series of interval that represents the number of samples.

Select this option to remove the selected sample scale.

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a b

as an analog

or a DAC has to be tested.

This option allow

View.

Select this option to open the

window (see

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a bus

with the most significative

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a bus

with the less significative signal displayed as first;

Selection tool

tool.

Click and drag to move it.

Zoom In auto. Click to zoom in.

Zoom Out au

Zoom Manual. Select this tool to manually select the

area to zoom. Click in the

View and drag the cursor to the end point keeping the

left mouse button pressed.

Zoom All. Click to fit the visualization to view all the

acquisition time.

Analog Zoom in. Click to zoom in the selected analog

waveform (if

Analog Zoom out. Click to zoom out the selected

analog waveform (if present)

Analog Autoscale. Click to fit the selected analog

waveform amplitude in the

sert a signal into a

Select

this option to a

series of interval that represents the number of samples.

Select this option to remove the selected sample scale.

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a b

as an analog

or a DAC has to be tested.

This option allow

View.

Select this option to open the

window (see

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a bus

with the most significative

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a bus

with the less significative signal displayed as first;

Use the hand tool to

o. Click to zoom out.

present)

dd a signal, i

waveform. This is useful for example if an ADC

to add or remove signals to the Waveform

Graph Property

pan the acquisition.

start point of the Waveform

opened bus

The Waveform View Settings

chapter for details)

signal displayed as first;

to extract a waveform

dicated by a

, with a

•

Add

•

icon

Hand

Page 49

Graph Property

To change the graph properties, click on the

shown.

In the

Background Color

By clicking the

grids and to choose their colors.

By clicking the

near the cursors.

By clicking the

trigger position: it is possible also to select the line color and the linr style.

-LA500 – U

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Graph Property

To change the graph properties, click on the

shown.

In the

Graph property

Background Color

By clicking the

grids and to choose their colors.

By clicking the

near the cursors.

By clicking the

trigger position: it is possible also to select the line color and the linr style.

tab it is possible to change the graph background color by clicking on the

Major Grid

Trigger Line

and the

switch it is possible to show or hide the cursor position indication

switch it is possib

Minor Grid

le to show or hide a line that always identify the

. The Waveform Vi

switches it is possible to show or hide the vertical

ew Settings window will be

icon

box.

Cursor

osition

Page 50

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

In the Signals Property tab it is possible to change the color of a single signal, the representation of the value of a bus, the transition visualization mode, the space between signals and the height of all signals.

Note: The minimum All Signals Height value is 4.

Cursors

Cursors (also called markers) are useful to identify and enlighten data that, therefore, may be recognized or found easier. In addition cursors can be used to measure and to analyze acquired data. By clicking on Markers label in the Waveform View toolbar, it is possible to show or hide the marker window. In the Waveform View toolbar are also available indicators that show the active cursor (that is, the Id of the cursor currently selected), and the Absolute and Relative Positions, whose means are described below.

In the marker window are listed all cursors present in the Waveform View window. The master cursor is identified by the icon. All relative positions will be calculated respected to the position of the master cursor. Furthermore, the master cursor is moved automatically during a data search operation to show results. To change the master cursor, select the new cursor in the marker window and click on the icon in the Waveform View toolbar.

Note: In the Waveform View window, the master cursor is drawn in blue; all others cursors are drawn in yellow.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 50

Page 51

The columns

position (the time distance between the cursor position and the start of the acquisition) and the

relative time position (the time distance between the

the cursors is moved, all the values are automatically updated and shown.

It is also possible to add or remove cursors

button in the marker windows and by selecting the desired option in the shortcut menu that will

appear.

Note

cursors as needed.

Go To

The

within the visualization area. The possible options in the

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

The columns

position (the time distance between the cursor position and the start of the acquisition) and the

relative time position (the time distance between the

the cursors is moved, all the values are automatically updated and shown.

•

dd a cursor:

•

emove a

•

ove a cursor:

To remove all cursors:

It is also possible to add or remove cursors

button in the marker windows and by selecting the desired option in the shortcut menu that will

appear.

Note

: It is

possible to remove all the cursor

cursors as needed.

Go To

Selected Target

The

menu ring

within the visualization area. The possible options in the

•

Go to trigger

•

Go to time:

•

Go to normal samples start:

Go to normal samples end:

•

Go to Gigaview start:

•

Go to Gigaview en

•

Go to Analog samples start:

of the marker window

cursor:

possible to remove all the cursor

allows

Click on the

cursor will be added to the visualization area

Select the cursor to be removed in the

on the

Drag on the selected cursor.

possible to move

Click on the

selecting the position where the

show the progressive cursor identifier, the absolute time

and set the master

master cursor

visualization area is centered on it;

the master cursor is moved to the time

the box near the control;

master cursor

visualization area starts with the acquisition begin;

master cursor

visualization area starts with the acquisition begin;

master cursor

acquisition and the visualization area is centered on it;

master cursor

acquisition and the visualization area is centered on it;

master cursor

acquisition and the visualization area is centered on it. This

option is available only with oscilloscope integration;

cursor and the master cursor).

of the Waveform View w

cursor position indication:

key of the Waveform View window.

The user, however, can create

Go to

is moved to the trigger event and the

is moved at the acquisition begin and the

is moved at the acquisition end and the

is moved at the begin of the High Speed

is moved at the end of the High Speed

marker window

By dragging the

by clicking with the right mouse

aster cursor

menu ring are:

is moved at the begin of the analog

indow

cursor

going to

position specified in

Any time one of

. A new

and click

it is

as many

be moved

To a

To r

To m

•

Go to

•

key

key.

the

dot

but one.

the

Page 52

The

menu ring)

To move the selected

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

•

Go to Analog samples end:

•

Cursor

The

button

menu ring)

To move the selected

must be pressed

curs

to activate this operation (it shows the icon selected in the

to the middle of the current visualization, click on the

master cursor

acquisition and the visualization area is centered on it. This

option is available only with oscilloscope integration;

The visualization area is centered on the cursor

is moved at the end of the analog

Go to

the

icon.

Page 53

In the Waveform View

edge or a

To activate the search option, click on the

will

In the

to select the signal or bus where to search a specified value.

In the

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible options are:

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is selected, the

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

In the Waveform View

edge or a

falling

To activate the search option, click on the

will be opened, and

In the

to select the signal or bus where to search a specified value.

In the

Value

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible options are:

• From Start:

From End:

• From Trigger:

From Gigaview Start:

• From Gigaview End:

• Cursor

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is selected, the

search criteria can be entered.

list, all defined signals and bus (also the High Speed signals) are shown.

box, the value or the edge to search ca

• 0

•

t is possible to search a value related to a bus or, for a single signal, a

Search starts from the acquisition begin;

Search starts from the acquisition end;

Search starts from the trigger

Search starts from the High Speed acquisition begin;

Search starts from the High Speed acquisition end;

Search starts from the cursor

Value

Change

Search Settings

box can assume these values:

Search for a logic 0;

Search for a logic 1;

Search for a High Impedance (only for

Pattern

Search for a rising edge;

Search for a falling edge;

Search for any edge;

n be entered.

position;

, the

Generator Mode);

key and the

Compare

Search Settings

Value

rising

window

It is possible

menu ring

edge.

