We are hard at work working on a new Real-Time Spectrum Analysis (RTSA) toolkit built entirely in LabVIEW using native G2CPU primitives, enabling full-bandwidth, real-time RF analysis without leaving the LabVIEW development environment.
Modern PXI VSTs can stream IQ data at rates that quickly exceed what traditional software pipelines can sustain. Historically, achieving meaningful RTSA performance at these rates required FPGA-centric designs or external processing frameworks. The G2CPU RTSA toolkit removes those constraints by combining sustained high-throughput streaming with GPU-accelerated processing, exposed directly through standard LabVIEW dataflow.
[1.25GS/s, 4M point FFT, 25% Overlap, Barlett Window]
Extremely large FFTs executed in real time, enabling very low RBW (834Hz at 2.4GHz Center Frequency, 1GHz Bandwidth) across wide bandwidths. This operating mode trades 100% POI for fine frequency resolution, supporting detailed spectral analysis and long observation windows.
[1.25GS/s, 1M point FFT, 25% Overlap, Barlett Window]
Real-time PSD visualization using GPU-accelerated processing through native G2CPU primitives, sustaining wideband acquisition while preserving spectral integrity and UI responsiveness.
[1.25GS/s, 2 point FFT, 50% Overlap, Barlett Window]
Sustained processing of over 1 billion FFTs per second (1.25G FFT/s), enabling extremely low 100% probability of intercept (POI). Time resolution can be reduced to approximately 2 ns, at the expense of resolution bandwidth (RBW), making this mode well suited for detecting very short-duration or highly transient signals.
[1.25GS/s, 1M point FFT, 25% Overlap, Barlett Window]
True zero-span operation at full instrument bandwidth, implemented entirely in LabVIEW. Deterministic updates are maintained under continuous multi-GB/s streaming using native G2CPU data movement.
Watch G2CPU CEO Natan Biesmans and RADX Technologies’ Ross Smith demonstrate the high-level functionality of the RTSA toolkit at AOC 2025 in National Harbor, Washington DC. This video provides an overview of the GPU acceleration in LabVIEW, and illustrates how the toolkit handles full-bandwidth real-time streaming and analysis.
RTSA Trade-Off Callout: POI vs. RBW
As with all real-time spectrum analyzers, there is an inherent trade-off between 100% probability of intercept (POI) and resolution bandwidth (RBW).
- High FFT throughput enables ultra-short time windows, minimizing POI at the cost of RBW.
- Large FFT sizes enable fine RBW at the cost of longer observation times and reduced POI.
The G2CPU RTSA toolkit allows this trade space to be explored dynamically in software, without redesigning hardware or pushing functionality into the FPGA.
All screenshots are taken directly from the RTSA demo application and run fully inside LabVIEW on standard PXI hardware. The toolkit scales with modern CPUs and GPUs while preserving a single, coherent programming model.
This is a preview. Architectural details, performance data, and real-world RF measurement use cases will be shared in upcoming posts.
Interested in seeing this live?
For demonstrations, performance discussions, or integration questions, contact G2CPU via info@g2cpu.com or RADX Technologies to schedule a demo and explore how this RTSA approach fits into your measurement system.
