Spectrum Instrumentation
High-Speed Digitizers, AWGs & Digital I/O
East Coast Representative
Overview
Spectrum Instrumentation, founded in Germany in 1989, designs and manufactures the most comprehensive line of modular PC-based signal acquisition and generation products available. Their products are used wherever engineers and scientists need to capture or generate electronic signals at rates, resolutions, and continuous throughput levels that standard bench instruments cannot achieve.
The defining characteristic of the Spectrum product line is its modular architecture: over 250 different digitizer and AWG configurations sharing a single driver interface across PCIe, PXIe, and LXI/Ethernet platforms. One software framework, one API, any platform.
ARS Technical Sales Corp serves as the East Coast representative for the full Spectrum Instrumentation product line. All technical inquiries are handled directly by Phil Gregor, who spent the decade prior to founding ARS working with Acqiris and Agilent Technologies data converter products — the direct predecessor category to Spectrum’s current line.
Product Families
PCIe Digitizers (A/D)
Plug-in PC cards in x8 PCIe format. Four families covering the full performance spectrum from ultra-fast 8-bit acquisition to high-resolution 16-bit precision measurement.
| 22xx family | 1.25 GS/s – 5 GS/s • 8-bit • Up to 8 channels per card • Bandwidth to 1.5 GHz |
| 33xx family | 3.2 GS/s – 10 GS/s • 12-bit • Up to 2 channels • Bandwidth to 4 GHz |
| 44xx family | 130 MS/s – 500 MS/s • 14 and 16-bit • Up to 8 channels per card |
| 59xx family | 5 MS/s – 125 MS/s • 16-bit • Up to 8 channels • High-resolution, narrow-band |
| On-board memory | Up to 16 GB per card |
| Streaming | Up to 12.8 GB/s continuous to PC RAM |
| Trigger modes | External, internal, software, channel, multi, AND/OR logic, pre-trigger, post-trigger, memory segmentation |
PXIe Digitizers
Identical product families as the PCIe line in 3U PXIe format. 4-lane PXIe interface. Supports PXI Star Trigger and reference clock distribution for tight synchronization in multi-instrument PXI chassis. 100% software compatible with PCIe equivalents.
| Formats | 3U PXIe, 4-lane interface |
| Data transfer | >1.7 GB/s |
| Compatibility | PXI/PXIe hybrid chassis; Star Trigger and reference clock support |
digitizerNETBOX (LXI / Ethernet)
Standalone rack-mountable units housing up to 6 Spectrum digitizer cards in a single 19-inch chassis with integrated PC, GBit Ethernet connection, and full remote control via LAN/LXI. Eliminates the need for a host PC at the measurement location.
| Channels | 2 to 48 fully synchronous channels per unit |
| Interface | GBit Ethernet (LXI-compliant) |
| Form factor | 19-inch rack, 2U to 4U depending on configuration |
| Applications | Remote automated test, distributed measurement systems, multi-channel synchronous capture in complex test environments |
Arbitrary Waveform Generators (D/A)
High-channel-density AWGs for stimulus-response testing, signal simulation, and arbitrary waveform playback. Three families spanning 40 MS/s to 10 GS/s output rates.
| 65xx family | 40 MS/s – 125 MS/s • 16-bit • Up to 8 channels • Output ±200 mV to ±12 V |
| 66xx family | 625 MS/s – 1.25 GS/s • 16-bit • Up to 4 channels |
| 63xx family | 3.2 GS/s – 10 GS/s • 16-bit • Up to 2 channels • Bandwidth to 2 GHz+ |
| Output modes | Direct output, FIFO streaming, replay mode, single/repeated playback |
| Filter stages | 4 switchable filter paths per channel |
| DDS option | Firmware option for up to 20 independent sine wave outputs per channel; independently programmable frequency, amplitude, and phase |
hybridNETBOX
A combined digitizer and AWG in a single portable, standalone unit. Matched channel pairs — 2+2, 4+4, or 8+8 — for simultaneous signal generation and acquisition. Ideal for stimulus-response testing applications where time alignment between stimulus and response is critical.