•

location;

earch list

and the

•

HiZ

•

Rise

Fall

Page 54

The

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the

key. The

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

The

Compare

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the

visualization window,

key. The

master cursor

menu ring allows

• =

•

HiZ

will move to the

select

Find if equal

Find if not equal

Find greater values

selected)

Find minor values (enabled only if a bus is

selected)

High Impedance (only for Pattern Generator

Mode);

click on the

between

Search Forward

found value.

the search option:

(enabled only if a bus is

and the

Search Settings

key or on the

Search Backward

window will be

;

•

;

•

OK button

Page 55

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Serial Protocol Interpreter

When a Serial Protocol trigger is selected, the serial bus acquired data are visualized and their interpretation is indicated in the Waveform View window: coloured rectangles will show where the bus operations begin and end; a string will specify which operation is represented.

The following table indicates the information that are shown for every protocol:

Protocol Interpreted operations

I2C START: Start bus condition detected;

Addr: Hexadecimal indication of the I2C address; R: Read operation; W: Write operation; ACK: Acknowledged operation; NACK: Not acknowledged operation; Data: Hexadecimal indication of the I2C data; STOP: Stop bus condition detected.

SPI START: Start bus condition detected;

MOSI: Hexadecimal indication of the data transferred on the MOSI line; MISO: Hexadecimal indication of the data transferred on the MISO line; STOP: Stop bus condition detected.

UART TxD: Hexadecimal indication of the data transferred on the TxD line. If

possible, an ASCII representation is also shown; RxD: Hexadecimal indication of the data transferred on the RxD line. If possible, an ASCII representation is also shown.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 55

Page 56

State Listing

In the

representing a signal or a group of signals.

column

selected.

Create a

To open the

Listing

groups of signals among those that have been acquired are to be visualized, then the

window will be shown.

Note

prefix.

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time, just click on

To remove a signal from the visualization list,

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

State Listing

In the

State Listing

representing a signal or a group of signals.

dditional columns indicate the sample number (

column

) and the

selected.

Create a

State Listing

To open the

Listing

window is not yet open,

groups of signals among those that have been acquired are to be visualized, then the

window will be shown.

Note

he High Speed signals acquired will appear with the user defined name and the

prefix.

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time, just click on

To remove a signal from the visualization list,

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

If some High Speed data are added, the

window

interpretation of the serial protocol bus operations, if t

State Listing

acquired data

window

, double click on the

Signal Selection

are visualized numerically in columns, each one

select it on the right side table and click on

State Listing

are visualized numerically in columns, each one

Sample

icon in the Solution Explorer.

window will appear to select which signals or

will be split in two independent sections.

the absolute time (

his trigger option has been

State Listing

Time

State

State Listing

“HS”

window, select

State

s column

Time

window

If the

: T

Page 57

Note

the

Note

automatically shown. They can’t be removed from the

In the

it to open a bus. The icon of an opened bus becomes

The

icon.

To resize the

Cursors

recognized or found easier.

On the left side of the

identified by the

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Note

Signals can be added in (removed from) the

the icon in the

Note

hen the trigger is set on a serial protocol mode, the signal protocol names are

automatically shown. They can’t be removed from the

In the

State Listing

it to open a bus. The icon of an opened bus becomes

The

Samples

The

column contains the progressive absolute time of every sample. It is indicated by the

icon.

To resize the

Cursors

(also called markers)

recognized or found easier.

On the left side of the

identified by the

State Listing

, a bus is indicated by a

column contains the progressive number of the acquired s

amplitude, just drag the line between signals name.

icon. All relative positions will be calculated respected to the position of the

window toolbar

are useful to identify and enlighten data that, therefore, may

In addition cursors can be use

State Listing

icon on the left of its name. It is possible to click on

window are listed all available cursors. The mast

Listing

State Listing

lick on it to close a bus.

d to measure and to analyze acquired data.

window at any time

window.

amples. It is indicated by the

by clicking on

er cursor is

: W

icon.

Time

columns

State

. C

Page 58

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

•

master cursor. Furthermore, the master cursor is moved automatically during a data search operation to show results.

It is possible to operate with cursors by clicking with the right mouse button on the cursor list and select one of these options in the shortcut menu that will appear:

• Add marker

Add a cursor to the State Listing Window;

Delete marker Set master Clear marker list

• Go to this marker

Remove the selected cursor; Set the selected cursor as the master; Delete all cursors but one; Move the State Listing list to show the position of the selected cursor;

• Representation…

Allows to select the Absolute and Relative Position representation. It is possible to choose between Time and Samples.

Note: It is possible to remove all the cursors but one. The user, however, can create as many cursors as needed.

The markers are indicated by the string Mn in the first column of the State Listing, where n is the progressive identification number.

Browse the State Listing window and export data

To jump quickly to the desired position of the State Listing list, it is possible to click with the right mouse button on the data and to select one of these options in the shortcut menu that will appear:

• Add marker

• Move selected marker here

• Show this sample on Waveform

View

• Go to selected marker

• Go to trigger

• Go to samples…

• Go to time…

• Save to txt file…

Add a cursor in the selected point of the State Listing window; Places the selected cursor to the specified position of the State Listing; Center the Waveform View on the selected sample (only if the Waveform View is already open); Move the State Listing list to show the position of the selected cursor; Move the State Listing list to show the trigger position; Move the State Listing list to show the samples which number is specified in the Go to sample… window that will appear; Move the State Listing list to show the samples which absolute time is specified in the Go to time… window that will appear; Allows to export data in text file. A window will appear to select which

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 58

Page 59

Note:

In the

bus or, for a single signal, a

To activate the search option, click on the

will

In the

to select the signal or bus where to search a specified value.

In the

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible options are:

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Note:

Exporting the entire acquisition may require a long time to be

In the

State Listing

bus or, for a single signal, a

To activate the search option, click on the

will be opened, and search criteria can be entered.

In the

to select the signal or bus where to search a specified value.

In the

Value

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible options are:

• From Start:

• From End:

• From Trigger:

Master Marker:

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is

window, as in the Waveform View, i

list, all defined signals and bus (also the High Speed signals) are shown. It is possible

box, the value or the edge to search can be entered.

selected, the

• 0

•

edge or a

Search starts from the acquisition begin;

Search starts from the acquisition end;

Search starts from the trigger position;

Search starts from the

Value

Fall

falling

Search Settings

box can assume these values:

Search for a logic 0;

Search for a logic 1;

Search for a High Impedance (only for

Pattern Generator Mode);

Search for a rising edge;

Search for a falling edge;

rows and column have to be

exported.

t is possible to search a value related to a

master market

, the

completed.

key and the

Compare

Search Settings

Value

window

menu ring

rising

edge.

•

earch list

;

and the

•

HiZ

•

Rise

Page 60

The

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the

key. The

Serial Protocol Interpreter

When a Serial Protocol trigger is selected, the serial bus acquired data are interpreted and visualized

in a Command column of the

operations begin and end; a string will specify which operation is represented.

