Hybrid technique in waveform generation and synthesis

The synthesis of arbitrary waveforms by digital means offers great flexibility in parameter variation under program control. A major constraint, however, lies with accuracy of waveform definition unless many stored samples are employed. The paper examines an alternative hybrid-circuit approach that uses linear interpolation, at no sacrifice in control flexibility. The example of the sine approximation is treated in depth with a detailed theoretical appraisal followed by results on a prototype circuit.