XYZs of Osc illosc op es

o
s
c
i
l
l
o
s
c
o
p
e
s
www.tektronix.com 1
Ta b le o f C o nt e nt s
Int roduc t ion ....................................................................3
Signal Int egrit y
The Significance of Signal Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Why is Signal Integrity a Problem? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Viewing the Analog Origins of Digital Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
The Oscilloscope
Understanding Waveforms and Waveform Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Types of Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Sine Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Square and Rectangular Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Sawtooth and Triangle Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Step and Pulse Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Periodic and Non- periodic Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Synchronous and Asynchronous Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Complex Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Waveform Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Frequency and Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Amplitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Waveform Measurements with Digital Oscilloscopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
The Types of Oscilloscopes
Analog Oscilloscopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Digital Oscilloscopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Digital Storage Oscilloscopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Digital Phosphor Oscilloscopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Digital Sampling Oscilloscopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
The Syst ems and Cont rols of an Oscilloscope
Vertical System and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Position and Volts per Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Input Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Bandwidth Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Alternate and Chop Display Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Horizontal System and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Acquisition Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Acquisition Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Starting and Stopping the Acquisition System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Sampling Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Sampling Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Real- time Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Real- time Sampling with Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Equivalent- time Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Random Equivalent- time Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Sequential Equivalent- time Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Position and Seconds per Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Time Base Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
XY Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Z Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
XYZ Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Trigger System and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Trigger Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Trigger Level and Slope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Trigger Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Trigger Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Trigger Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Trigger Holdoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Display System and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Other Oscilloscope Controls
Math and Measurement Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 2
The Complet e Measurement Syst em
Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Passive Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Active and Differential Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Probe Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Performance Terms and Considerat ions
Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Rise Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Sample Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Waveform Capture Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Record Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Triggering Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Effective Bits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Frequency Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Vertical Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Sweep Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Gain Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Horizontal Accuracy (Time Base) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Vertical Resolution (Analog- to- digital Converter) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Expandability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Ease- of- use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Operat ing t he Oscilloscope
Setting Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Ground the Oscilloscope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Ground Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Setting the Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Using Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Connecting the Ground Clip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Compensating the Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Oscilloscope Measurement Techniques
Voltage Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Time and Frequency Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Pulse Width and Rise Time Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Phase Shift Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Other Measurement Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Writ t en Exercises
Part I
Vocabular y Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Application Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Part II
Vocabular y Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Application Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 3
I nt r o d uc t io n
Nat ure moves i n t he f orm of a si ne wave, be i t an ocean wave, eart h-
quake, soni c boom, expl osi on, sound t hrough ai r, or t he nat ural f requency
of a body i n mot i on. Energy, vi brat i ng part i cl es and ot her i nvi si bl e f orces
per vade our physi cal uni verse. Even l i ght part part i cl e, part wave has
a f undament al f requency, whi ch can be obser ved as col or.
Sensors can convert t hese f orces i nt o el ect ri cal si gnal s t hat you can
obser ve and st udy wi t h an osci l l oscope. Osci l l oscopes enabl e sci ent i st s,
engi neers, t echni ci ans, educat ors and ot hers t o see event s t hat change
over t i me.
Osci l l oscopes are i ndi spensabl e t ool s f or anyone desi gni ng, manuf act uri ng
or repai ri ng el ect roni c equi pment . In t oday s f ast - paced worl d, engi neers
need t he best t ool s avai l abl e t o sol ve t hei r measurement chal l enges
qui ckl y and accurat el y. As t he eyes of t he engi neer, osci l l oscopes are
t he key t o meet i ng t oday s demandi ng measurement chal l enges.
The usef ul ness of an osci l l oscope i s not l i mi t ed t o t he worl d of el ect roni cs.
Wi t h t he proper t r ansducer , an osci l l oscope can measure al l ki nds of
phenomena. A t ransducer i s a devi ce t hat creat es an el ect ri cal si gnal i n
response t o physi cal st i mul i , such as sound, mechani cal st ress, pressure,
l i ght , or heat . A mi crophone i s a t ransducer t hat convert s sound i nt o an
el ect ri cal si gnal . Fi gure 1 shows an exampl e of sci ent i f i c dat a t hat can be
gat hered by an osci l l oscope.
Osci l l oscopes are used by ever yone f rom physi ci st s t o t el evi si on repai r
t echni ci ans. An aut omot i ve engi neer uses an osci l l oscope t o measure
engi ne vi brat i ons. A medi cal researcher uses an osci l l oscope t o measure
brai n waves. The possi bi l i t i es are endl ess.
The concept s present ed i n t hi s pri mer wi l l provi de you wi t h a good st art i ng
poi nt i n underst andi ng osci l l oscope basi cs and operat i on.
The gl ossar y i n t he back of t hi s pri mer wi l l gi ve you def i ni t i ons of
unf ami l i ar t erms. The vocabul ar y and mul t i pl e- choi ce wri t t en exerci ses
on osci l l oscope t heor y and cont rol s make t hi s pri mer a usef ul cl assroom
ai d. No mat hemat i cal or el ect roni cs knowl edge i s necessar y.
Af t er readi ng t hi s pri mer, you wi l l be abl e t o:
Describe how oscilloscopes work
Describe the differences between analog, digital storage, digital phosphor,
and digital sampling oscilloscopes
Describe electrical waveform types
Understand basic oscilloscope controls
Take simple measurements
The manual provi ded wi t h your osci l l oscope wi l l gi ve you more speci f i c
i nf ormat i on about how t o use t he osci l l oscope i n your work. Some
osci l l oscope manuf act urers al so provi de a mul t i t ude of appl i cat i on
not es t o hel p you opt i mi ze t he osci l l oscope f or your appl i cat i on-
speci f i c measurement s.
Shoul d you need addi t i onal assi st ance, or have any comment s or
quest i ons about t he mat eri al i n t hi s pri mer, si mpl y cont act your
Tekt roni x represent at i ve, or vi si t www.t ekt r oni x.com.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Photo Cell
Light Source
Figure 1. An example of scientific data gathered by an oscilloscope.
www.tektronix.com 4
S ig na l I nt e g r it y
The S ig nif ic a nc e o f S ig na l I nt e g r it y
The key t o any good osci l l oscope syst em i s i t s abi l i t y t o accurat el y recon-
st ruct a wavef orm ref erred t o as si gnal i nt egr i t y. An osci l l oscope i s
anal ogous t o a camera t hat capt ures si gnal i mages t hat we can t hen
obser ve and i nt erpret . Two key i ssues l i e at t he heart of si gnal i nt egri t y.
When you take a picture, is it an accurate picture of what actually happened?
Is the picture clear or fuzzy?
How many of those accurate pictures can you take per second?
Taken t oget her, t he di f f erent syst ems and perf ormance capabi l i t i es of an
osci l l oscope cont ri but e t o i t s abi l i t y t o del i ver t he hi ghest si gnal i nt egri t y
possi bl e. Probes al so af f ect t he si gnal i nt egri t y of a measurement syst em.
Si gnal i nt egri t y i mpact s many el ect roni c desi gn di sci pl i nes. But unt i l a
f ew years ago, i t wasn t much of a probl em f or di gi t al desi gners. They
coul d rel y on t hei r l ogi c desi gns t o act l i ke t he Bool ean ci rcui t s t hey were.
Noi sy, i ndet ermi nat e si gnal s were somet hi ng t hat occurred i n hi gh- speed
desi gns somet hi ng f or RF desi gners t o worr y about . Di gi t al syst ems
swi t ched sl owl y and si gnal s st abi l i zed predi ct abl y.
Processor cl ock rat es have si nce mul t i pl i ed by orders of magni t ude.
Comput er appl i cat i ons such as 3D graphi cs, vi deo and ser ver I/ O
demand vast bandwi dt h. Much of t oday s t el ecommuni cat i ons equi pment
i s di gi t al l y based, and si mi l arl y requi res massi ve bandwi dt h. So t oo
does di gi t al hi gh- def i ni t i on TV. The current crop of mi croprocessor
devi ces handl es dat a at rat es up t o 2, 3 and even 5 GS/ s (gi gasampl es per
second), whi l e some memor y devi ces use 400- MHz cl ocks as wel l as dat a
si gnal s wi t h 200- ps ri se t i mes.
Import ant l y, speed i ncreases have t ri ckl ed down t o t he common IC
devi ces used i n aut omobi l es, VCRs, and machi ne cont rol l ers, t o name
j ust a f ew appl i cat i ons. A processor runni ng at a 20- MHz cl ock rat e
may wel l have si gnal s wi t h ri se t i mes si mi l ar t o t hose of an 800- MHz
processor. Desi gners have crossed a perf ormance t hreshol d t hat means,
i n ef f ect , al most ever y desi gn i s a hi gh- speed desi gn.
Wi t hout some precaut i onar y measures, hi gh- speed probl ems can
creep i nt o ot herwi se convent i onal di gi t al desi gns. If a ci rcui t i s
experi enci ng i nt ermi t t ent f ai l ures, or i f i t encount ers errors at vol t age
and t emperat ure ext remes, chances are t here are some hi dden si gnal
i nt egri t y probl ems. These can af f ect t i me- t o- market , product rel i abi l i t y,
EMI compl i ance, and more.
Why is S ig na l I nt e g r it y a P r o b le m ?
Let s l ook at some of t he speci f i c causes of si gnal degradat i on i n t oday s
di gi t al desi gns. Why are t hese probl ems so much more preval ent t oday
t han i n years past ?
The answer i s speed. In t he sl ow ol d days, mai nt ai ni ng accept abl e
di gi t al si gnal i nt egri t y meant payi ng at t ent i on t o det ai l s l i ke cl ock
di st ri but i on, si gnal pat h desi gn, noi se margi ns, l oadi ng ef f ect s,
t ransmi ssi on l i ne ef f ect s, bus t ermi nat i on, decoupl i ng and power
di st ri but i on. Al l of t hese rul es st i l l appl y, but
Bus cycl e t i mes are up t o a t housand t i mes f ast er t han t hey were
20 years ago! Transact i ons t hat once t ook mi croseconds are now
measured i n nanoseconds. To achi eve t hi s i mprovement , edge speeds
t oo have accel erat ed: t hey are up t o 100 t i mes f ast er t han t hose of
t wo decades ago.
Thi s i s al l wel l and good; however, cert ai n physi cal real i t i es have kept
ci rcui t board t echnol ogy f rom keepi ng up t he pace. The propagat i on t i me
of i nt er- chi p buses has remai ned al most unchanged over t he decades.
Geomet ri es have shrunk, cert ai nl y, but t here i s st i l l a need t o provi de
ci rcui t board real est at e f or IC devi ces, connect ors, passi ve component s,
and of course, t he bus t races t hemsel ves. Thi s real est at e adds up t o
di st ance, and di st ance means t i me t he enemy of speed.