To increase the number of available channels

frequency, up to 8 AT

synchronizing and controlling all AT

The

connected AT

driver and the

connect AT

trigger), transfer analog data to the pc when th

visualize digital and analog waveforms on the

Note:

minimize propagation skews among the different AT

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

The

Compare

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the

visualization window,

key. The

Serial Protocol Interpreter

When a Serial Protocol trigger is selected, the serial bus acquired data are interpreted and visualized

in a Command column of the

operations begin and end; a string will specify which operation is represented.

AT-XSS Expansion BUS

To increase the number of available channels

frequency, up to 8 AT

synchronizing and controlling all AT

The

oftware controls all AT

AT-XSS connection

connected AT

Expansion bus

driver and the

connect AT

trigger), transfer analog data to the pc when th

visualize digital and analog waveforms on the

Note:

When a data acquisition is performed using several AT

expansion cable, it is convenient to

minimize propagation skews among the different AT

•

menu ring allows

•

• !=

•

• HiZ

will move to the

LA500 can be connected by using the AT

is automatically recognized by the control software

LA500 as a single Logic Anal

scope

LA500 with a oscilloscope, set the trigger on it (the logic analyzer will wait an external

Change

select

Find if equal;

Find if not equal;

Find greater values (enabled only if a bus is

selected);

Find minor values (enabled only if a bus is

selected);

High

Mode);

click on the

State Listing

LA500 without any additional operation by the user. The presence

allows also synchronizing and controlling an external device. A s

card are needed to perform this operations. For example, it’s possible to

between

Impedance (only for Pattern Generator

Search Forward

found value.

zer with a higher channel number.

Waveform View window.

for any edge;

the search option:

and the

window: coloured cells will show wh

without

e trigger event

use the same probe type for each instrument to

LA500.

Search Settings

key or on the

degrading

occurs

LA500 connected together via the

Search Backward

performance or sampling

Expansion bus

which

on the oscilloscope and

window will be

ere the bus

which allows

manages all

pecific

• >

ster cursor

OK button

-XSS

AT-

-LA500.

-XSS

Page 61

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Note: For a better acquisition it is suggested to connect all AT-LA500 in consecutive slots of the AT-XSS expansion bus and to set the trigger event on an AT-LA500 positioned in an intermediate location.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 61

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Digital Pattern Generator-Sampler (Optional)

AT-LA500 can be configured to work as a powerful Digital Pattern Generator-Sampler (optional). In this working mode AT-LA500 provides the capability to emulate standard serial or parallel bus transitions or custom digital interfaces for system debugging and characterization. Its architecture is based on a vector/command memory and a powerful sequencer that defines the vector/command execution flow. The sequencer unit is a programmable finite state machine with a microcode memory that, combined with the vector/command memory, can generate long digital patters and control signals at a very high speed

As Digital Pattern Generator-Sampler the AT-LA500 provides:

• 36 Channels @ 125 MHz in Generation mode

• 36 Channels @ 250 MHz in Acquisition mode

• 640 Vectors in Generation

• 2 Million samples in Acquisition

• Digital Waveform Sequencer

• Parallel or 1,2 or 4 wire Serial Operating Modes

• Programmable Event Detector

• Multi-device synchronization with AT-XSS (SDK)

The 36 channels are divided in two banks, bank0 (Ch 17-0) and bank1 (Ch 35-18): the user can select both banks to generate, both to sample or one bank to generate and the other to sample the data,changing the direction of the output buffer with two control signals.

Digital waveforms (vectors and commands) can be edited in a tabular format or by means of a powerful and intuitive digital waveform editor that provides tools for advanced pattern definitions: clock, count and random patterns over a selection or the entire signal or bus.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 62

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Probes description

Probes have to be connected to the testing board by means of opportune connectors.

WARNING: use Passive Probes only with AT-LA500 Digital Pattern Generator.

Regarding the probes connected to the Pod A the correspondence between the pins and the number of channels is reported in the following tables:

Bank 0 (Ch. 8..0):

Ch.8 Ch.7 Ch.6 Ch.5 Ch.4 Ch.3 Ch.2 Ch.1 Ch.0

n.c. GND n.c. GND n.c. GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

Bank 1 (Ch 17..9):

n.c. n.c.

Ch.17 Ch.16 Ch.15 Ch.14 Ch.13 Ch.12 Ch.11 Ch.10 Ch.9

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

n.c. n.c.

Regarding the probes connected to the Pod B the correspondence between the pins and the number of channels is reported in the following tables:

Bank 2 (Ch. 26..18):

Ch.26 Ch.25 Ch.24 Ch.23 Ch.22 Ch.21 Ch.20 Ch.19 Ch.18

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

n.c. n.c.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 63

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

additional

Bank 3 (Ch. 35..27):

Ch.35 Ch.34 Ch.33 Ch.32 Ch.31 Ch.30 Ch.29 Ch.28 Ch.27

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

GND

n.c.

n.c. n.c.

Signals Description

The signals available on AT-LA500 Digital Pattern Generator-Sampler connectors are reported below.

Signal name Type Description

GND --

Ch[17..0] Input Output

Ch[35..0] Input Output

Ch[35] / CLK Input / Output

Digital ground

Digital pattern generator bidirectional pins bank 0

Digital pattern generator bidirectional pins bank 1

Clock generator module output pin or input/output pin

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Command Bar

The Command Bar allows managing in a simple and fast way the waveform generation for all enabled channels. The available commands are:

Upload the digital waveforms and the sequencer instructions.

Note: if the user make changes on Digital Editor form or on the Sequencer form, the upload button has to be pressed to load the changes on the instrument.

Start the sequencer and the generation of the digital waveforms

Stop the Sequencer

It opens the Strobe form

View Pod Status

Dock Windows

Tile Horizontally Windows

Tile Vertically Windows

Cascade Windows

Project Window

This section allows a full control of a project and it manages all settings of the enabled channels

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Tree functionalities

Left double click: when double-clicking on the mouse left button on a voice to be edited for the selected project, the corresponding editing tool will be opened: Settings, Digital Editor, Waveform View, State Listing, Signals Definition, Waveform Sequencer.

Settings

The Settings panel allows configuring the AT-LA500 for a correct pattern generation. It is divided in three tabs: General, Triggering, and Clock Generation.

General

The General tab allows defining the basic operation for Control Register Settings

Vector / Clock Gen (Ch

35):

Parallel-Serial Output In Parallel mode the output vector is parallel.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 66

Channel 35 can be used as output for the clock generated by the Clock Generator Module or as output for Vector(35).

Vect OUT sets Ch35 as output for Vector(35) Clk Gen Out sets Ch35 as Clock output

In Serial mode the serializer is activated and the serial output is available on Ch0 (1 wire mode), Ch0-Ch18 (2 wire mode), Ch0-Ch1-Ch18-Ch19 (4 wire mode).

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Write Mode Memory One shot: the data are written until the end of the

memory is reached

Cyclic Memory: the memory is written in a cyclic mode and data can be overwritten when the end of memory is reached.

Input Event Group Selection:

The waveform sequencer can monitor an event over two signal groups: Group 0 and Group 1. Selecting the Group 0 the waveform sequencer can monitor an event on Ch[14..0] (in addition to the Trigger condition from the Trigger Module), otherwise selecting the Group 1 it monitors an event on Ch[32..18] (in addition to the Trigger condition from the Trigger Module).

