Function generators drive configurable signal waveforms. They can produce square waves, sine waves, triangle waves, and more. Fancy devices called Arbitrary Waveform Generators can take in a file that defines the waveform it outputs. Function generators typically include 50 Ohm series termination and are intended to drive 50 Ohm cables. Here is an example function generator.
Waveforms
- Sine – Sine wave output
- Square – Square wave output
- Ramp – Triangle wave output
- Pulse
- Noise
- Arbitrary – Generate waveform from provided file
Waveform Parameters
- Amplitude / HiLevel – adjust the amplitude of the waveform or the high voltage level of a square wave
- Amplitude Offset / LowLevel – Adjust the amplitude offset of the waveform or the low level voltage of a square wave
- Frequency / Period – Adjust the frequency or period
- Phase Offset – adjust the phase offset
- Duty Cycle – Adjust the duty cycle of square waves
Modes
- Burst – Output a waveform for a specified number of cycles then stop
- Sweep – Frequency sweep mode. Many devices support linear or logarithmic sweeps
- Modulation – Modulate a periodic carrier signal with another modulation signal
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