It s i mport ant t o remember t hat t he edge speed ri se t i me of a di gi t al
si gnal can carr y much hi gher f requency component s t han i t s repet i t i on
rat e mi ght i mpl y. For t hi s reason, some desi gners del i berat el y seek IC
devi ces wi t h rel at i vel y sl ow ri se t i mes.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 5
The l umped ci rcui t model has al ways been t he basi s of most cal cul at i ons
used t o predi ct si gnal behavi or i n a ci rcui t . But when edge speeds are
more t han f our t o si x t i mes f ast er t han t he si gnal pat h del ay, t he si mpl e
l umped model no l onger appl i es.
Ci rcui t board t races j ust si x i nches l ong become t ransmi ssi on l i nes
when dri ven wi t h si gnal s exhi bi t i ng edge rat es bel ow f our t o si x
nanoseconds, i rrespect i ve of t he cycl e rat e. In ef f ect , new si gnal pat hs
are creat ed. These i nt angi bl e connect i ons aren t on t he schemat i cs, but
nevert hel ess provi de a means f or si gnal s t o i nf l uence one anot her i n
unpredi ct abl e ways.
At t he same t i me, t he i nt ended si gnal pat hs don t work t he way t hey
are supposed t o. Ground pl anes and power pl anes, l i ke t he si gnal
t races descri bed above, become i nduct i ve and act l i ke t ransmi ssi on
l i nes; power suppl y decoupl i ng i s f ar l ess ef f ect i ve. EMI goes up as
f ast er edge speeds produce short er wavel engt hs rel at i ve t o t he bus
l engt h. Crosst al k i ncreases.
In addi t i on, f ast edge speeds requi re general l y hi gher current s t o produce
t hem. Hi gher current s t end t o cause ground bounce, especi al l y on wi de
buses i n whi ch many si gnal s swi t ch at once. Moreover, hi gher current
i ncreases t he amount of radi at ed magnet i c energy and wi t h i t , crosst al k.
Vie w ing t he Ana lo g Or ig ins o f D ig it a l S ig na ls
What do al l t hese charact eri st i cs have i n common? They are cl assi c
anal og phenomena. To sol ve si gnal i nt egri t y probl ems, di gi t al desi gners
need t o st ep i nt o t he anal og domai n. And t o t ake t hat st ep, t hey need
t ool s t hat can show t hem how di gi t al and anal og si gnal s i nt eract .
Di gi t al errors of t en have t hei r root s i n anal og si gnal i nt egri t y probl ems.
To t rack down t he cause of t he di gi t al f aul t , i t s of t en necessar y t o t urn
t o an osci l l oscope, whi ch can di spl ay wavef orm det ai l s, edges and noi se;
can det ect and di spl ay t ransi ent s; and can hel p you preci sel y measure
t i mi ng rel at i onshi ps such as set up and hol d t i mes.
Underst andi ng each of t he syst ems wi t hi n your osci l l oscope and how t o
appl y t hem wi l l cont ri but e t o t he ef f ect i ve appl i cat i on of t he osci l l oscope
t o t ackl e your speci f i c measurement chal l enge.
The Os c illo s c o p e
What i s an osci l l oscope and how does i t work? Thi s sect i on answers
t hese f undament al quest i ons.
The osci l l oscope i s basi cal l y a graph- di spl ayi ng devi ce i t draws a
graph of an el ect ri cal si gnal . In most appl i cat i ons, t he graph shows how
si gnal s change over t i me: t he vert i cal (Y) axi s represent s vol t age and t he
hori zont al (X) axi s represent s t i me. The i nt ensi t y or bri ght ness of t he
di spl ay i s somet i mes cal l ed t he Z axi s. (See Fi gure 2. )
Thi s si mpl e graph can t el l you many t hi ngs about a si gnal , such as:
The time and voltage values of a signal
The frequency of an oscillating signal
The moving parts of a circuit represented by the signal
The frequency with which a particular portion of the signal is occurring relative to
other portions
Whether or not a malfunctioning component is distorting the signal
How much of a signal is direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC)
How much of the signal is noise and whether the noise is changing with time
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Z (intensity)
Y

(
v
o
l
t
a
g
e
)
X (time)
Y (voltage)
X (time)
Z (intensity)
Figure 2. X, Y, and Z components of a displayed waveform.
www.tektronix.com 6
Und e r s t a nd ing Wa v e f o r m s a nd
Wa v e f o r m M e a s ur e m e nt s
The generi c t erm f or a pat t ern t hat repeat s over t i me i s a wave sound
waves, brai n waves, ocean waves, and vol t age waves are al l repet i t i ve
pat t erns. An osci l l oscope measures vol t age waves. One cycl e of a wave
i s t he port i on of t he wave t hat repeat s. A wavef or m i s a graphi c
represent at i on of a wave. A vol t age wavef orm shows t i me on t he
hori zont al axi s and vol t age on t he vert i cal axi s.
Wavef orm shapes reveal a great deal about a si gnal . Any t i me you see
a change i n t he hei ght of t he wavef orm, you know t he vol t age has
changed. Any t i me t here i s a f l at hori zont al l i ne, you know t hat t here
i s no change f or t hat l engt h of t i me. St rai ght , di agonal l i nes mean a
l i near change ri se or f al l of vol t age at a st eady rat e. Sharp angl es on
a wavef orm i ndi cat e sudden change. Fi gure 3 shows common wavef orms
and Fi gure 4 di spl ays sources of common wavef orms.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Sine Wave Damped Sine Wave
Square Wave Rectangular Wave
Sawtooth Wave Triangle Wave
Step
Pulse
Complex
Figure 3. Common waveforms.
Figure 4. Sources of common waveforms.
www.tektronix.com 7
Typ e s o f Wa v e s
You can cl assi f y most waves i nt o t hese t ypes:
Sine waves
Square and rectangular waves
Triangle and saw- tooth waves
Step and pulse shapes
Periodic and non- periodic signals
Synchronous and asynchronous signals
Complex waves
Si ne Waves
The si ne wave i s t he f undament al wave shape f or several reasons. It has
harmoni ous mat hemat i cal propert i es i t i s t he same si ne shape you may
have st udi ed i n hi gh school t ri gonomet r y cl ass. The vol t age i n your wal l
out l et vari es as a si ne wave. Test si gnal s produced by t he osci l l at or ci rcui t
of a si gnal generat or are of t en si ne waves. Most AC power sources pro-
duce si ne waves. (AC si gni f i es al t ernat i ng current , al t hough t he vol t age
al t ernat es t oo. DC st ands f or di rect current , whi ch means a st eady current
and vol t age, such as a bat t er y produces. )
The damped si ne wave i s a speci al case you may see i n a ci rcui t t hat
osci l l at es, but wi nds down over t i me. Fi gure 5 shows exampl es of si ne and
damped si ne waves.
Squar e and Rect angul ar Waves
The squar e wave i s anot her common wave shape. Basi cal l y, a square
wave i s a vol t age t hat t urns on and of f (or goes hi gh and l ow) at regul ar
i nt er val s. It i s a st andard wave f or t est i ng ampl i f i ers good ampl i f i ers
i ncrease t he ampl i t ude of a square wave wi t h mi ni mum di st ort i on.
Tel evi si on, radi o and comput er ci rcui t r y of t en use square waves f or
t i mi ng si gnal s.
The r ect angul ar wave i s l i ke t he square wave except t hat t he hi gh and
l ow t i me i nt er val s are not of equal l engt h. It i s part i cul arl y i mport ant when
anal yzi ng di gi t al ci rcui t r y. Fi gure 6 shows exampl es of square and
rect angul ar waves.
Sawt oot h and Tr i angl e Waves
Sawt oot h and t r i angl e waves resul t f rom ci rcui t s desi gned t o cont rol
vol t ages l i nearl y, such as t he hori zont al sweep of an anal og osci l l oscope or
t he rast er scan of a t el evi si on. The t ransi t i ons bet ween vol t age l evel s of
t hese waves change at a const ant rat e. These t ransi t i ons are cal l ed
r amps. Fi gure 7 shows exampl es of saw- t oot h and t ri angl e waves.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Sawtooth Wave Triangle Wave
Figure 7. Sawtooth and triangle waves.
Sine Wave Damped Sine Wave
Figure 5. Sine and damped sine waves.
Square Wave Rectangular Wave
Figure 6. Square and rectangular waves.
www.tektronix.com 8
St ep and Pul se Shapes
Si gnal s such as st eps and pul ses t hat occur rarel y, or non- peri odi cal l y,
are cal l ed si ngl e- shot or t r ansi ent si gnal s. A st ep i ndi cat es a sudden
change i n vol t age, si mi l ar t o t he vol t age change you woul d see i f you
t urned on a power swi t ch.
A pul se i ndi cat es sudden changes i n vol t age, si mi l ar t o t he vol t age
changes you woul d see i f you t urned a power swi t ch on and t hen of f
agai n. A pul se mi ght represent one bi t of i nf ormat i on t ravel i ng t hrough
a comput er ci rcui t or i t mi ght be a gl i t ch, or def ect , i n a ci rcui t . A
col l ect i on of pul ses t ravel i ng t oget her creat es a pul se t r ai n. Di gi t al
component s i n a comput er communi cat e wi t h each ot her usi ng pul ses.
Pul ses are al so common i n x- ray and communi cat i ons equi pment .
Fi gure 8 shows exampl es of st ep and pul se shapes and a pul se t rai n.
Per i odi c and Non- per i odi c Si gnal s
Repet i t i ve si gnal s are ref erred t o as per i odi c si gnal s, whi l e si gnal s t hat
const ant l y change are known as non- per i odi c si gnal s. A st i l l pi ct ure i s
anal ogous t o a peri odi c si gnal , whi l e a movi ng pi ct ure can be equat ed t o
a non- peri odi c si gnal .
Synchr onous and Asynchr onous Si gnal s
When a t i mi ng rel at i onshi p exi st s bet ween t wo si gnal s, t hose si gnal s are
ref erred t o as synchr onous. Cl ock, dat a and address si gnal s i nsi de a
comput er are an exampl e of synchronous si gnal s.
Asynchr onous i s a t erm used t o descri be t hose si gnal s bet ween whi ch no
t i mi ng rel at i onshi p exi st s. Because no t i me correl at i on exi st s bet ween t he
act of t ouchi ng a key on a comput er keyboard and t he cl ock i nsi de t he
comput er, t hese are consi dered asynchronous.
Compl ex Waves
Some wavef orms combi ne t he charact eri st i cs of si nes, squares, st eps,
and pul ses t o produce waveshapes t hat chal l enge many osci l l oscopes.
The si gnal i nf ormat i on may be embedded i n t he f orm of ampl i t ude, phase,
and/ or f requency vari at i ons. For exampl e, al t hough the signal in Figure 9
is an ordinary composite video signal, it is composed of many cycl es of
hi gher- f requency wavef orms embedded i n a l ower- f requency envel ope.