Frequency Division: The frequency division for the Digital Pattern Generator

internal clock can be set. The Pattern Generator works by default @ 125 MHz but a different working frequency can be set by changing the frequency register. This feature is useful to save vector memory in case of generation of waveforms with slow update rates.

The new working frequency will be 125 MHz/ 2^(FrequencyDiv) and also the Clock Generator module will be affected by the frequency division, so the clock generator maximum output frequency will be 125 MHz/ 2^(FrequencyDiv).

Allowed values are selectable in Frequency combo box.

Serializer (SDK only)

The serializer module is an hardware interface that takes the Vector stream and serializes it in 1, 2 or 4 serial channels. The Serializer can work in 8,16 or 32 bits Mode.

In 8 bit Mode four serial channels are available (Ch0,Ch1,Ch18,Ch19) and vectors must be loaded in this way: VECTORS(7..0) will be serialized by Serializer Module to generate Ch0, VECTORS(15..8) for Ch1, VECTORS(23..16) for Ch2,VECTORS(31..24) for Ch3 (LSB first).

Vectors[31..24] Vectors[23..16] Vectors[15..8] Vectors[7..0]

CH19 CH18 CH1 CH0

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In 16 bit Mode two channels are available (Ch0,Ch18 bidirectional) and vectors must be loaded in this way: VECTORS(15..0) will be serialized by Serializer Module to generate Ch0, VECTORS(31..16) for Ch 1 (LSB first).

Vectors[31..16] Vectors[15..0]

CH18 CH0

In 32 bit Mode one channel is available (Ch0) and vectors must be loaded in this way: VECTORS(31..0) will be serialized by Serializer Module to generate Ch0 (LSB first).

Vectors[31..0]

CH0

8 bit CONTROLS are updated every 8, 16 or 32 clock cycles depending on the Serial Mode. In Serial Mode if VECTOR(32) is '1', the Serializer starts to serialize the VECTORS stream, if it is '0' the Serializer doesn't serialize the stream (please refer to SDK manual for further informations).

Note: the Serializer module is not active in the present AT-LA500 software version. Serialization can be performed by using of the SDK application.

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output

Note: user entries could be recalculated to allowed frequency

duty cycle

lock with the Vector(34)

OR,AND,XOR,NOT,

Clock Generator

Clock Generator module allows generating a clock signal with a frequency up to 125 MHz.

The clock will be generated on Ch35. It is also possible to combine the clock with the VECTOR(34) signal using the strobe function. The following options are available: NOP,OR,AND,XOR,NOT, NOR, NAND, XNOR. The Clock generator also provides a synchronized signal to the Sequencer Module to generate vectors synchronized with the output clock.

Frequency

It sets the frequency (in MHz) of the Clock Generator.The frequency depends on the frequency division set by the user.

values.

Duty Cycle

It sets the generated clock duty cycle of the clock signal.

Note: user entries could be recalculated to allowed values.

Delay

It sets the delay to the synchronized signal.

Note: user entries could be recalculated to allowed delay values.

Strobe Operation

It allows combining logically the Output c signal. The possible logic options are: NOP, NOR, NAND, XNOR, FORCE LOW, FORCE HIGH

Enable It enables or disables the Clock Generator Module

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Triggering

Trigger) to generate a trigger event like

The Trigger Condition is available only for Digital Pattern set as Master device. If the device has

been set as slave, it will receive the trigger event

Edges and Levels

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger condition must be detected on a rising

edge, on a falling edge or for any of the two edges. When the trigger conditions have been set on

edges of several signals, the trigger event will be dete

condition. If no trigger conditions on edges have been set for any signals, trigger events on edges

will never occur.

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Triggering

Trigger Module

Trigger) to generate a trigger event like

The Trigger Condition is available only for Digital Pattern set as Master device. If the device has

been set as slave, it will receive the trigger event

Edges and Levels

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger condition must be detected on a rising

edge, on a falling edge or for any of the two edges. When the trigger conditions have been set on

edges of several signals, the trigger event will be dete

condition. If no trigger conditions on edges have been set for any signals, trigger events on edges

will never occur.

allows setting

Don’t care (the signal will be ignored);

High logic level;

Low logic level;

Risin

Falling edge;

Any edge;

a trigger condition on

a logic analyzer.

Ch (

XSS bus (SDK mode only).

rmined by the occurrence of

..0) and on Vector(

) (Extended

at least one

from AT-

g edge;

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Sets a bus at the hexadecimal value entered in the adiacent control box.

To set the state on a channel, click on the row correspondent to the channel to be set in the table on the right side of the window (note that the column Signal Names contains the user defined names for the signals to acquire). To set a condition, click on the desired button on the top. If more than one signal is selected, the same level or edge setting will be applied to all the selected signals. It is also possible to set a level setting to all selected signals by writing its value in hexadecimal format then clicking the Va button.

Conditions on edges

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger condition must be detected on a rising edge, on a falling edge or for any of the two edges. When the trigger conditions have been set on edges of several signals, the trigger event will be determined by the occurrence of at least one condition. If no trigger conditions on edges have been set for any signals, trigger events on edges will never occur.

Conditions on logic levels

For each signal it is possible to indicate whether the trigger condition must be detected on a high or a low logic level. When the trigger conditions have been set on logic levels of several signals, the trigger event will be determined by the occurrence of all conditions simultaneously. If no trigger conditions on logic levels have been set for any signal, the trigger conditions on logic levels are always considered as verified. The trigger condition set on logic levels is useful when the trigger event must be detected for a specific pattern. By using the Level Condition: menu ring it is possible to select among several conditions for trigger events on logic levels.

Trigger when EQUAL:

Trigger when NOT EQUAL:

Trigger when CHANGED:

The trigger event occurs when the state of the evaluated signals is equal to the specified pattern;

The trigger event occurs when the state of the evaluated signals is different from the specified pattern;

The signals selected for a trigger event on logic levels are examined when data acquisition starts. These sampled values will constitute the reference pattern. The trigger event occurs when the state of the selected signals is different from the reference pattern. The conditions chosen by the user on logic levels are ignored. AT-LA500 will simply use the information related to which channels are to be examined for trigger detection.

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Relationship between trigger conditions

A relationship between trigger conditions on edges and trigger conditions on logic levels can be set by the user, by using the Trigger condition menu ring. Several options are available:

Edge OR Level

Edge AND Level A trigger condition occurs when an edge condition and a logic

Edge BEFORE Level

Edge AFTER Level A trigger condition occurs when an edge condition has been

ALWAYS A trigger condition occurs automatically when data acquisition

NEVER Trigger is inhibited. Any setting on edges or on logic levels

A trigger condition occurs when one between an edge condition or a logic level condition is detected

level condition are satisfied simultaneously

A trigger condition occurs when an edge condition has been detected at least once before that on logic levels

detected at least once after that on logic levels

starts. Any setting on edges or on logic levels will be ignored

will be ignored. A trigger event, however, can be activated manually during data acquisition

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Signal Definition

This panel allows defining a list of signals or bus and choosing their correspondence to the channels

of the AT

Only the signals defined in this panel can be viewed in the

The right table shows all the AT

Add a signal

To add a signal to the list, write the desired name in the

between signal name and channel. It is also possible to select the desired channel row and click the

Both these methods can be used also to chang

Add a bus

To add a bus to the list, write the desired name in the

button. Then select the rows of the channels that will form the bus in the right table. Click on the <

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Signal Definition

This panel allows defining a list of signals or bus and choosing their correspondence to the channels

of the AT

LA500

Only the signals defined in this panel can be viewed in the

The right table shows all the AT

Add a signal

To add a signal to the list, write the desired name in the

button. then double click on the desired channel row of the right table to set the correspondence

between signal name and channel. It is also possible to select the desired channel row and click the

< button.

