Chapter 16. Synthetic Instruments

The way electronic measurement instruments are built is making an evolutionary leap to a new method of design called synthetic instruments. This promises to be the most significant advance in electronic test and instrumentation since the introduction of automated test equipment (ATE). The switch to synthetic instruments is beginning now, and it will profoundly affect all test and measurement equipment that will be developed in the future.

Synthetic instruments are like ordinary instruments, in that they are specific to a particular measurement or test. They might be a voltmeter that measures voltage or a spectrum analyzer that measures spectra. The difference is that synthetic instruments are implemented purely ...

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