In t hi s exampl e, i t i s usual l y most i mport ant t o underst and t he rel at i ve
l evel s and t i mi ng rel at i onshi ps of t he st eps. To vi ew t hi s si gnal , you need
an osci l l oscope t hat capt ures t he l ow- f requency envel ope and bl ends i n
t he hi gher- f requency waves i n an i nt ensi t y- graded f ashi on so t hat you can
see t hei r overal l combi nat i on as an i mage t hat can be vi sual l y i nt erpret ed.
Anal og and di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscopes are most sui t ed t o vi ewi ng
compl ex waves, such as vi deo si gnal s, i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 9. Thei r
di spl ays provi de t he necessar y f requency- of - occurrence i nf ormat i on, or
i nt ensi t y gradi ng, t hat i s essent i al t o underst andi ng what t he wavef orm
i s real l y doi ng.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Complex
Figure 9. An NTSC composite video signal is an example of a complex wave.
Step Pulse Pulse Train
Figure 8. Step, pulse and pulse train shapes.
www.tektronix.com 9
Wa v e f o r m M e a s ur e m e nt s
Many t erms are used t o descri be t he t ypes of measurement s t hat you
make wi t h your osci l l oscope. Thi s sect i on descri bes some of t he most
common measurement s and t erms.
Fr equency and Per i od
If a si gnal repeat s, i t has a f r equency. The f requency i s measured i n
Hert z (Hz) and equal s t he number of t i mes t he si gnal repeat s i t sel f i n
one second, ref erred t o as cycl es per second. A repet i t i ve si gnal al so
has a per i od t hi s i s t he amount of t i me i t t akes t he si gnal t o compl et e
one cycl e. Peri od and f requency are reci procal s of each ot her, so t hat
1/ peri od equal s t he f requency and 1/ f requency equal s t he peri od. For
exampl e, t he si ne wave i n Fi gure 10 has a f requency of 3 Hz and a peri od
of 1/ 3 second.
Vol t age
Vol t age i s t he amount of el ect ri c pot ent i al or si gnal st rengt h bet ween
t wo poi nt s i n a ci rcui t . Usual l y, one of t hese poi nt s i s ground, or zero
vol t s, but not al ways. You may want t o measure t he vol t age f rom t he
maxi mum peak t o t he mi ni mum peak of a wavef orm, ref erred t o as t he
peak- t o- peak vol t age.
Ampl i t ude
Ampl i t ude ref ers t o t he amount of vol t age bet ween t wo poi nt s i n a ci rcui t .
Ampl i t ude commonl y ref ers t o t he maxi mum vol t age of a si gnal measured
f rom ground, or zero vol t s. The wavef orm shown i n Fi gure 11 has an
ampl i t ude of 1 V and a peak- t o- peak vol t age of 2 V.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
0

90 180 270 360
+1 V
1 V
0 2 V

Figure 11. Amplitude and degrees of a sine wave.

period
1 second
3 Cycles per
Second = 3 Hz
Frequency
1 2 3
Figure 10. Frequency and period of a sine wave.
www.tektronix.com 10
Phase
Phase i s best expl ai ned by l ooki ng at a si ne wave. The vol t age l evel of
si ne waves i s based on ci rcul ar mot i on. Gi ven t hat a ci rcl e has 360, one
cycl e of a si ne wave has 360, as shown i n Fi gure 11. Usi ng degrees, you
can ref er t o t he phase angl e of a si ne wave when you want t o descri be
how much of t he peri od has el apsed.
Phase shi f t descri bes t he di f f erence i n t i mi ng bet ween t wo ot herwi se si m-
i l ar si gnal s. The wavef orm i n Fi gure 12 l abel ed current i s sai d t o be 90
out of phase wi t h t he wavef orm l abel ed vol t age, si nce t he waves reach
si mi l ar poi nt s i n t hei r cycl es exact l y 1/ 4 of a cycl e apart (360/ 4 = 90).
Phase shi f t s are common i n el ect roni cs.
Wavef or m Measur ement s wi t h Di gi t al Osci l l oscopes
Modern di gi t al osci l l oscopes have f unct i ons t hat make wavef orm
measurement s easi er. They have f ront - panel but t ons and/ or screen- based
menus f rom whi ch you can sel ect f ul l y aut omat ed measurement s. These
i ncl ude ampl i t ude, peri od, ri se/ f al l t i me, and many more. Many di gi t al
i nst rument s al so provi de mean and RMS cal cul at i ons, dut y cycl e, and
ot her mat h operat i ons. Aut omat ed measurement s appear as on- screen
al phanumeri c readout s. Typi cal l y t hese readi ngs are more accurat e
t han i s possi bl e t o obt ai n wi t h di rect grat i cul e i nt erpret at i on.
Ful l y aut omat ed wavef orm measurement s avai l abl e on some
di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscopes i ncl ude:
Period Duty cycle + High
Frequency Duty cycle Low
Width + Delay Minimum
Width Phase Maximum
Rise time Burst width Overshoot +
Fall time Peak- to- peak Overshoot
Amplitude Mean RMS
Extinction ratio Cycle mean Cycle RMS
Mean optical power Cycle area
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
0
Phase = 90

Voltage
Current
Figure 12. Phase shift.
www.tektronix.com 11
The Typ e s o f Os c illo s c o p e s
El ect roni c equi pment can be cl assi f i ed i nt o t wo cat egori es: anal og and
di gi t al . Anal og equi pment works wi t h cont i nuousl y vari abl e vol t ages,
whi l e di gi t al equi pment works wi t h di scret e bi nar y numbers t hat represent
vol t age sampl es. A convent i onal phonograph i s an anal og devi ce, whi l e
a compact di sc pl ayer i s a di gi t al devi ce.
Osci l l oscopes can be cl assi f i ed si mi l arl y as anal og and di gi t al t ypes.
For many appl i cat i ons, ei t her an anal og or di gi t al osci l l oscope wi l l do.
However, each t ype has uni que charact eri st i cs t hat may make i t more or
l ess sui t abl e f or speci f i c appl i cat i ons. Di gi t al osci l l oscopes can be f urt her
cl assi f i ed i nt o di gi t al st orage osci l l oscopes (DSOs), di gi t al phosphor osci l -
l oscopes (DPOs) and sampl i ng osci l l oscopes.
Ana lo g Os c illo s c o p e s
Fundament al l y, an anal og osci l l oscope works by appl yi ng t he measured
si gnal vol t age di rect l y t o t he vert i cal axi s of an el ect ron beam t hat moves
f rom l ef t t o ri ght across t he osci l l oscope screen usual l y a cat hode- r ay
t ube (CRT). The back si de of t he screen i s t reat ed wi t h l umi nous
phosphor t hat gl ows wherever t he el ect ron beam hi t s i t . The si gnal
vol t age def l ect s t he beam up and down proport i onal l y as i t moves
hori zont al l y across t he di spl ay, t raci ng t he wavef orm on t he screen. The
more f requent l y t he beam hi t s a part i cul ar screen l ocat i on, t he more
bri ght l y i t gl ows.
The CRT l i mi t s t he range of f requenci es t hat can be di spl ayed by an
anal og osci l l oscope. At ver y l ow f requenci es, t he si gnal appears as a
bri ght , sl ow- movi ng dot t hat i s di f f i cul t t o di st i ngui sh as a wavef orm.
At hi gh f requenci es, t he CRT s wr i t i ng speed def i nes t he l i mi t . When t he
si gnal f requency exceeds t he CRT s wri t i ng speed, t he di spl ay becomes
t oo di m t o see. The f ast est anal og osci l l oscopes can di spl ay f requenci es
up t o about 1 GHz.
When you connect an osci l l oscope probe t o a ci rcui t , t he vol t age si gnal
t ravel s t hrough t he probe t o t he vert i cal syst em of t he osci l l oscope.
Fi gure 13 i l l ust rat es how an anal og osci l l oscope di spl ays a measured
si gnal . Dependi ng on how you set t he vert i cal scal e (vol t s/ di v cont rol ),
an at t enuat or reduces t he si gnal vol t age and an ampl i f i er i ncreases t he
si gnal vol t age.
Next , t he si gnal t ravel s di rect l y t o t he vert i cal def l ect i on pl at es of t he CRT.
Vol t age appl i ed t o t hese def l ect i on pl at es causes a gl owi ng dot t o move
across t he screen. The gl owi ng dot i s creat ed by an el ect ron beam t hat
hi t s t he l umi nous phosphor i nsi de t he CRT. A posi t i ve vol t age causes t he
dot t o move up whi l e a negat i ve vol t age causes t he dot t o move down.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Attenuator
Sweep
Generator
Horizontal
Amplifier
Display
System
CRT
Horizontal System
Probe
Trigger
System
Vertical System
Vertical
Amplifier
Ramp Time Base
Figure 13. The architecture of an analog oscilloscope.
www.tektronix.com 12
The si gnal al so t ravel s t o t he t ri gger syst em t o st art , or t ri gger, a
hor i zont al sweep. Hori zont al sweep ref ers t o t he act i on of t he
hori zont al syst em t hat causes t he gl owi ng dot t o move across t he screen.
Tri ggeri ng t he hori zont al syst em causes t he hori zont al t i me base t o move
t he gl owi ng dot across t he screen f rom l ef t t o ri ght wi t hi n a speci f i c t i me
i nt er val . Many sweeps i n rapi d sequence cause t he movement of t he
gl owi ng dot t o bl end i nt o a sol i d l i ne. At hi gher speeds, t he dot may
sweep across t he screen up t o 500, 000 t i mes per second.
Toget her, t he hori zont al sweepi ng act i on and t he vert i cal def l ect i on
act i on t race a graph of t he si gnal on t he screen. The t ri gger i s necessar y
t o st abi l i ze a repeat i ng si gnal i t ensures t hat t he sweep begi ns at t he
same poi nt of a repeat i ng si gnal , resul t i ng i n a cl ear pi ct ure as shown i n
Fi gure 14.
In addi t i on, anal og osci l l oscopes have f ocus and i nt ensi t y cont rol s t hat
can be adj ust ed t o creat e a sharp, l egi bl e di spl ay.
Peopl e of t en pref er anal og osci l l oscopes when i t i s i mport ant t o di spl ay
rapi dl y var yi ng si gnal s i n real t i me or, as t hey occur. The anal og
osci l l oscope s chemi cal phosphor- based di spl ay has a charact eri st i c
known as i nt ensi t y gr adi ng t hat makes t he t race bri ght er wherever t he
si gnal f eat ures occur most of t en. Thi s i nt ensi t y gradi ng makes i t easy t o
di st i ngui sh si gnal det ai l s j ust by l ooki ng at t he t race s i nt ensi t y l evel s.