Both these methods can be used also to chang

Add a bus

To add a bus to the list, write the desired name in the

button. Then select the rows of the channels that will form the bus in the right table. Click on the <

tton to add all selected signals to the bus.

Digital Pattern Generator.

LA500

channels and the colors of the correspondent wires.

e any previously defined correspondence.

Bus or Signal Name

Digital Editor

or Data Editor w

box and click on the

indows.

Page 74

Both these methods can be used also to change any previously defined correspondence.

Remove a signal or a bus

To remove a signal or a bus, select it then click on

Edit a signal or bus name

To change the name of a signal, select it, change its name in the

the

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Both these methods can be used also to change any previously defined correspondence.

Note

Remove a signal or a bus

To remove a signal or a bus, select it then click on

Edit a signal or bus name

To change the name of a signal, select it, change its name in the

the button.

To choose more than one channel keep pressed the Ctrl key and click on the desired

channels. To choose a group of consecutive channels, click on the first one, keep

pressed the Shift key, then click on the last one. All the channels between the first and

he last will be selected.

button.

Bus or Signal Name

box and click

the

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Strobe

This panel allows assigning values to Digital Pattern Generator pins, read their status or setting them in a high impedance state.

Strobe Vectors It allows assigning a value to Vectors[15..0], to the Extended

Trigger signal and to Write RAM signals. By pressing the Strobe button the output channels will change their logic levels to the assigned ones.

Pods status The Digital Pattern Generator can also operate in Sampler mode.

Channels change their behavior from outputs to inputs. When the Read Pods Status button is pressed, the logic level of each input can be examined in real time.

HiZ Strobe By pressing the Set HiZ button all channels will go in a impedance

state

Buffer 0/1 Direction

It controls the direction of the output buffer 0 (Ch 17..0) and the direction of the buffer 1(35..0). If Out is selected, the direction is output (generation mode), if In the direction is input (acquisition mode)

Extended Trigger Extended trigger input enabled or disabled Write RAM Active high signal. If high (Enable), the AT-LA500 Pattern stores

the current channel value in the SRAM memory.

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Digital Editor

This windows allows editing digital waveforms.

The user can

the sequencer will recall during its operations.

This windows presents many commands in the Menu Bar. They will be described separately,

depending on their role.

Basic Waveform

These commands operate on waveforms

New Waveform window

The New Waveform window is opened when the

The New Waveform Window allows

signals that will be inserted in the

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

select it on the left side table and click

To add all signals at a time, just click on

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Digital Editor

This windows allows editing digital waveforms.

The user can

the sequencer will recall during its operations.

This windows presents many commands in the Menu Bar. They will be described separately,

depending on their role.

Basic Waveform

These commands operate on waveforms

New Waveform window

The New Waveform window is opened when the

The New Waveform Window allows

signals that will be inserted in the

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

select it on the left side table and click

To add all signals at a time, just click on

the vector/control memory (

Comman

Digital Editor

Add waveform. When the

New Waveform window is opened.

Remove waveform

Modify waveform

Save waveforms and sequencer instructions

defining

button

samples) in blocks called waveforms that

Add waveform

the waveform length in samples or time and the

Add Waveform

button is pressed.

button is pressed, the

Digital Editor

window,

segment

640

Window.

the

Page 77

To remove a signal from the visualization list, select

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

WriteRAM

functions are:

Digital Editor Window

The

waveforms. Single signals are visualized as digital signals, while grouped signals are represented as

buses.

In the

name

The icon of an opened bus becomes

It is possible to drag and drop the waveforms and change their order, to help the user to focus the

time relatio

In the same way, it is also possible to insert a signal into an opened bus or to extract a waveform

from it.

To resize the signals amplitude, just drag the line betwee

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SER MANUAL

To remove a signal from the visualization list, select

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

WriteRAM

functions are:

WriteRAM

Extended Trigger

Digital Editor Window

The

Digital

waveforms. Single signals are visualized as digital signals, while grouped signals are represented as

buses.

In the

Digital Editor

name

to open a bus.

The icon of an opened bus becomes

It is possible to drag and drop the waveforms and change their order, to help the user to focus the

time relatio

nship between edges. To do this, click on a signal name and drag it in the new position.

In the same way, it is also possible to insert a signal into an opened bus or to extract a waveform

from it.

To resize the signals amplitude, just drag the line betwee

Extended Trigger IN

Window allows editing data in a graph containing digital waveforms or analog

, a bus is indicated by a

if it goes high, the Digital Pattern Generator stores data on its

memory (up to

it works like an internal trigger that can be used to generate a

trigger event for Trigger Module.

. Double click on it to close a bus.

it on the right side table and click on

are always present in the new waveform

samples).

icon on the left

n signals name.

of its name.

Double click on it

and

signals

heir

Editor

Page 78

On the right of every signal or bus name, a number indicates the value that this signal or bus

assumes at the time position of the master cursor (the cursors properties are described in the

Cursors

By clicking with the right mous

with these options:

Zoom

To move along the waveforms and to zoom, the

placed on the upper side toolbar:

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On the right of every signal or bus name, a number indicates the value that this signal or bus

assumes at the time position of the master cursor (the cursors properties are described in the

Cursors

chapter).

By clicking with the right mous

with these options:

Zoom

To move along the waveforms and to zoom, the

placed on the upper side toolbar:

Add samples scale

Analog mode display

Remove signals

e button on the signal name column, a shortcut menu will appear

Selection tool

Hand tool. Use the hand tool to pan the acquisition. Click and drag to move

Zoom In auto. Click

Zoom Out auto. Click to zoom out.

Zoom Manual. Select this tool to manually select the area to zoom. Click in

the start point of the Waveform View and drag the cursor to the end point

keeping the left mouse button pressed.

All. Click to fit the visualization to view all the acquisition time.

Analog Zoom in. Click to zoom in the selected analog waveform (if

Select this option to add a signal, indicated by a

with a series of interval that represents the number of

samples.

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a

bus as an analog waveform.

This is useful for example if an ADC or a DAC has to be

This option allows adding

Digital Editor

to zoom in.

Digital Editor

or remov

window provides many instruments,

icon,

signals to the

tested.

Add-

ing

it.

Zoom

present)

Page 79

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Analog Zoom out. Click to zoom out the selected analog waveform (if

Analog Autoscale. C

lick to fit the selected analog waveform amplitude

present)

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Arbitrary Value allows overwriting a node value over the selected

To overwrite a node value perform the

toolbar. The

Specify the new value you want overwritten

feature can be used to

automatically generate the clock wave, rather

The start and end time of a clock signal can

Digital Editor Window Toolbar

Several commands allow operating on the waveforms. In particular:

Signal/bus to 0

Signal/bus to 1

Signal/bus to High Impedance

Signal/bus to Arbitrary Value.

waveform, waveform interval, or across one or more nodes or groups.

following steps:

Select a node or a bus and click the Value button on the Digital Editor Arbitrary Value dialog box appears. In the Radix list, select the radix type.

in the Numeric or named value box. Click OK.

