15
STEL-1177
SPECTRAL
PURITY
In many applications the NCO is used with a digital
to analog converter (DAC) to generate an analog
waveform which approximates an ideal sinewave.
The spectral purity of this synthesized waveform is a
function of many variables including the phase and
amplitude quantization, the ratio of the clock
frequency to output frequency, and the dynamic
characteristics of the DAC.
The sine and cosine signals generated by the STEL-
1177 have 12 bits of amplitude resolution and 13 bits
of phase resolution which results in spurious levels
which are theoretically at least 75 dB down. The
highest output frequency the NCO can generate is half
the clock frequency (fc/2), and the spurious
components at frequencies greater than fc/2 can be
removed by filtering. As the output frequency fo of
USING
THE
STEL-1177
IN
A
HIGH-SPEED
PHASE
MODULATOR
By routing the data and address
lines from the microcontroller via
2:1 multiplexers (e.g. 74HC157)
the MNCO can be set up from the
microcontroller and then phase
modulated at high-speed from an
external source. The PHSEL line
should be set to a logic 0 to enable
this mode of operation. The
system shown modulates all 12
bits. In a typical PSK system only
1 to 4 bits of modulation will be
used, simplifying the system
considerably.
APPLICATIONS
INFORMATION
APPLICATION
EXAMPLE
-
A
HIGH-LINEARITY
FM
CARRIER
GENERATOR
The STEL-1177 can be used for high-linearity frequency modulation. The FM port has 16-bit resolution and
linearity, and this can be used to generate a very high-quality signal for FM broadcasting in the 88-108 MHz
frequency band. The audio signal can be digitized at a very high sampling rate, either directly or by
interpolation, to maximize the performance capability of the system.
D/A
CLK
95-108 MHz
12
STEL-
1177
NCO
SINE
BPF
12-25
MHz
BPF
95-108
MHz
120 MHz
OSCILLATOR
CONTROL
PROC-
ESSOR
FREQUENCY
MODULATOR
÷2
FROM
PHASE
MOD.
DATA 0-7
0-3
ADDR
PHASE0-11
FREQ./PH SEL
A
B
A/B
A
B
A/B
A
B
A/B
D0
D3
D4
D7
A0
A3
.
PHLD
FROM
C
STEL-1177
MNCO
PHASE LOAD
FREQ. LOAD
WRITE
WRSTB
FRLD
4