D ig it a l Os c illo s c o p e s
In cont rast t o an anal og osci l l oscope, a di gi t al osci l l oscope uses an
anal og- t o- di gi t al convert er (ADC) t o convert t he measured vol t age i nt o
di gi t al i nf ormat i on. It acqui res t he wavef orm as a seri es of sampl es, and
st ores t hese sampl es unt i l i t accumul at es enough sampl es t o descri be a
wavef orm. The di gi t al osci l l oscope t hen re- assembl es t he wavef orm f or
di spl ay on t he screen. (see Fi gure 15)
Di gi t al osci l l oscopes can be cl assi f i ed i nt o di gi t al st orage osci l l oscopes
(DSOs), di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscopes (DPOs), and sampl i ng osci l l oscopes.
The di gi t al approach means t hat t he osci l l oscope can di spl ay any
f requency wi t hi n i t s range wi t h st abi l i t y, bri ght ness, and cl ari t y. For
repet i t i ve si gnal s, t he bandwi dt h of t he di gi t al osci l l oscope i s a
f unct i on of t he anal og bandwi dt h of t he f ront - end component s of
t he osci l l oscope, commonl y ref erred t o as t he 3dB poi nt . For
si ngl e- shot and t ransi ent event s, such as pul ses and st eps, t he
bandwi dt h can be l i mi t ed by t he osci l l oscope s sampl e rat e. Pl ease
ref er t o t he Sampl e Rat e sect i on under Per f or mance Ter ms and
Consi der at i ons f or a more det ai l ed di scussi on.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Untriggered Display Triggered Display
Figure 14. The trigger stabilizes a repetitive waveform, creating a
clear picture of the signal.
ADC
1010
0001
0010
0101
Analog O scilloscopes
Trace Signals
Digital O scilloscopes Samples
Signals and Construct Displays
Figure 15. Analog oscilloscopes trace signals, while digital oscilloscopes
sample signals and construct displays.
www.tektronix.com 13
Di gi t al St or age Osci l l oscopes
A convent i onal di gi t al osci l l oscope i s known as a di gi t al st orage
osci l l oscope (DSO). It s di spl ay t ypi cal l y rel i es on a rast er- t ype screen
rat her t han l umi nous phosphor.
Di gi t al st orage osci l l oscopes (DSOs) al l ow you t o capt ure and vi ew
event s t hat may happen onl y once known as t ransi ent s. Because t he
wavef orm i nf ormat i on exi st s i n di gi t al f orm as a seri es of st ored bi nar y
val ues, i t can be anal yzed, archi ved, pri nt ed, and ot herwi se processed,
wi t hi n t he osci l l oscope i t sel f or by an ext ernal comput er. The wavef orm
need not be cont i nuous; i t can be di spl ayed even when t he si gnal
di sappears. Unl i ke anal og osci l l oscopes, di gi t al st orage osci l l oscopes
provi de permanent si gnal st orage and ext ensi ve wavef orm processi ng.
However, DSOs t ypi cal l y have no real - t i me i nt ensi t y gradi ng; t heref ore,
t hey cannot express var yi ng l evel s of i nt ensi t y i n t he l i ve si gnal .
Some of t he subsyst ems t hat compri se DSOs are si mi l ar t o t hose i n
anal og osci l l oscopes. However, DSOs cont ai n addi t i onal dat a- processi ng
subsyst ems t hat are used t o col l ect and di spl ay dat a f or t he ent i re
wavef orm. A DSO empl oys a seri al - processi ng archi t ect ure t o capt ure
and di spl ay a si gnal on i t s screen, as shown i n Fi gure 16. A descri pt i on of
t hi s seri al - processi ng archi t ect ure f ol l ows.
Ser i al - pr ocessi ng Ar chi t ect ur e
Li ke an anal og osci l l oscope, a DSO s f i rst (i nput ) st age i s a vert i cal
ampl i f i er. Vert i cal cont rol s al l ow you t o adj ust t he ampl i t ude and posi t i on
range at t hi s st age.
Next , t he anal og- t o- di gi t al convert er (ADC) i n t he hori zont al syst em
sampl es t he si gnal at di scret e poi nt s i n t i me and convert s t he si gnal s
vol t age at t hese poi nt s i nt o di gi t al val ues cal l ed sampl e poi nt s. Thi s
process i s ref erred t o as di gi t i zi ng a si gnal . The hori zont al syst em s
sampl e cl ock det ermi nes how of t en t he ADC t akes a sampl e. Thi s
rat e i s ref erred t o as t he sampl e r at e and i s expressed i n sampl es
per second (S/ s).
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Amp A/D DeMUX Display uP
Display
Memory
Acquisition
Memory
Figure 16. The serial- processing architecture of a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO).
www.tektronix.com 14
The sampl e poi nt s f rom t he ADC are st ored i n acqui si t i on memor y as
wavef or m poi nt s. Several sampl e poi nt s may compri se one wavef orm
poi nt . Toget her, t he wavef orm poi nt s compri se one wavef orm record.
The number of wavef orm poi nt s used t o creat e a wavef orm record i s
cal l ed t he r ecor d l engt h. The t ri gger syst em det ermi nes t he st art and
st op poi nt s of t he record.
The DSO s si gnal pat h i ncl udes a mi croprocessor t hrough whi ch t he
measured si gnal passes on i t s way t o t he di spl ay. Thi s mi croprocessor
processes t he si gnal , coordi nat es di spl ay act i vi t i es, manages t he f ront
panel cont rol s, and more. The si gnal t hen passes t hrough t he di spl ay
memor y and i s di spl ayed on t he osci l l oscope screen.
Dependi ng on t he capabi l i t i es of your osci l l oscope, addi t i onal processi ng
of t he sampl e poi nt s may t ake pl ace, whi ch enhances t he di spl ay.
Pre- t ri gger may al so be avai l abl e, enabl i ng you t o see event s bef ore
t he t ri gger poi nt . Most of t oday s di gi t al osci l l oscopes al so provi de a
sel ect i on of aut omat i c paramet ri c measurement s, si mpl i f yi ng t he
measurement process.
A DSO provi des hi gh perf ormance i n a si ngl e- shot , mul t i - channel
i nst rument (see Fi gure 17). DSOs are i deal f or l ow- repet i t i on- rat e or
si ngl e- shot , hi gh- speed, mul t i - channel desi gn appl i cat i ons. In t he real
worl d of di gi t al desi gn, an engi neer usual l y exami nes f our or more
si gnal s si mul t aneousl y, maki ng t he DSO a cri t i cal compani on.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 17. The TDS694C delivers high- speed, single- shot acquisition across
multiple channels, increasing the likelihood of capturing elusive glitches and
transient events.
www.tektronix.com 15
Di gi t al Phosphor Osci l l oscopes
The di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscope (DPO) of f ers a new approach t o
osci l l oscope archi t ect ure. Thi s archi t ect ure enabl es a DPO t o del i ver
uni que acqui si t i on and di spl ay capabi l i t i es t o accurat el y reconst ruct
a si gnal .
Whi l e a DSO uses a seri al - processi ng archi t ect ure t o capt ure, di spl ay
and anal yze si gnal s, a DPO empl oys a paral l el - processi ng archi t ect ure
t o perf orm t hese f unct i ons, as shown i n Fi gure 18. The DPO archi t ect ure
dedi cat es uni que ASIC hardware t o acqui re wavef orm i mages, del i veri ng
high waveform capture rates that result in a higher level of signal visualizat i on.
Thi s perf ormance i ncreases t he probabi l i t y of wi t nessi ng t ransi ent event s
t hat occur i n di gi t al syst ems, such as runt pul ses, gl i t ches and transition
errors. A description of this parallel- processing architecture follows.
Par al l el - pr ocessi ng Ar chi t ect ur e
A DPO s f i rst (i nput ) st age i s si mi l ar t o t hat of an anal og osci l l oscope a
vert i cal ampl i f i er and i t s second st age i s si mi l ar t o t hat of a DSO an
ADC. But , t he DPO di f f ers si gni f i cant l y f rom i t s predecessors f ol l owi ng t he
anal og- t o- di gi t al conversi on.
For any osci l l oscope anal og, DSO or DPO t here i s al ways a hol dof f
t i me duri ng whi ch t he i nst rument processes t he most recent l y acqui red
dat a, reset s t he syst em, and wai t s f or t he next t ri gger event . Duri ng
t hi s t i me, t he osci l l oscope i s bl i nd t o al l si gnal act i vi t y. The probabi l i t y
of seei ng an i nf requent or l ow- repet i t i on event decreases as t he hol dof f
t i me i ncreases.
It shoul d be not ed t hat i t i s i mpossi bl e t o det ermi ne t he probabi l i t y of
capt ure by si mpl y l ooki ng at t he di spl ay updat e rat e. If you rel y sol el y
on t he updat e rat e, i t i s easy t o make t he mi st ake of bel i evi ng t hat t he
osci l l oscope i s capt uri ng al l pert i nent i nf ormat i on about t he wavef orm
when, i n f act , i t i s not .
The di gi t al st orage osci l l oscope processes capt ured wavef orms seri al l y.
The speed of i t s mi croprocessor i s a bot t l eneck i n t hi s process because i t
l i mi t s t he wavef orm capt ure rat e.
The DPO rast eri zes t he di gi t i zed wavef orm dat a i nt o a di gi t al phosphor
dat abase. Ever y 1/ 30t h of a second about as f ast as t he human eye
can percei ve i t a snapshot of t he si gnal i mage t hat i s st ored i n t he
database is pipelined directly to the display system. This direct rasterization
of wavef orm dat a, and di rect copy t o di spl ay memor y f rom t he dat abase,
removes t he dat a- processi ng bot t l eneck i nherent i n ot her archi t ect ures.
The resul t i s an enhanced l i ve- t i me and l i vel y di spl ay updat e. Si gnal
det ai l s, i nt ermi t t ent event s, and dynami c charact eri st i cs of t he si gnal are
capt ured i n real - t i me. The DPO s mi croprocessor works i n paral l el wi t h
t hi s i nt egrat ed acqui si t i on syst em f or di spl ay management , measurement
aut omat i on and i nst rument cont rol , so t hat i t does not af f ect t he
osci l l oscope s acqui si t i on speed.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Snapshots of the Digital Phosphor contents are periodically
sent directly to the display without stopping the acquisition.
Waveform math, measurements, and front panel
control are executed by the microprocessor parallel
to the integrated acquisition/display system.
Amp
A/D Display
uP
Digital
Phosphor
Figure 18. The parallel- processing architecture of a digital phospor oscilloscope (DPO).
www.tektronix.com 16
A DPO f ai t hf ul l y emul at es t he best di spl ay at t ri but es of an anal og
osci l l oscope, di spl ayi ng t he si gnal i n t hree di mensi ons: t i me, ampl i t ude
and t he di st ri but i on of ampl i t ude over t i me, al l i n real t i me.
