NI 5402/5406/5412/5421/5441 Digital Filter

NI Signal Generator

NI 5402/5406/5412/5421/5441
Digital Filter


The main DAC provides a digital filter internally. When digital filtering is enabled, the main DAC runs at a faster rate, referred to as the effective sample rate (ESR). The waveform data transfers to the main DAC at the configured Sample clock rate; the internal digital filter interpolates by a factor of 2x, 4x, or 8x; and the DAC generates the data at the ESR.

Effective sample rate is calculated with the following formula:

ESR = Ifac × SR

where

ESR = the Effective Sample Rate (MS/s)

Ifac = the interpolation factor

SR = configured Sample Clock Rate (MS/s)

The effective sample rate only applies when the digital filter is enabled. The maximum ESR is 400 MS/s. The effective sample rate is recommended to be as high as possible without exceeding 400 MS/s. The following table lists the allowed update and interpolation rates.

Note  When the onboard signal processing block is enabled, you cannot set the Sample Rate property or the NIFGEN_ATTR_ARB_SAMPLE_RATE attribute. After you have configured the IQ Rate, you can read the sample rate.
Recommended Interpolation Settings
Sample Clock Rate (MS/s)* Interpolation
12.5 to 1052x
10 to 1004x
10 to 508x
*Note The NI 5402/5406 only supports a Sample clock rate of 100 MS/s.
Notes The digital filter is not available for use for Sample clock rates below 10 MS/s.
In Standard Function mode, the digital filter is enabled and disabled by NI-FGEN except when generating user-defined waveforms.

The delay from the Start trigger to the analog output increases if the digital filter is enabled. The delay increases with an increase in the interpolation factor. Refer to the module specifications for information about the delay from the trigger to the analog output based on the configured filter settings.

In general, use the digital filter for signals containing large sinusoidal waveform content, such as AM and FM, sinc, and sinusoidal chirp waveforms. The filter can be disabled for signals that are better represented without filtering, such as square waves or waveforms containing many pulse characteristics. If you enable the digital filter without setting the interpolation factor, NI-FGEN automatically uses the highest interpolation factor possible in accordance with the above table. Refer to the Configure Digital Filter VI or the niFgen_EnableDigitalFilter and niFgen_DisableDigitalFilter functions for more information.

Note  It is recommended that the analog filter (if available) and digital filter are always enabled or disabled together.

Related Topics

Filtering and Interpolation

Aliased Images