Generating programmable waveforms using FPGA

The present paper presents the possibilities of using field programmable gate arrays FPGAs to generate programmable waveforms, considering the architecture, the user interface and estimating the accuracy of the generated output. There are two frequently used possibilities of generating analog signals that are analyzed: PWM (pulse width modulation) with passive analog filter and R2R resistive ladder network. Besides the digital circuits design, the accuracy and the resolution of the generated output signals and the limitations of the design are tested using an automated data acquisition (DAQ) based virtual instrument.