Unl i ke an anal og osci l l oscope s rel i ance on chemi cal phosphor, a DPO uses
a purel y el ect roni c di gi t al phosphor t hat s act ual l y a cont i nuousl y updat ed
dat abase. Thi s dat abase has a separat e cel l of i nf ormat i on f or ever y
si ngl e pi xel i n t he osci l l oscope s di spl ay. Each t i me a wavef orm i s
capt ured i n ot her words, ever y t i me t he osci l l oscope t ri ggers i t
i s mapped i nt o t he di gi t al phosphor dat abase s cel l s. Each cel l t hat
represent s a screen l ocat i on and i s t ouched by t he wavef orm i s
rei nf orced wi t h i nt ensi t y i nf ormat i on, whi l e ot her cel l s are not . Thus,
i nt ensi t y i nf ormat i on bui l ds up i n cel l s where t he wavef orm passes
most of t en.
When t he di gi t al phosphor dat abase i s f ed t o t he osci l l oscope s di spl ay,
t he di spl ay reveal s i nt ensi f i ed wavef orm areas, i n proport i on t o t he si gnal s
f requency of occurrence at each poi nt much l i ke t he i nt ensi t y gradi ng
charact eri st i cs of an anal og osci l l oscope. The DPO al so al l ows t he di spl ay
of t he var yi ng f requency- of - occurence i nf ormat i on on t he di spl ay as
cont rast i ng col ors, unl i ke an anal og osci l l oscope. Wi t h a DPO, i t i s easy
t o see t he di f f erence bet ween a wavef orm t hat occurs on al most ever y
t ri gger and one t hat occurs, say, ever y 100
t h
t ri gger.
Di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscopes (DPOs) break down t he barri er bet ween
anal og and di gi t al osci l l oscope t echnol ogi es. They are equal l y sui t abl e f or
vi ewi ng hi gh and l ow f requenci es, repet i t i ve wavef orms, t ransi ent s, and
si gnal vari at i ons i n real t i me. Onl y a DPO provi des t he Z (i nt ensi t y) axi s i n
real t i me t hat i s mi ssi ng f rom convent i onal DSOs.
A DPO i s i deal f or t hose who need t he best general - purpose desi gn and
t roubl eshoot i ng t ool f or a wi de range of appl i cat i ons (see Fi gure 19).
A DPO i s exempl ar y f or communi cat i on mask t est i ng, di gi t al debug of
i nt ermi t t ent si gnal s, repet i t i ve di gi t al desi gn and t i mi ng appl i cat i ons.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 19. Some DPOs can acquire millions of waveforms in just seconds,
significantly increasing the probability of capturing intermittent and elusive
events and revealing dynamic signal behavior.
www.tektronix.com 17
Di gi t al Sampl i ng Osci l l oscopes
When measuri ng hi gh- f requency si gnal s, t he osci l l oscope may not be
abl e t o col l ect enough sampl es i n one sweep. A di gi t al sampl i ng
osci l l oscope i s an i deal t ool f or accurat el y capt uri ng si gnal s whose
f requency component s are much hi gher t han t he osci l l oscope s sampl e
rat e (see Fi gure 21). Thi s osci l l oscope i s capabl e of measuri ng si gnal s
of up t o an order of magni t ude f ast er t han any ot her osci l l oscope. It can
achi eve bandwi dt h and hi gh- speed t i mi ng t en t i mes hi gher t han ot her
osci l l oscopes f or repet i t i ve si gnal s. Sequent i al equi val ent - t i me
sampl i ng osci l l oscopes are avai l abl e wi t h bandwi dt hs t o 50 GHz.
In cont rast t o t he di gi t al st orage and di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscope
archi t ect ures, t he archi t ect ure of t he di gi t al sampl i ng osci l l oscope
reverses t he posi t i on of t he at t enuat or/ ampl i f i er and t he sampl i ng
bri dge, as shown i n Fi gure 20. The i nput si gnal i s sampl ed bef ore any
at t enuat i on or ampl i f i cat i on i s perf ormed. A l ow bandwi dt h ampl i f i er
can t hen be ut i l i zed af t er t he sampl i ng bri dge because t he si gnal has
al ready been convert ed t o a l ower f requency by t he sampl i ng gat e,
resul t i ng i n a much hi gher bandwi dt h i nst rument .
The t radeof f f or t hi s hi gh bandwi dt h, however, i s t hat t he sampl i ng
osci l l oscope s dynami c range i s l i mi t ed. Si nce t here i s no attenuator/
amplifier i n f ront of t he sampl i ng gat e, t here i s no f aci l i t y t o scal e t he
i nput . The sampl i ng bri dge must be abl e t o handl e t he f ul l dynami c
range of t he i nput at al l t i mes. Theref ore, t he dynami c range of most
sampl i ng osci l l oscopes i s l i mi t ed t o about 1 V peak- t o- peak. Di gi t al
st orage and di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscopes, on t he ot her hand, can
handl e 50 t o 100 vol t s.
In addi t i on, prot ect i on di odes cannot be pl aced i n f ront of t he sampl i ng
bri dge as t hi s woul d l i mi t t he bandwi dt h. Thi s reduces t he saf e i nput
vol t age f or a sampl i ng osci l l oscope t o about 3 V, as compared t o 500 V
avai l abl e on ot her osci l l oscopes.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 21. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) display from a TDS8000
digital sampling oscilloscope and 80E04 20- GHz sampling module.
Sampling
Bridge
Amplifier
50
Input
(3 V Max)
Figure 20. The architecture of a digital sampling oscilloscope.
www.tektronix.com 18
The S ys t e m s a nd C o nt r o ls
o f a n Os c illo s c o p e
A basi c osci l l oscope consi st s of f our di f f erent syst ems t he vert i cal
syst em, hori zont al syst em, t ri gger syst em, and di spl ay syst em.
Underst andi ng each of t hese syst ems wi l l enabl e you t o ef f ect i vel y
appl y t he osci l l oscope t o t ackl e your speci f i c measurement chal l enges.
Recal l t hat each syst em cont ri but es t o t he osci l l oscope s abi l i t y t o
accurat el y reconst ruct a si gnal .
Thi s sect i on bri ef l y descri bes t he basi c syst ems and cont rol s f ound on
anal og and di gi t al osci l l oscopes. Some cont rol s di f f er bet ween anal og and
di gi t al osci l l oscopes; your osci l l oscope probabl y has addi t i onal cont rol s not
di scussed here.
The f ront panel of an osci l l oscope i s di vi ded i nt o t hree mai n sect i ons
l abel ed ver t i cal , hor i zont al , and t r i gger . Your osci l l oscope may have
ot her sect i ons, dependi ng on t he model and t ype anal og or di gi t al as
shown i n Fi gure 22. See i f you can l ocat e t hese f ront - panel sect i ons i n
Fi gure 22, and on your osci l l oscope, as you read t hrough t hi s sect i on.
When usi ng an osci l l oscope, you need t o adj ust t hree basi c set t i ngs
t o accommodat e an i ncomi ng si gnal :
The at t enuat i on or ampl i f i cat i on of the signal. Use the volts/ div control to adjust
the amplitude of the signal to the desired measurement range.
The t i me base. Use the sec/ div control to set the amount of time per division
represented horizontally across the screen.
The t r i gger i ng of the oscilloscope. Use the t r i gger l evel to stabilize a repeating
signal, or to trigger on a single event.
Ve r t ic a l S ys t e m a nd C o nt r o ls
Vert i cal cont rol s can be used t o posi t i on and scal e t he wavef orm vert i cal l y.
Vert i cal cont rol s can al so be used t o set t he i nput coupl i ng and ot her
si gnal condi t i oni ng, descri bed l at er i n t hi s sect i on. Common vert i cal
cont rol s i ncl ude:
Termination
1M Ohm
50 Ohm
Coupling
DC
AC
GND
Bandwidth Limit
20 MHz
250 MHz
Full
Position
Offset
Invert On/ Off
Scale
1- 2- 5
Variable
Zoom
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 22. Front- panel control section of an oscilloscope.
www.tektronix.com 19
Posi t i on and Vol t s per Di vi si on
The vert i cal posi t i on cont rol al l ows you t o move t he wavef orm up and
down exact l y where you want i t on t he screen.
The vol t s- per- di vi si on set t i ng (usual l y wri t t en as vol t s/ di v) vari es t he si ze
of t he wavef orm on t he screen. A good general - purpose osci l l oscope can
accurat el y di spl ay si gnal l evel s f rom about 4 mi l l i vol t s t o 40 vol t s.
The vol t s/ di v set t i ng i s a scal e f act or. If t he vol t s/ di v set t i ng i s 5 vol t s,
t hen each of t he ei ght vert i cal di vi si ons represent s 5 vol t s and t he ent i re
screen can di spl ay 40 vol t s f rom bot t om t o t op, assumi ng a grat i cul e wi t h
ei ght maj or di vi si ons. If t he set t i ng i s 0. 5 vol t s/ di v, t he screen can di spl ay
4 vol t s f rom bot t om t o t op, and so on. The maxi mum vol t age you can
di spl ay on t he screen i s t he vol t s/ di v set t i ng mul t i pl i ed by t he number of
vert i cal di vi si ons. Not e t hat t he probe you use, 1X or 10X, al so i nf l uences
t he scal e f act or. You must di vi de t he vol t s/ di v scal e by t he at t enuat i on
f act or of t he probe i f t he osci l l oscope does not do i t f or you.
Of t en t he vol t s/ di v scal e has ei t her a vari abl e gai n or a f i ne gai n cont rol
f or scal i ng a di spl ayed si gnal t o a cert ai n number of di vi si ons. Use t hi s
cont rol t o assi st i n t aki ng ri se t i me measurement s.
Input Coupl i ng
Coupl i ng ref ers t o t he met hod used t o connect an el ect ri cal si gnal f rom
one ci rcui t t o anot her. In t hi s case, t he i nput coupl i ng i s t he connect i on
f rom your t est ci rcui t t o t he osci l l oscope. The coupl i ng can be set t o DC,
AC, or ground. DC coupl i ng shows al l of an i nput si gnal . AC coupl i ng
bl ocks t he DC component of a si gnal so t hat you see t he wavef orm
cent ered around zero vol t s. Fi gure 23 i l l ust rat es t hi s di f f erence. The
AC coupl i ng set t i ng i s usef ul when t he ent i re si gnal (al t ernat i ng current +
di rect current ) i s t oo l arge f or t he vol t s/ di v set t i ng.
The ground set t i ng di sconnect s t he i nput si gnal f rom t he vert i cal
syst em, whi ch l et s you see where zero vol t s i s l ocat ed on t he screen.
