An arbitrary waveform generator with advanced command control

An arbitrary waveform generator comprising

• at least one analog output,
• a digital-to-analog converter connected to the analog output,
• a waveform source connected to said digital-to-analog converter, and
• a sequencer adapted to control the waveform generator, wherein said sequencer comprises an instruction memory for instructions and an instruction interpreter adapted to sequentially execute said instructions,
• wherein said waveform generator further comprises a command table unit in addition to the sequencer, and wherein said command table unit is connected to the waveform source and comprises a command table memory holding a plurality of commands identifiable with command addresses, with at least some of said commands comprising a waveform identifier descriptive of a waveform to be played and/or a parameter identifier descriptive of a parameter for modifying said waveform,
• wherein said sequenceris adapted to execute table execution instructions, with each table execution instruction specifying at least one command address, wherein, upon execution of such a table execution instruction, the command table unit is triggered to cause the waveform source to play the waveform with the parameter as identified by the command at the specified command address.