US Patent 7545304 Distributed arbitrary waveform generator

A distributed arbitrary waveform generator (DAWG) synthesizes the target waveform using a series of narrow pulses generated by a number of pulse generators. To achieve this, it uses an input trigger signal to control all the pulse generators, each of which generates a narrow pulse (impulses) at a specific sample time, and then all the impulses are combined to generate the output waveform. The input trigger signal is distributed to each pulse generator by a trigger distribution network. Impulses generated by pulse generators can be tuned in both pulse amplitude and width, and the spacing between them can be tuned by the trigger distribution network. Therefore the waveforms generated are completely reconfigurable.