Oscilloscope technology advanced rapidly from its early 19th Century roots through the triggered sweep and digital/flat-screen transformation in the 1980s. The trend has accelerated. Bandwidth and sampling rates have expanded exponentially. Additionally, new features and measuring and display capabilities have emerged. In this context, one wonders what lies ahead. The major oscilloscope manufacturers maintain robust […]
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Dual-channel DMM puts two 7.5-digit sampling multimeters into 1U rack
The Keithley DMM7512 dual channel 7½-digit sampling multimeter packs two independent and identical digital multimeters into a low profile 1U high, full rack width space-saving enclosure. The DMM7512 targets a range of demanding high-volume manufacturing test applications that require measurement capacity, performance and a compact footprint. Currently, all other 7 ½-digit, high accuracy DMMs provide […]
Newark Element14 to carry Tektronix AFG31000 arbitrary function generator
Newark element14 is now stocking the Tektronix AFG31000 Arbitrary Function Generator. The new AFG31000 series incorporates four industry firsts that result in an unprecedented user experience for researchers and engineers: A nine-inch capacitive touch display and a shallow menu tree make locating and changing settings quicker, while also making browsing easier. The ability to monitor […]
Finalists announced for T&M LEAP Awards
Four finalists were announced Friday for the inaugural LEAP Awards’ Test & Measurement Category, comprising a broad array of new advances in instrumentation technology. The competition was scored by a panel of independent technical/engineering judges. This year’s inaugural LEAP Awards competition honored ground-breaking new products that set a new standard for innovation. Judges rated candidates […]
Powerful user interface at center of new redesigned Tektronix arbitrary/function generator
Tektronix, Inc. has redefined the arbitrary/function generator (AFG) with the introduction of the AFG31000 series. A completely new design, the AFG31000 features many key firsts including the industry’s largest touchscreen and new user interface that will delight engineers and researchers who need to generate increasingly complex test cases for debugging, troubleshooting, characterizing and validating devices […]
Understanding oscilloscope bandwidth enhancement techniques
Data communication rates have soared in recent years and there is every reason to believe that this trend will accelerate. Information speeds that were less than 1 Gb/sec have surpassed 10 Gb/sec. Optical communication is greater than 100 Gb/sec, with 1 Tb/sec down the road. RF wireless communications is in the mid-gigahertz range, and RF […]
Mask and limit testing on oscilloscopes
Mask testing is used in production facilities for screening and quality control of components and electronic equipment and also for debugging and troubleshooting. It is quick and efficient and lets users identify harmful anomalous behavior that arises in one or a billion waveforms. It involves setting limits of acceptability on signals at the outputs of […]
Basics of active and differential scope probes
By far the most used oscilloscope probe is the passive 10:1 attenuation probe. It is appropriate when the frequency of the signal under investigation is less than 600 MHz. Impedance matching from probe tip to channel input port is critical. A mismatch gives rise to reflections, collisions and loss of data. At dc to the […]
Working with waveforms in mixed-domain oscilloscopes
Waveform generators generally contain a library of common waveforms, which can be individually accessed and displayed by running a BNC cable to an active analog channel input in an oscilloscope. Most oscilloscopes have, available as an option, an internal arbitrary function generator (AFG), which permits the user to create an endless variety of waveforms and […]
Digital phosphor oscilloscopes, persistence, and eye patterns
The digital phosphor oscilloscope takes its name from the old analog phosphor scope, but the resemblance is superficial. It was difficult to see the trace on the CRT screen in an analog scope because the electron beam dissipated instantly. To solve this problem, early engineers came up with the idea of coating the inner surface […]