Did you know? |
The vertical resolution of a conventional oscilloscope is only 8 bits which equals 256 steps. If you need to see more details look for a scopes with a resolution of 12 bit (i.e. 4,096 steps). Read more...
Latest Oscilloscope News |
Oscilloscope Probe for Voltages in the Millivolt Range
04 November 2016 - The new R&S RT-ZP1X passive 1:1 probe from Rohde & Schwarz f is ideal for measuring smallest signals down to 1 mV/div, e.g. for power integrity measurements on integrated circuits and components. The new passive 1:1 probe is precisely matched to the R&S RTE (up to 2 GHz) and the R&S RTO1000/2000 (up to 4 GHz) oscilloscopes.
DisplayPort Type-C Transmitter Test Solution
03 November 2016 – Tektronix announced a new DisplayPort Type-C Transmitter Test solution that significantly reduces compliance test times compared to both previous Tektronix DisplayPort solution and those available from competitors. According to real-world field evaluations, the highly optimized solution for use with Tektronix high-performance oscilloscopes allows engineers to complete the full suite of DisplayPort Type C compliance tests in less than 6 hours compared to competitive offerings that require up to 16 hours to complete -- a remarkable execution speed.
Debugging of complex 100G Datacenter Interconnects
01 November 2016 – Tektronix released a new 100G link training tool for use with its DPO70000SX family of ultra-high performance oscilloscopes. This new option, along with expanded measurement support for 100G electrical debug and validation, addresses critical needs in the growing datacenter market. The expanded analysis software for DPO70000SX series oscilloscopes helps engineers to debug complex high-speed Ethernet communications links.
Test Probes for Signals up to 18 Gb/s
31 October 2016 - Pico Technology launched a new family of high-performance microwave and gigabit test probes. The PicoConnect passive probes allow cost-effective fingertip browsing of broadband signals or data streams out to 9 GHz or 18 Gb/s. These include the now ubiquitous USB 2 & 3, HDMI 1 & 2, Ethernet, PCIe, SATA and LVDS standards.
High-Speed, High-Resolution, High-Voltage PXIe Oscilloscope
26 October 2016 – National Instruments (NI) announced the PXIe-5164 oscilloscope featuring 100 Vpp maximum input range at 1 GS/s and 14 bits resolution. The PXIe-5164 is built on the open, modular PXI architecture, and includes a user-programmable FPGA to help aerospace/defense, semiconductor and research/physics applications that require high-voltage measurements and high levels of amplitude accuracy.
CAN FD Support for Tektronix Mixed Domain Oscilloscopes
20 October 2016 - Tektronix introduced a complete CAN FD protocol trigger, decode and search solution for its MDO3000 and MDO4000C Series of mixed domain oscilloscopes. The solution helps automotive engineers to meet consumer demand for more capable and sophisticated electronic modules and integrated systems. Automobile manufacturers are increasingly adopting the CAN FD (Controller Area Network with Flexible Data Rate) protocol which allows them to transmit more data inside vehicles.
First Oscilloscope with PSI5 Bus Analysis Support
13 October 2016 - Yokogawa announces support for Peripheral Sensor Interface 5 (PSI5) bus analysis on its 8 channel DLM4000 and 2 and 4 channel DLM2000 oscilloscopes. Yokogawa’s PSI5 support is a first for the industry, and makes its oscilloscopes uniquely useful for automotive designers and engineers.
Oscilloscope Basics |
Oscilloscope Probes – Vital Link in the Measurement Chain
Signal measurement results can only be as accurate as the test and measurement tools in use. As clock rates and edge speeds of today’s electronic circuits increase, probing becomes a critical piece of the measurement system – the component that comes in direct contact with your circuit. This article looks at voltage probing considerations for embedded system and digital design debugging applications.
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Oscilloscope Background |
A simple method to verify the bandwidth of your probe
In oscilloscopes or oscilloscope probes, bandwidth is a measure of the width of a range of frequencies measured in Hertz. Specifically, bandwidth is specified as the frequency at which a sinusoidal input signal is attenuated to 70.7 percent of its original amplitude, also known as the -3 dB point. Most oscilloscope companies design the scope/probe response to be as flat as possible throughout its specified frequency range, and most customers simply rely on the specified bandwidth of the oscilloscope or oscilloscope probes, wondering if they are indeed getting the bandwidth performance at the probe tip. Now you can use these step-by-step instructions to simply measure and verify the bandwidth of your probe with an oscilloscope you may already have.
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