Automated testing gets a restart feature that enables faster signal recovery, precise timing control, and smoother handling of complex waveform sequences.
Spectrum Instrumentation has added a “Sequence Restart Mode” to its Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWGs), giving automated test systems the ability to restart waveform sequences instantly and with deterministic timing whenever a trigger event occurs. The feature is now available at no extra cost for all 66 AWG models in the company’s 65xx and 66xx series through a driver update.
The new mode expands the functionality of Spectrum’s existing Sequence Mode, which already allows users to generate long and complex signal streams by looping and linking waveform segments of different lengths. With Sequence Restart Mode, the entire sequence can now restart automatically from the beginning while maintaining a fixed trigger-to-output delay. That consistency is particularly useful in automated testing environments where repeatability and timing accuracy are critical.
The update was developed after a request from Dr. Johannes Rahm at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, where Spectrum AWGs are used in systems supporting Germany’s official atomic clock infrastructure. According to Rahm, the team needed a modified sequence mode capable of generating RF frequencies used in laser control applications for atom cooling and fluorescence spectroscopy.
Spectrum engineers implemented the functionality as a support-driven development project, and the resulting feature is now being rolled out to all users. The case reflects a broader trend in electronic test and measurement, where vendors increasingly adapt firmware and software features in response to highly specialized customer workflows rather than limiting updates to major hardware releases.
The Sequence Restart Mode is part of Spectrum’s broader AWG ecosystem, which includes more than 70 waveform generator products used across research, industrial automation, aerospace, and communications applications. The instruments are designed for PC-based operation and share a unified software environment intended to simplify integration and upgrades.
Software support is available for both Windows and Linux systems, with programming examples provided for Python, MATLAB, C++, and LabVIEW. Spectrum also offers a high-level Python API alongside lifetime technical support and ongoing software and firmware updates for its hardware platforms.
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