Wi t h grounded i nput coupl i ng and aut o t ri gger mode, you see a
hori zont al l i ne on t he screen t hat represent s zero vol t s. Swi t chi ng f rom
DC t o ground and back agai n i s a handy way of measuri ng si gnal vol t age
l evel s wi t h respect t o ground.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
4 V
0 V
AC Coupling of
the Same Signal
4 V
0 V
DC Coupling of a V Sine
Wave with a 2 V DC Component
p-p
Figure 23. AC and DC input coupling.
www.tektronix.com 20
Bandwi dt h Li mi t
Most osci l l oscopes have a ci rcui t t hat l i mi t s t he bandwi dt h of t he
osci l l oscope. By l i mi t i ng t he bandwi dt h, you reduce t he noi se t hat
somet i mes appears on t he di spl ayed wavef orm, resul t i ng i n a cl eaner
si gnal di spl ay. Not e t hat , whi l e el i mi nat i ng noi se, t he bandwi dt h l i mi t
can al so reduce or el i mi nat e hi gh- f requency si gnal cont ent .
Al t er nat e and Chop Di spl ay Modes
Mul t i pl e channel s on anal og osci l l oscopes are di spl ayed usi ng ei t her an
al t er nat e or chop mode. (Many di gi t al osci l l oscopes can present mul t i pl e
channel s si mul t aneousl y wi t hout t he need f or chop or al t ernat e modes. )
Al t er nat e mode draws each channel al t ernat el y t he osci l l oscope
compl et es one sweep on channel 1, t hen anot her sweep on channel 2,
t hen anot her sweep on channel 1, and so on. Use t hi s mode wi t h
medi um t o hi gh speed si gnal s, when t he sec/ di v scal e i s set t o
0. 5 ms or f ast er.
Chop mode causes t he osci l l oscope t o draw smal l part s of each si gnal by
swi t chi ng back and f ort h bet ween t hem. The swi t chi ng rat e i s t oo f ast f or
you t o not i ce, so t he wavef orm l ooks whol e. You t ypi cal l y use t hi s mode
wi t h sl ow si gnal s requi ri ng sweep speeds of 1 ms per di vi si on or l ess.
Fi gure 24 shows t he di f f erence bet ween t he t wo modes. It i s of t en usef ul
t o vi ew t he si gnal bot h ways, t o make sure you have t he best vi ew.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Attention M ode: Channel 1 and Channel 2
Drawn Alternately
Chop M ode: Segments of Channel 1 and
Channel 2 Drawn Alternately
Drawn
First
Drawn
Second
Figure 24. Multi- channel display modes.
www.tektronix.com 21
H o r iz o nt a l S ys t e m a nd C o nt r o ls
An osci l l oscope s hori zont al syst em i s most cl osel y associ at ed wi t h i t s
acqui si t i on of an i nput si gnal sampl e rat e and record l engt h are among
t he consi derat i ons here. Hori zont al cont rol s are used t o posi t i on and
scal e t he wavef orm hori zont al l y. Common hori zont al cont rol s i ncl ude:
Main
Delay
XY
Scale
1- 2- 5
Variable
Trace Separation
Record Length
Resolution
Sample Rate
Trigger Position
Zoom
Acqui si t i on Cont r ol s
Di gi t al osci l l oscopes have set t i ngs t hat l et you cont rol how t he acqui si t i on
syst em processes a si gnal . Look over t he acqui si t i on opt i ons on your
di gi t al osci l l oscope whi l e you read t hi s descri pt i on. Fi gure 25 shows you
an exampl e of an acqui si t i on menu.
Acqui si t i on Modes
Acqui si t i on modes cont rol how wavef orm poi nt s are produced f rom
sampl e poi nt s. Sampl e poi nt s are t he di gi t al val ues deri ved di rect l y
f rom t he anal og- t o- di gi t al convert er (ADC). The sampl e i nt er val ref ers
t o t he t i me bet ween t hese sampl e poi nt s. Wavef or m poi nt s are t he di gi t al
val ues t hat are st ored i n memor y and di spl ayed t o const ruct t he wavef orm.
The t i me val ue di f f erence bet ween wavef orm poi nt s i s ref erred t o as t he
wavef or m i nt er val .
The sampl e i nt er val and t he wavef orm i nt er val may, or may not , be t he
same. Thi s f act l eads t o t he exi st ence of several di f f erent acqui si t i on
modes i n whi ch one wavef orm poi nt i s compri sed of several sequent i al l y
acqui red sampl e poi nt s. Addi t i onal l y, wavef orm poi nt s can be creat ed
f rom a composi t e of sampl e poi nt s t aken f rom mul t i pl e acqui si t i ons,
whi ch provi des anot her set of acqui si t i on modes. A descri pt i on of t he most
commonl y used acqui si t i on modes f ol l ows.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 25. Example of an acquisition menu.
www.tektronix.com 22
Types of Acqui si t i on Modes
Sampl e Mode: Thi s i s t he si mpl est acqui si t i on mode. The osci l l oscope
creat es a wavef orm poi nt by savi ng one sampl e poi nt duri ng each
wavef orm i nt er val .
Peak Det ect Mode: The osci l l oscope saves t he mi ni mum and
maxi mum val ue sampl e poi nt s t aken duri ng t wo wavef orm i nt er val s
and uses t hese sampl es as t he t wo correspondi ng wavef orm poi nt s.
Di gi t al osci l l oscopes wi t h peak det ect mode run t he ADC at a f ast
sampl e rat e, even at ver y sl ow t i me base set t i ngs (sl ow t i me base
set t i ngs t ransl at e i nt o l ong wavef orm i nt er val s) and are abl e t o
capt ure f ast si gnal changes t hat woul d occur bet ween t he wavef orm
poi nt s i f i n sampl e mode (Fi gure 26). Peak det ect mode i s part i cul arl y
usef ul f or seei ng narrow pul ses spaced f ar apart i n t i me (Fi gure 27).
Hi Res Mode: Li ke peak det ect , hi res mode i s a way of get t i ng
more i nf ormat i on i n cases when t he ADC can sampl e f ast er t han
t he t i me base set t i ng requi res. In t hi s case, mul t i pl e sampl es t aken
wi t hi n one wavef orm i nt er val are averaged t oget her t o produce one
wavef orm poi nt . The resul t i s a decrease i n noi se and an i mprovement
i n resol ut i on f or l ow- speed si gnal s.
Envel ope Mode: Envel ope mode i s si mi l ar t o peak det ect mode.
However, i n envel ope mode, t he mi ni mum and maxi mum wavef orm
poi nt s f rom mul t i pl e acqui si t i ons are combi ned t o f orm a wavef orm
t hat shows mi n/ max accumul at i on over t i me. Peak det ect mode i s
usual l y used t o acqui re t he records t hat are combi ned t o f orm t he
envel ope wavef orm.
Average Mode: In average mode, t he osci l l oscope saves one
sampl e poi nt duri ng each wavef orm i nt er val as i n sampl e mode.
However, wavef orm poi nt s f rom consecut i ve acqui si t i ons are t hen
averaged t oget her t o produce t he f i nal di spl ayed wavef orm. Average
mode reduces noi se wi t hout l oss of bandwi dt h, but requi res a
repeat i ng si gnal .
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
The glitch you will not see
Sampled point
displayed by
the DSO
Figure 26. Sample rate varies with time base settings the slower the time
base setting, the slower the sample rate. Some digital oscilloscopes provide
peak detect mode to capture fast transients at slow sweep speeds.
Figure 27. Peak detect mode enables the TDS7000 Series oscilloscope
to capture transient anomalies as narrow as 100 ps.
www.tektronix.com 23
St ar t i ng and St oppi ng t he Acqui si t i on Syst em
One of t he great est advant ages of di gi t al osci l l oscopes i s t hei r abi l i t y t o
st ore wavef orms f or l at er vi ewi ng. To t hi s end, t here are usual l y one or
more but t ons on t he f ront panel t hat al l ow you t o st art and st op t he
acqui si t i on syst em so you can anal yze wavef orms at your l ei sure.
Addi t i onal l y, you may want t he osci l l oscope t o aut omat i cal l y st op
acqui ri ng af t er one acqui si t i on i s compl et e or af t er one set of records
has been t urned i nt o an envel ope or average wavef orm. Thi s f eat ure i s
commonl y cal l ed si ngl e sweep or si ngl e sequence and i t s cont rol s are
usual l y f ound ei t her wi t h t he ot her acqui si t i on cont rol s or wi t h t he
t ri gger cont rol s.
Sampl i ng
Sampl i ng i s t he process of convert i ng a port i on of an i nput si gnal i nt o
a number of di scret e el ect ri cal val ues f or t he purpose of st orage,
processi ng and/ or di spl ay. The magni t ude of each sampl ed poi nt i s
equal t o t he ampl i t ude of t he i nput si gnal at t he i nst ant i n t i me i n whi ch
t he si gnal i s sampl ed.
Sampl i ng i s l i ke t aki ng snapshot s. Each snapshot corresponds t o a
speci f i c poi nt i n t i me on t he wavef orm. These snapshot s can t hen
be arranged i n t he appropri at e order i n t i me so as t o reconst ruct t he
i nput si gnal .
In a di gi t al osci l l oscope, an array of sampl ed poi nt s i s reconst ruct ed on a
di spl ay wi t h t he measured ampl i t ude on t he vert i cal axi s and t i me on t he
hori zont al axi s, as i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 28.
The i nput wavef orm i n Fi gure 28 appears as a seri es of dot s on t he
screen. If the dots are widely spaced and difficult to interpret as a
wavef orm, t he dot s can be connect ed usi ng a process cal l ed i nt erpol at i on.
Int erpol at i on connect s t he dot s wi t h l i nes, or vect ors. A number of
i nt erpol at i on met hods are avai l abl e t hat can be used t o produce an
accurat e represent at i on of a cont i nuous i nput si gnal .
Sampl i ng Cont r ol s
Some di gi t al osci l l oscopes provi de you wi t h a choi ce i n sampl i ng met hod
ei t her real - t i me sampl i ng or equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng. The acqui si t i on
controls available with these oscilloscopes will allow you to select a sample
met hod t o acqui re si gnal s. Not e t hat t hi s choi ce makes no di f f erence f or
sl ow t i me base set t i ngs and onl y has an ef f ect when t he ADC cannot
sampl e f ast enough t o f i l l t he record wi t h wavef orm poi nt s i n one pass.
Sampl i ng Met hods
Al t hough t here are a number of di f f erent i mpl ement at i ons of sampl i ng
technology, todays digital oscilloscopes utilize two basic sampling methods:
real - t i me sampl i ng and equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng. Equi val ent - t i me
sampl i ng can be di vi ded f urt her, i nt o t wo subcat egori es: random and
sequent i al . Each met hod has di st i nct advant ages, dependi ng on t he
ki nd of measurement s bei ng made.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Input Signal
Sample Points
100 ps
1 Volt
100 ps
1 Volt
Equivalent Time
Sampled Signal
Figure 28. Basic Sampling. Sampled points are connected by interpolation
to produce a continuous waveform.
www.tektronix.com 24
Real - t i me Sampl i ng
Real - t i me sampl i ng i s i deal f or si gnal s whose f requency range i s l ess
t han hal f t he osci l l oscope s maxi mum sampl e rat e. Here, t he osci l l oscope
can acqui re more t han enough poi nt s i n one sweep of t he wavef orm
t o const ruct an accurat e pi ct ure, as shown i n Fi gure 29. Real - t i me
sampl i ng i s t he onl y way t o capt ure f ast , si ngl e- shot , t ransi ent si gnal s
wi t h a di gi t al osci l l oscope.