Digital I/O
| Family | M4i.77xx series |
| Channels | 32 fully synchronous digital channels per card |
| Acquisition rate | Up to 720 Mbit/s |
| Input standards | Differential (LVDS, PECL, ECL) and single-ended (1.2 V – 5.0 V) |
| Memory | 4 GB on-board |
| Family | M2p.75xx series |
| Channels | 32 digital channels |
| Acquisition rate | Up to 125 MS/s |
| Input standards | 3.3V and 5V TTL (single-ended) |
| Operation | Bidirectional (input/output switchable by software) |
| Memory | 1 GB on-board |
Multi-Card Synchronization (Star-Hub)
Internal clock and trigger distribution for up to 8 cards in a single PC. Enables 8 to 64 fully synchronous channels in one system with sub-nanosecond channel-to-channel timing. Channel-to-channel phase alignment maintained across cards and restarts.
Software
| SBench 6 | Included instrument control, display, FFT analysis, data export, streaming mode. Windows and Linux. |
| OS support | Windows 10/11, Linux (50+ distributions) |
| Language drivers | C/C++, Python, MATLAB, LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Visual Basic, .NET, C#, Delphi, Java |
| IVI support | IVI-compliant driver for integration with standard ATE frameworks |
| SDK | Full software development kit included with all products, no separate license required |
Applications
Radar and Lidar
Pulsed and FMCW radar signal capture using M4i/M5i high-speed families
Multi-channel synchronized acquisition for MIMO and phased array radar
Published application note: AEGIS transmitter test using PXI-based 12-bit digitizer system
Published application note: Airport ground radar system using PCI digitizers
Research and Scientific
Quantum optics and atomic physics: high-speed single-photon detection event capture
Laser diagnostics: pulsed laser pulse shape measurement and characterization
Spectroscopy: time-resolved spectral acquisition and lock-in detection support
Particle physics: transient event capture with memory segmentation
Mass Spectrometry and Scanning Acoustic Microscopy
Time-of-flight mass spectrometry: ultra-fast single-shot acquisition, 100 MS/s – 5 GS/s
Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM): high-speed A-scan acquisition with precision triggering
Medical Imaging and Ultrasound
High-speed ultrasound digitization with programmable gain control
Multi-channel OCT and photoacoustic imaging systems
Signal Generation
Arbitrary stimulus waveforms for device characterization and ATE
Multi-tone and OFDM signal simulation for communications testing
Calibration signal generation for sensor and transducer verification
Why Spectrum Instrumentation
The industry’s longest standard warranty
Five years on every product — not a promotional tier, not a registration requirement. Spectrum’s standard warranty is the longest in the digitizer category. For program-critical instrumentation that needs to be supported for the life of a development effort, that commitment is worth evaluating on its own.
Support from the engineers who designed the product
Spectrum’s technical support comes directly from the engineering team in Grosshansdorf, Germany — the same engineers who designed the hardware and wrote the firmware. No tiered support system, no call center, no escalation queue. When a question requires a real answer, it comes from the source.
One framework across every platform
PCIe, PXIe, or LXI/Ethernet — the same SBench 6 software, the same driver API, the same programming model across all 250+ product configurations. Changing platforms or scaling channel count does not require rewriting software. That is not the case with most competing product lines.
ARS Tech knows the product lineage
Phil spent a decade at Acqiris USA and Agilent Technologies working with the high-speed digitizer product line that directly preceded Spectrum’s current offerings. He is not learning the application space alongside you — he built OEM accounts in radar, lidar, mass spectrometry, and medical imaging using directly comparable hardware before Spectrum’s US presence existed.
Contact for Spectrum Instrumentation
Phil Gregor, ARS Technical Sales Corp
774-261-8698 • sales@arstechsales.com • West Boylston, MA
East Coast Representative