Clock Editor for selected signal.

The Clock

than drawing each clock triggering pulse.

be selected.

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Counter editor applies a count value to a bus

to increment the value of the bus by a

Instead of manually editing the values for

each node, the Counter editor automatically

es specifying a starting

value for a bus and the time interval to

random

node values over the selected waveform,

or more

andom node values by every grid

interval, every specified time or at fixed

file. The

file is encoded using the CSV (Comma

line in

the CSV file corresponds to a row in the

ithin a line, fields are

separated by commas, each field

The first row contains the pod index with

character #, for example #1

signal, #39 is

signal (please

Next rows contain the pod values: only

values 0,1,2 are allowed. 0 is the low

logical level, 1 is the high logical level

Counter Editor for selected bus.

specified time interval.

creates the counting values for buses. This feature enabl

increment by.

Invert signal/bus value.

Random Value for signal/bus.

Random Value allows generating

waveform interval, or across one nodes or groups.

intervals can be generated.

Import Data.

Import waveforms from a .csv

Separated Values) format, each

table and w

belonging to one table column.

the prefix stands for Pod 1. Note: #38 is the Write Ram the Extended Trigger IN see above for description).

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The imported data will be visualized on

the Digital Editor Window and on the

, but only data corresponding

to bus/signals added on the Digital Editor

Instrument settings cannot be imported,

sualized with the

Export waveforms to a .csv file. The file

is encoded using the CSV (Comma

each line in

the CSV file corresponds to a row in the

table and within a line, fields are

separated by commas, each field

The first exported row contains the pod

index with the prefix character #, for

signal, #39 is

signal (please

Next exported rows contain the pod

values: only values 0,1,2 are allowed. 0

is the low logical level, 1 is the high

logical level and 2 is the high impedance

Only data corresponding to bus/signals

dded on the Digital Editor Window will

and 2 is the high impedance state (HiZ).

Data Editor

Window will be imported.

the data will be vi current user settings.

Export Data.

Separated Values) format,

belonging to one table column.

example #1 stands for Pod 1. Note: #38 is the Write Ram the Extended Trigger IN see above for description).

state (HiZ).

a be exported. Instrument settings cannot be exported.

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Page 83

Data Editor

Within the

The modifications will also appear on the

In the Data Editor two additional columns are present

On the Data Editor, a bus is indicated by

It is possible to click on it to open a bus.

To resize the columns amplitude, just drag the line between signals name.

Waveform View Settings

To change the graph

window will be shown.

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Data Editor

Within the

Data Editor

The modifications will also appear on the

In the Data Editor two additional columns are present

On the Data Editor, a bus is indicated by

It is possible to click on it to open a bus.

To resize the columns amplitude, just drag the line between signals name.

Waveform View Settings

To change the graph

window will be shown.

be used

, data

Samples

Time

or signal

to edit

properties, click on the

It is composed by two tabs:

signal/bus values

data are visualized

Digital Editor

contains the progressive number of the acquired samples

It contains

in numerical format.

numerically in columns

placed above it

the progressive absolute time of every sample

icon on the left of its name.

Graph property

icon. The Waveform

and

Signals prope

Settings

can

where

column

the

View

rty.

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AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

In the Graph property tab it is possible to change the graph background color by clicking on the Background Color box. By clicking the Major Grid and the Minor Grid switches it is possible to show or hide the vertical grids and to choose their colors. By clicking the x Cursor position visible switch it is possible to show or hide the cursor position indication near the cursors.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 84

Page 85

Cursors

recognized or found easier. In addition cursors can be used to measure and to analyze acquired data.

By clicking on

window

In the

the Id of the cursor currently selected), and

The columns of the marker window show the progressive cursor identifier, the absolute time

position (the time distance between the cursor position and the start of the

relative time position (the time distance between the cursor and the master cursor).

the cursors is moved, all the values are automatically updated and shown.

The following command allow operating on cursors

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SER MANUAL

Note:

Cursors

rsors (also called markers) are useful to identify and enlighten data that, therefore, may be

recognized or found easier. In addition cursors can be used to measure and to analyze acquired data.

By clicking on

window

In the

Digital Editor

the Id of the cursor currently selected), and

Note

The columns of the marker window show the progressive cursor identifier, the absolute time

position (the time distance between the cursor position and the start of the

relative time position (the time distance between the cursor and the master cursor).

the cursors is moved, all the values are automatically updated and shown.

The following command allow operating on cursors

The minimum All Signals Height value is 20.

Markers

toolbar are also available

All cursors present in the

window are listed in the

The master cursor is identified by the

All relative positions will be calculated

with respect to the position of the master

The master cursor is

during a data search operation to show

To change the master cursor, select the

new cursor in the marker window and click

In the

label in the

moved automatically

icon in the

window, the master cursor is drawn in blue; all others cursors are drawn in

To add

visualization area

To remove a cursor

window than click on the key

Digital Editor

Absolute and Relative Positions

Digital Editor

marker window

Digital Editor

a cursor

toolbar,

indicators that show the active cursor (that is,

click on this key

select the cursor to be removed in the market

it is possible to show or hide the

A new cursor will be

acquisition) and the

marker

Any time one of

added to the

icon.

cursor.

its

some

results.

on the toolbar.

yellow.

Digital Editor

Page 86

It is also possible to add or remove cursors and set the master by clicking with the right mouse

button in the marker windows and by selecting the desired option in the shortcut menu that will

appear.

Go To a Selected Target

The

moved within the visualization area. The possible options in the

The

To move the selected

In the

edge or a falling edge.

To activate the search option, click on the

will be opened, and search criteria can be entered.

-LA500 – U

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It is also possible to add or remove cursors and set the master by clicking with the right mouse

button in the marker windows and by selecting the desired option in the shortcut menu that will

appear.

Note

Go To a Selected Target

The

Go to option

moved within the visualization area. The possible options in the

The

key must be pressed to activate this operation.

To move the selected

In the

Digital

edge or a falling edge.

To activate the search option, click on the

will be opened, and search criteria can be entered.

Drag on the

selected cursor

It is possible to remove all the cursors but

needed.

menu ring allows selecting the position where the master cursor is going to be

Go to time

Go to start samples

Go to end samples

Cursor

cursor

Editor it is possible to search a value related to a bus or, for a single signal, a rising

To move a cursor

cursor dot it is possible to move the cursor position indication:

To remove all cursors

to the middle of the current visualization, click on the

the master cursor is moved to the time position specif

the box close to the control

master cursor

visualization area starts with the acquisitio

master cursor

visualization area starts with the acquisition begin

The visualization area is centered on the cursor

Search Settings

drag on the selected cursor.

click on this key

The user, however, can create as many cursors as

is moved at the acquisition begin and the

is moved at the acquisition end and the

option

key and the Search Settings window

By dragging the

menu ring are:

n begin

By dragging the

ied in

n begin

one.