Real - t i me sampl i ng present s t he great est chal l enge f or di gi t al
osci l l oscopes because of t he sampl e rat e needed t o accurat el y di gi t i ze
hi gh- f requency t ransi ent event s, as shown i n Fi gure 30. These event s
occur onl y once, and must be sampl ed i n t he same t i me f rame t hat t hey
occur. If t he sampl e rat e i sn t f ast enough, hi gh- f requency component s
can f ol d down i nt o a l ower f requency, causi ng al i asi ng i n t he di spl ay.
In addi t i on, real - t i me sampl i ng i s f urt her compl i cat ed by t he hi gh- speed
memor y requi red t o st ore t he wavef orm once i t i s di gi t i zed. Pl ease ref er
t o t he Sampl e Rat e and Recor d Lengt h sect i ons under Per f or mance
Ter ms and Consi der at i ons f or addi t i onal det ai l regardi ng t he sampl e
rat e and record l engt h needed t o accurat el y charact eri ze hi gh-
f requency component s.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Sampling Rate
Waveform Constructed
with Record Points
Figure 29. Real- time sampling method.
Real Time
Sampled Display
Input Signal
Figure 30. In order to capture this 10 ns pulse in real- time, the sample rate must be high enough to accurately define the edges.
www.tektronix.com 25
Real - t i me Sampl i ng wi t h Int er pol at i on. Di gi t al osci l l oscopes t ake
di scret e sampl es of t he si gnal t hat can be di spl ayed. However, i t can be
di f f i cul t t o vi sual i ze t he si gnal represent ed as dot s, especi al l y because
t here can be onl y a f ew dot s represent i ng hi gh- f requency port i ons of t he
si gnal . To ai d i n t he vi sual i zat i on of si gnal s, di gi t al osci l l oscopes t ypi cal l y
have i nt erpol at i on di spl ay modes.
In si mpl e t erms, i nt er pol at i on connect s t he dot s so t hat a si gnal t hat i s
sampl ed onl y a f ew t i mes i n each cycl e can be accurat el y di spl ayed.
Usi ng real - t i me sampl i ng wi t h i nt erpol at i on, t he osci l l oscope col l ect s
a f ew sampl e poi nt s of t he si gnal i n a si ngl e pass i n real - t i me mode
and uses i nt erpol at i on t o f i l l i n t he gaps. Int erpol at i on i s a processi ng
t echni que used t o est i mat e what t he wavef orm l ooks l i ke based on a
f ew poi nt s.
Li near i nt erpol at i on connect s sampl e poi nt s wi t h st rai ght l i nes. Thi s
approach i s l i mi t ed t o reconst ruct i ng st rai ght - edged si gnal s l i ke square
waves, as i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 31.
The more versat i l e si n x/ x i nt erpol at i on connect s sampl e poi nt s wi t h
cur ves, as shown i n Fi gure 31. Si n x/ x i nt erpol at i on i s a mat hemat i cal
process i n whi ch poi nt s are cal cul at ed t o f i l l i n t he t i me bet ween t he
real sampl es. Thi s f orm of i nt erpol at i on l ends i t sel f t o cur ved and
i rregul ar si gnal shapes, whi ch are f ar more common i n t he real worl d
t han pure square waves and pul ses. Consequent l y, si n x / x i nt erpol at i on
i s t he pref erred met hod f or appl i cat i ons where t he sampl e rat e i s
3 t o 5 t i mes t he syst em bandwi dt h.
Equi val ent - t i me Sampl i ng
When measuri ng hi gh- f requency si gnal s, t he osci l l oscope may not be abl e
t o col l ect enough sampl es i n one sweep. Equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng can
be used t o accurat el y acqui re si gnal s whose f requency exceeds hal f t he
osci l l oscope s sampl e rat e, as i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 32. Equi val ent t i me
di gi t i zers (sampl ers) t ake advant age of t he f act t hat most nat ural l y
occurri ng and man- made event s are repet i t i ve. Equi val ent - t i me
sampl i ng const ruct s a pi ct ure of a repet i t i ve si gnal by capt uri ng a l i t t l e
bi t of i nf ormat i on f rom each repet i t i on. The wavef orm sl owl y bui l ds up
l i ke a st ri ng of l i ght s, i l l umi nat i ng one- by- one. Thi s al l ows t he
osci l l oscope t o accurat el y capt ure si gnal s whose f requency
component s are much hi gher t han t he osci l l oscope s sampl e rat e.
There are t wo t ypes of equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng met hods: random and
sequent i al . Each has i t s advant ages. Random equi val ent - t i me
sampl i ng al l ows di spl ay of t he i nput si gnal pri or t o t he t ri gger poi nt ,
wi t hout t he use of a del ay l i ne. Sequent i al equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng
provi des much great er t i me resol ut i on and accuracy. Bot h requi re t hat
t he i nput si gnal be repet i t i ve.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
100
90
10
0
Sine Wave Reproduced
using Sine x/x Interpolation
Sine Wave Reproduced
using Linear Interpolation
Figure 31. Linear and sin x/ x interpolation.
1st Acquisition Cycle
2nd Acquisition Cycle
3rd Acquisition Cycle
nth Acquisition Cycle
Waveform Constructed
with Record Points
Figure 32. Some oscilloscopes use equivalent- time sampling to capture and
display very fast, repetitive signals.
www.tektronix.com 26
Random Equi val ent - t i me Sampl i ng. Random equi val ent - t i me di gi t i zers
(sampl ers) ut i l i ze an i nt ernal cl ock t hat runs asynchronousl y wi t h respect
t o t he i nput si gnal and t he si gnal t ri gger, as i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 33.
Sampl es are t aken cont i nuousl y, i ndependent of t he t ri gger posi t i on, and
are di spl ayed based on t he t i me di f f erence bet ween t he sampl e and t he
t ri gger. Al t hough sampl es are t aken sequent i al l y i n t i me, t hey are random
wi t h respect t o t he t ri gger hence t he name random equi val ent - t i me
sampl i ng. Sampl e poi nt s appear randoml y al ong t he wavef orm when
di spl ayed on t he osci l l oscope screen.
The abi l i t y t o acqui re and di spl ay sampl es pri or t o t he t ri gger poi nt i s
t he key advant age of t hi s sampl i ng t echni que, el i mi nat i ng t he need f or
ext ernal pret ri gger si gnal s or del ay l i nes. Dependi ng on t he sampl e rat e
and t he t i me wi ndow of t he di spl ay, random sampl i ng may al so al l ow more
t han one sampl e t o be acqui red per t ri ggered event . However, at f ast er
sweep speeds, t he acqui si t i on wi ndow narrows unt i l t he di gi t i zer cannot
sampl e on ever y t ri gger. It i s at t hese f ast er sweep speeds t hat ver y
preci se t i mi ng measurement s are of t en made, and where t he ext raordi nar y
t i me resol ut i on of t he sequent i al equi val ent - t i me sampl er i s most
benef i ci al . The bandwi dt h l i mi t f or random equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng i s
l ess t han f or sequent i al - t i me sampl i ng.
Sequent i al Equi val ent - t i me Sampl i ng. The sequent i al equi val ent - t i me
sampl er acqui res one sampl e per t ri gger, i ndependent of t he t i me/ di v
set t i ng, or sweep speed, as i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 34. When a t ri gger i s
det ect ed, a sampl e i s t aken af t er a ver y short , but wel l - def i ned, del ay.
When t he next t ri gger occurs, a smal l t i me i ncrement del t a t i s added
t o t hi s del ay and t he di gi t i zer t akes anot her sampl e. Thi s process i s
repeat ed many t i mes, wi t h del t a t added t o each previ ous acqui si t i on,
unt i l t he t i me wi ndow i s f i l l ed. Sampl e poi nt s appear f rom l ef t t o ri ght i n
sequence al ong t he wavef orm when di spl ayed on t he osci l l oscope screen.
Technol ogi cal l y speaki ng, i t i s easi er t o generat e a ver y short , ver y
preci se del t a t t han i t i s t o accurat el y measure t he vert i cal and
hori zont al posi t i ons of a sampl e rel at i ve t o t he t ri gger poi nt , as requi red
by random sampl ers. Thi s preci sel y measured del ay i s what gi ves
sequent i al sampl ers t hei r unmat ched t i me resol ut i on. Si nce, wi t h
sequent i al sampl i ng, t he sampl e i s t aken af t er t he t ri gger l evel i s
det ect ed, t he t ri gger poi nt cannot be di spl ayed wi t hout an anal og del ay
l i ne, whi ch may, i n t urn, reduce t he bandwi dt h of t he i nst rument . If an
ext ernal pret ri gger can be suppl i ed, bandwi dt h wi l l not be af f ect ed.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 33. In random equivalent- time sampling, the sampling clock runs
asynchronously with the input signal and the trigger.
Equivalent Time Sequential
Sampled Display
Figure 34. In sequential equivalent- time sampling, a single sample is taken
for each recognized trigger after a time delay which is incremented after
each cycle.
www.tektronix.com 27
Posi t i on and Seconds per Di vi si on
The hori zont al posi t i on cont rol moves t he wavef orm l ef t and ri ght t o
exact l y where you want i t on t he screen.
The seconds- per- di vi si on set t i ng (usual l y wri t t en as sec/ di v) l et s you
sel ect t he rat e at whi ch t he wavef orm i s drawn across t he screen (al so
known as t he t i me base set t i ng or sweep speed). Thi s set t i ng i s a scal e
f act or. If t he set t i ng i s 1 ms, each hori zont al di vi si on represent s 1 ms
and t he t ot al screen wi dt h represent s 10 ms, or t en di vi si ons. Changi ng
t he sec/ di v set t i ng enabl es you t o l ook at l onger and short er t i me i nt er val s
of t he i nput si gnal .
As wi t h t he vert i cal vol t s/ di v scal e, t he hori zont al sec/ di v scal e may have
vari abl e t i mi ng, al l owi ng you t o set t he hori zont al t i me scal e bet ween t he
di scret e set t i ngs.
Ti me Base Sel ect i ons
Your osci l l oscope has a t i me base, whi ch i s usual l y ref erred t o as
t he mai n t i me base. Many osci l l oscopes al so have what i s cal l ed a
del ayed t i me base a t i me base wi t h a sweep t hat can st art (or be
t ri ggered t o st art ) rel at i ve t o a pre- det ermi ned t i me on t he mai n t i me
base sweep. Usi ng a del ayed t i me base sweep al l ows you t o see event s
more cl earl y and t o see event s t hat are not vi si bl e sol el y wi t h t he mai n
t i me base sweep.