Go to

the

icon.

Page 87

In the

to select the signal or bus where to search a specified value

In the

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is selected, the

The

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

In the

to select the signal or bus where to search a specified value

In the

Value

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is selected, the

The

Compare

list, all defined signals and bus (also the High Speed signals)

box, the value or the edge to search can be entered.

menu ring allows to select between the search option:

Search st

Search starts from the cursor

Value

arts from the acquisition begin

starts from the acquisition end

box can assume these values:

Search for a logic 0

Search for a logic 1

Search for a High Impedance (o

Search for a

Search for

Search for any edge

Find if equal

list, the

rising edge

a falling edge

is to be searched.

Compare

are shown. It is possible

options are:

Value

nly for Pattern Generator

menu ring

From Start

From End

Cursor n

HiZ

Rise

Fall

Change

Mode)

location

and the

Page 88

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the visualization window, click on the

key. The master cursor will move to the next found value.

Waveform

The sequencer unit is a programmable finite state machine with a microcode memory that,

combined with

signals at a very high

Double click on

The sequencer instructions allow to:

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SER MANUAL

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the visualization window, click on the

key. The master cursor will move to the next found value.

Waveform

The sequencer unit is a programmable finite state machine with a microcode memory that,

combined with

signals at a very high

Double click on

The sequencer instructions allow to:

Repeat vectors stored inside the vector memory at each of several addresses

Make conditional and unconditional jumps

Monitor input signals combining them with a mask

Modify the mask on input signals

Insert wait states

Wait for trigger events

Reset the

Instruction

NOP

HiZ

Sequencer

vector

speed (125 MHz).

the icon

Trigger events

Editor

/command

of the Project Tree

Explanation

Find if not equal

Find greater values (ena

Find minor values (enabled only if

High Impedance

Search Forward

memory, can generate very long digital patters and control

Parameters

Repetitions

button and the

to open the Sequencer Form.

. Minimum=0 Maximum = 65535 (It means

bled only if a bus is selected)

Search Settings

key or on the

a bus is selected)

Search Backward

window will be

•

the

Page 89

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

Mask = Input Event

Input Event (HEX):

Operation that NOP instruction can be repeated from 1 to 65536

times) . Loop Mode: NO LOOP, LOOP BEGIN (it marks the first instruction of a loop), LOOP END (it marks the last

instruction of a loop). Repeat Waveform

Repeat a waveform

Waveform: waveform name

Repetitions. Minimum=0 Maximum = 65535 (It means

that the waveform will be repeated from 1 to 65536

times) .

Loop Mode: NO LOOP, LOOP BEGIN (it marks the

first instruction of a loop), LOOP END (it marks the last

instruction of a loop). Sync Repeat Waveform

Repeat a waveform synchronized with the clock signal generated by the Clock

Waveform: waveform name

Repetitions. Minimum=0 Maximum = 65535 (It means

that the waveform will be repeated with allowed values

from 1 to 65536 times) .

Loop Mode: NO LOOP, LOOP BEGIN (it marks the

first instruction of a loop), LOOP END (it marks the last

instruction of a loop).

Generator

Jump To Jump to the

instruction a

address N Jump If Event

Jump if an

event occurs

Address: instruction jump address.

Jump addresses inside a Loop must be avoided

Address: instruction jump address.

Jump addresses inside a Loop must be avoided

Input Event (HEX):16 bits input event. Input Event[14..0] are

DPIO[14..0], Input Event[15] is the trigger event (please see Trigger Module for description).The Input Event bits are masked in AND with Mask value.

The expression to evaluate will be: Input Event Group AND

Load Event Mask

Load the

mask value

Event Mask(HEX): the value of the mask. Loop Mode: NO LOOP, LOOP BEGIN (it marks the

first instruction of a loop), LOOP END (it marks the last instruction of a loop).

Wait Event Wait until

the event

occurs

DPIO[14..0], Input Event[15] is the trigger event (please see Trigger Module for description).The Input Event bits are masked logically in AND with Mask value.

The expression to evaluate will be: Input Event Group AND Mask = Input Event

16 bits input event. Input Event[14..0] are

Loop Mode: NO LOOP, LOOP BEGIN (it marks the first instruction of a loop), LOOP END (it marks the last

instruction of a loop). Reset Trigger Event

Notes:

- Last sequencer instruction must be RETURN

- Jumps are relative to the current vector block

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 89

Reset the trigger event value

Loop Mode: NO LOOP, LOOP BEGIN (it marks the

first instruction of a loop), LOOP END (it marks the last

instruction of a loop).

Page 90

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL

- REPEAT WAVEFORM: the generated vectors are asynchronous respect to the clock generator

signal

- SYNC REPEAT WAVEFORM: the generated vectors are synchronous respect to the clock

generator signal. Sync signal can be delayed with Sync Delay

- Sequencer Memory depth is 512 instructions

- Waveforms Memory depth is 640

- A block of instructions can be repeated with Loop Begin / Loop End parameters. Loop Begin

marks the first instruction of the loop, Loop End marks the last instruction. Loop Repetitions parameter is the number of times that the loop will be repeated. Allowed values are from 1 to 8191

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 90

Page 91

Data Visualization

The Digital Pattern Generator can also work as a Sampler

that can be exported and visuali

Waveform View

Create a Waveform View window

To open the Waveform view, double click on the

When a new acquisition is complete, and the Waveform View window is not yet open, a

Selection

been acquired are to be visualized, t

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the Waveform View window,

select it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time, just click on

To remove a sig

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

The Waveform Window allows analyzing acquired data in a graph containing digital and analog

waveforms. Single signals are

buses.

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SER MANUAL

Data Visualization

The Digital Pattern Generator can also work as a Sampler

that can be exported and visuali

Waveform View

Create a Waveform View window

To open the Waveform view, double click on the

When a new acquisition is complete, and the Waveform View window is not yet open, a

Selection

window will appear to select which signals or groups of signals among those that have

been acquired are to be visualized, t

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the Waveform View window,

select it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time, just click on

To remove a sig

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

The Waveform Window allows analyzing acquired data in a graph containing digital and analog

waveforms. Single signals are

buses.

nal from the visualization list, select it on the right side table and click on

zed with the Waveform View form and with the

visualized as digital signals, while grouped signals are represented as

hen the Waveform View window will be shown.

icon in the Solution Explorer.

all acquired data are stored into a file

State Listing

NAVIGATOR

form.

Signal

AT-LA

Page 92

In the

name

The icon of an opened bus becomes

It is possible to drag and drop the waveforms and change their order, to help the user to focus the

time relationship between edges. To do this, click on a signal name and drag it in the new position.

In the same way, it is also

from it.

To resize the signals amplitude, just drag the line between signals name.

On the right of every signal or bus name, a number indicates the value that this signal or bus

assu

Cursors

By clicking with the right mouse button on the signal name column, a shortcut menu will appear

with these options:

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

In the

Waveform View

name

to open a bus.

The icon of an opened bus becomes

It is possible to drag and drop the waveforms and change their order, to help the user to focus the

time relationship between edges. To do this, click on a signal name and drag it in the new position.

In the same way, it is also

from it.

To resize the signals amplitude, just drag the line between signals name.

On the right of every signal or bus name, a number indicates the value that this signal or bus

assu

mes at the time position of the master cursor (the cursors properties are described in the

Cursors

section

By clicking with the right mouse button on the signal name column, a shortcut menu will appear

with these options:

, a bus is indicated by a

Add samples scale

Analog mode display

Remove signals

possible to insert a signal into an opened bus or to extract a waveform

. Double

Select this o

with a series of

samples.

This option (available only for the buses) will represent a

bus as an analog waveform.

This is useful for example if an

This option allows adding

Waveform

icon on the left

click on it to close a bus.

ption to add a signal, indicated by a

segments

of its name.

that represents the number of

or remov

Double click on it

ADC or a DAC has to be

NAVIGATOR

icon,

signals to the

AT-LA

tested.

Add-

ing

View.

Page 93

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL AT-LA NAVIGATOR

Zoom, Cursors, Graph Property, Search toolbars are the same explained above for the Digital Editor, please see above for descriptions.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 93

Page 94

State Listing

In the

representing a signal or a group of signals.

Additional columns

column) and the interpretation of the serial protocol bus operations, if this trigger option has been

selected.

Create a

To open the

Listing

groups of signals among those that have been acquired are to be visualized, then the

window will be shown.

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time, just click on

To remove a signal fr

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

State Listing

In the

State Listing

representing a signal or a group of signals.

Additional columns

column) and the interpretation of the serial protocol bus operations, if this trigger option has been

selected.

Create a

State Listing

To open the

Listing

window is not yet open, a

groups of signals among those that have been acquired are to be visualized, then the

window will be shown.

To add a signal or a bus to the list of the ones that will be shown in the

it on the left side table and click on

To add all signals at a time, just click on

To remove a signal fr

To remove all signal at a time, just click on

window acquired data are visualized numerically in columns, each one

indicate the sample number (

State Listing

om the visualization list, select it on the right side table and click on

window

window, double click on the

Signal Selection

Samples

icon in the Solution Explorer. If the

window will appear to select which signals or

column), the absolute time (

State Listing

NAVIGATOR

State

State Listing

window, select

State

AT-LA

Time

Page 95

In the

it to open a bus. T

The

icon.

To resize the columns amplitude, just drag the line between signals name.

Cursors

Cursors (also called markers) are useful to identify and enlighten data that, therefore, may be

recognized or found easier. In addition cursors can be used to measure and to analyze acquired data.

On the left side of the

identified by the

master cursor. Furthermore, the master cursor is

operation to show resu

It is possible to operate with cursors by clicking with the right mouse button on the cursor list and

select one of these options in the shortcut menu that will appear:

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

In the

State Listing

it to open a bus. T

The

Samples

The

column contains the progressive absolute time of every sample. It is indicated by the

icon.

To resize the columns amplitude, just drag the line between signals name.

Cursors

Cursors (also called markers) are useful to identify and enlighten data that, therefore, may be

recognized or found easier. In addition cursors can be used to measure and to analyze acquired data.

On the left side of the

identified by the

master cursor. Furthermore, the master cursor is

operation to show resu

It is possible to operate with cursors by clicking with the right mouse button on the cursor list and

select one of these options in the shortcut menu that will appear:

, a bus is indicated by a

he icon of an opened bus becomes

column contains the progressive number of the acquired samples. It is indicated by the

icon. All relative positions will be calculated respected to the position of the

lts.

State Listing

icon on the left of its name. It is possible to click on

window are listed a

. Click on it to close a bus.

ll available cursors. The master cursor is

moved automatically during a data search

NAVIGATOR

AT-LA

icon.

Time

Page 96

AT-LA500 – USER MANUAL AT-LA NAVIGATOR

• Delete marker

• Set master

• Add marker

Add a cursor to the State Listing Window; Remove the selected cursor; Set the selected cursor as the master;

• Clear marker list

• Go to this marker

Delete all cursors but one; Move the State Listing list to show the position of the selected cursor;

• Representation…

Allows to select the Absolute and Relative Position representation. It is possible to choose between Time and Samples.

Note: It is possible to remove all the cursors but one. The user, however, can create as many cursors as needed.

The markers are indicated by the string Mn in the first column of the State Listing, where n is the progressive identification number. Browse the State Listing window and export data To jump quickly to the desired position of the State Listing list, it is possible to click with the right mouse button on the data and to select one of these options in the shortcut menu that will appear:

Add marker

Add a cursor in the selected point of the State Listing window;

Move selected marker here

Places the selected cursor to the specified position of the State Listing;

Show this sample on Waveform View

Center the Waveform View on the selected sample (only if the Waveform View is already open);

Go to selected marker

Move the State Listing list to show the position of the selected cursor;

Go to samples…

Move the State Listing list to show the samples which number is specified in the Go to sample… window that will appear;

Go to time…

Move the State Listing list to show the samples which absolute time is specified in the Go to time… window that will appear;

Save to txt file…

Allows to export data in a Comma Separated Value file. A window will appear to select which rows and column have to be exported.

Representation…

Data can be visualized in Binary,Hexadecimal or Decimal format.

LSB on Top / MSB on Top

Data can be visualized with Least Significant Bit on Top or with Most Significant Bit on Top.

RELEASE 3.4 – JUNE 2009 96

Page 97

Note:

In the

bus or, for a single signal, a rising edge or a falling edge.

To activate the search option, click on the

wil

In the

where to search a specified value.

In the

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible options are:

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is selected, the

The

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

Note:

Exporting the entire acquisition may require a long time to be completed.

In the

State Listing

bus or, for a single signal, a rising edge or a falling edge.

To activate the search option, click on the

wil

l be opened, and search criteria can be entered.

In the

where to search a specified value.

In the

Value

The menu ring allows selecting the start location for searching. Possible options are:

From Start:

From Trigger:

Master Marker:

Depending on the signal type selected in the

contains different options.

If a single signal is selected, the

The

Compare

window, as in the Waveform View, it is possible to search a value related to a

list, all defined signals and bus are shown. It is possible to select the signal or bus

box, the value or the edge to search can be entered.

HiZ

Rise

Fall

Change

menu ring allows to sel

Search starts from the acquisition begin;

Search starts from the acquisition end;

Search starts from the trigger position;

Search starts from the master market;

Value

Search Settings

box can assume these values:

Search for a logic 0;

Search for a logic 1;

Search for a High Impedance (only for

Pattern Generator Mode);

Search for a rising edge;

Search for a falling edge;

Search for any edge;

ect between the search option:

list, the

key and the Search Settings window

Compare

Value

NAVIGATOR

menu ring

AT-LA

From End:

and the

0 1

Page 98

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the visualization window, click on the

key. The master cursor will move to the next found value.

-LA500 – U

SER MANUAL

To make active the selected criteria, click the

closed.

In the visualization window, click on the

key. The master cursor will move to the next found value.

Find if equal;

Find if not equal;

Find greater values (enabled only if a bus is

selected);

Find minor values (enabled only if a bus is

selected);

High Impedance (only for Pattern Generator

Mode);

Search Forward

button and the

Search Settings

key or on the

Search Backward

NAVIGATOR

window will be

AT-LA

= != >

HiZ