The del ayed t i me base requi res t he set t i ng of a t i me del ay and t he
possi bl e use of del ayed t ri gger modes and ot her set t i ngs not descri bed
i n t hi s pri mer. Ref er t o t he manual suppl i ed wi t h your osci l l oscope f or
i nf ormat i on on how t o use t hese f eat ures.
Zoom
Your osci l l oscope may have speci al hori zont al magni f i cat i on set t i ngs
t hat l et you di spl ay a magni f i ed sect i on of t he wavef orm on- screen.
The operat i on i n a di gi t al st orage osci l l oscope (DSO) i s perf ormed on
st ored di gi t i zed dat a.
XY Mode
Most anal og osci l l oscopes have an XY mode t hat l et s you di spl ay an
i nput si gnal , rat her t han t he t i me base, on t he hori zont al axi s. Thi s
mode of operat i on opens up a whol e new area of phase shi f t
measurement t echni ques, expl ai ned i n t he Measur ement Techni ques
sect i on of t hi s pri mer.
Z Axi s
A di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscope (DPO) has a hi gh di spl ay sampl e densi t y
and an i nnat e abi l i t y t o capt ure i nt ensi t y i nf ormat i on. Wi t h i t s i nt ensi t y
axi s (Z axi s), t he DPO i s abl e t o provi de a t hree- di mensi onal , real - t i me
di spl ay si mi l ar t o t hat of an anal og osci l l oscope. As you l ook at t he
wavef orm t race on a DPO, you can see bri ght ened areas t he areas
where a si gnal occurs most of t en. Thi s di spl ay makes i t easy t o
di st i ngui sh t he basi c si gnal shape f rom a t ransi ent t hat occurs onl y once
i n a whi l e t he basi c si gnal woul d appear much bri ght er. One appl i cat i on
of t he Z axi s i s t o f eed speci al t i med si gnal s i nt o t he separat e Z i nput t o
creat e hi ghl i ght ed marker dot s at known i nt er val s i n t he wavef orm.
XYZ Mode
Some DPOs can use t he Z i nput t o creat e an XY di spl ay wi t h i nt ensi t y
gradi ng. In t hi s case, t he DPO sampl es t he i nst ant aneous dat a val ue at
t he Z i nput and uses t hat val ue t o qual i f y a speci f i c part of t he wavef orm.
Once you have qual i f i ed sampl es, t hese sampl es can accumul at e,
resul t i ng i n an i nt ensi t y- graded XYZ di spl ay. XYZ mode i s especi al l y
usef ul f or di spl ayi ng t he pol ar pat t erns commonl y used i n t est i ng wi rel ess
communi cat i on devi ces a const el l at i on di agram, f or exampl e.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 28
Tr ig g e r S ys t e m a nd C o nt r o ls
An osci l l oscope s t r i gger f unct i on synchroni zes t he hori zont al sweep at t he
correct poi nt of t he si gnal , essent i al f or cl ear si gnal charact eri zat i on.
Tri gger cont rol s al l ow you t o st abi l i ze repet i t i ve wavef orms and capt ure
si ngl e- shot wavef orms.
The t ri gger makes repet i t i ve wavef orms appear st at i c on t he osci l l oscope
di spl ay by repeat edl y di spl ayi ng t he same port i on of t he i nput si gnal .
Imagi ne t he j umbl e on t he screen t hat woul d resul t i f each sweep
st art ed at a di f f erent pl ace on t he si gnal , as i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 35.
Edge t ri ggeri ng, avai l abl e i n anal og and di gi t al osci l l oscopes, i s t he basi c
and most common t ype. In addi t i on t o t hreshol d t ri ggeri ng of f ered by
bot h anal og and di gi t al osci l l oscopes, many di gi t al osci l l oscopes of f er a
host of speci al i zed t ri gger set t i ngs not of f ered by anal og i nst rument s.
These t ri ggers respond t o speci f i c condi t i ons i n t he i ncomi ng si gnal ,
maki ng i t easy t o det ect , f or exampl e, a pul se t hat i s narrower t han i t
shoul d be. Such a condi t i on woul d be i mpossi bl e t o det ect wi t h a vol t age
t hreshol d t ri gger al one.
Advanced t ri gger cont rol s enabl e you t o i sol at e speci f i c event s of i nt erest
t o opt i mi ze t he osci l l oscope s sampl e rat e and record l engt h. Advanced
t ri ggeri ng capabi l i t i es i n some osci l l oscopes gi ve you hi ghl y sel ect i ve
cont rol . You can t ri gger on pul ses def i ned by ampl i t ude (such as runt
pul ses), qual i f i ed by t i me (pul se wi dt h, gl i t ch, sl ew rat e, set up- and- hol d,
and t i me- out ), and del i neat ed by l ogi c st at e or pat t ern (l ogi c t ri ggeri ng).
Opt i onal t ri gger cont rol s i n some osci l l oscopes are desi gned speci f i cal l y t o
exami ne communi cat i ons si gnal s. The i nt ui t i ve user i nt erf ace avai l abl e i n
some osci l l oscopes al so al l ows rapi d set up of t ri gger paramet ers wi t h wi de
f l exi bi l i t y i n t he t est set up t o maxi mi ze your product i vi t y.
When you are usi ng more t han f our channel s t o t ri gger on si gnal s, a
l ogi c anal yzer i s t he i deal t ool . Pl ease ref er t o Tekt roni x XYZs of Logi c
Anal yzers pri mer f or more i nf ormat i on about t hese val uabl e t est and
measurement i nst rument s.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 35. Untriggered display.
www.tektronix.com 29
Tr i gger Posi t i on
Hori zont al t ri gger posi t i on cont rol i s onl y avai l abl e on di gi t al osci l l oscopes.
The t ri gger posi t i on cont rol may be l ocat ed i n t he hori zont al cont rol sect i on
of your osci l l oscope. It act ual l y represent s t he hori zont al posi t i on of t he
t ri gger i n t he wavef orm record.
Var yi ng t he hori zont al t ri gger posi t i on al l ows you t o capt ure what a
si gnal di d bef or e a t ri gger event , known as pr e- t r i gger vi ewi ng. Thus, i t
det ermi nes t he l engt h of vi ewabl e si gnal bot h precedi ng and f ol l owi ng a
t ri gger poi nt .
Di gi t al osci l l oscopes can provi de pre- t ri gger vi ewi ng because t hey
const ant l y process t he i nput si gnal , whet her or not a t ri gger has been
recei ved. A st eady st ream of dat a f l ows t hrough t he osci l l oscope; t he
t ri gger merel y t el l s t he osci l l oscope t o save t he present dat a i n memor y.
In cont rast , anal og osci l l oscopes onl y di spl ay t he si gnal t hat i s, wri t e i t
on t he CRT af t er recei vi ng t he t ri gger. Thus, pre- t ri gger vi ewi ng i s not
avai l abl e i n anal og osci l l oscopes, wi t h t he except i on of a smal l amount of
pre- t ri gger provi ded by a del ay l i ne i n t he vert i cal syst em.
Pre- t ri gger vi ewi ng i s a val uabl e t roubl eshoot i ng ai d. If a probl em occurs
i nt ermi t t ent l y, you can t ri gger on t he probl em, record t he event s t hat l ed
up t o i t and, possi bl y, f i nd t he cause.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Trigger When:
Time:
Sl ew Rat e Tri ggeri ng. High frequency signals with slew rates
faster than expected or needed can radiate troublesome
energy. Slew rate triggering surpasses conventional edge
triggering by adding the element of time and allowing you to
selectively trigger on fast or slow edges.
Gl i t ch Tri ggeri ng. Glitch triggering allows you to trigger
on digital pulses when they are shorter or longer than a
user- defined time limit. This trigger control enables you to
examine the causes of even rare glitches and their effects
on other signals
Pul se Wi dt h Tri ggeri ng. Using pulse width triggering, you
can monitor a signal indefinitely and trigger on the first
occurrence of a pulse whose duration (pulse width) is
outside the allowable limits.
Ti me- out Tri ggeri ng. Time- out triggering lets you trigger
on an event without waiting for the trigger pulse to end, by
triggering based on a specified time lapse.
Runt Pul se Tri ggeri ng. Runt triggering allows you to
capture and examine pulses that cross one logic threshold,
but not both.
Logi c Tri ggeri ng. Logic triggering allows you to trigger on any
logical combination of available input channels especially
useful in verifying the operation of digital logic.
Set up- and- Hol d Tri ggeri ng. Only setup- and- hold triggering
lets you deterministically trap a single violation of setup- and-
hold time that would almost certainly be missed by using other
trigger modes. This trigger mode makes it easy to capture
specific signal quality and timing details when a synchronous
data signal fails to meet setup- and- hold specifications.
Communi cat i on Tri ggeri ng. Optionally available on certain
oscilloscope models, these trigger modes address the need
to acquire a wide variety of Alternate- Mark Inversion (AMI),
Code- Mark Inversion (CMI), and Non- Return to Zero (NRZ)
communication signals.
www.tektronix.com 30
Tr i gger Level and Sl ope
The t r i gger l evel and sl ope cont rol s provi de t he basi c t ri gger poi nt
def i ni t i on and det ermi ne how a wavef orm i s di spl ayed, as i l l ust rat ed
i n Fi gure 36.
The t ri gger ci rcui t act s as a comparat or. You sel ect t he sl ope and
vol t age l evel on one i nput of t he comparat or. When t he t ri gger si gnal
on t he ot her comparat or i nput mat ches your set t i ngs, t he osci l l oscope
generat es a t ri gger.
The slope control determines whether the trigger point is on the rising or the
falling edge of a signal. A rising edge is a positive slope and a falling edge is a
negative slope
The level control determines where on the edge the trigger point occurs
Tr i gger Sour ces
The osci l l oscope does not necessari l y need t o t ri gger on t he si gnal bei ng
di spl ayed. Several sources can t ri gger t he sweep:
Any input channel
An external source other than the signal applied to an input channel
The power source signal
A signal internally defined by the oscilloscope, from one or more input channels
Most of t he t i me, you can l eave t he osci l l oscope set t o t ri gger on t he
channel di spl ayed. Some osci l l oscopes provi de a t ri gger out put t hat
del i vers t he t ri gger si gnal t o anot her i nst rument .
The osci l l oscope can use an al t ernat e t ri gger source, whet her or not i t
i s di spl ayed, so you shoul d be caref ul not t o unwi t t i ngl y t ri gger on
channel 1 whi l e di spl ayi ng channel 2, f or exampl e.
Tr i gger Modes
The t r i gger mode det ermi nes whet her or not t he osci l l oscope draws a
wavef orm based on a si gnal condi t i on. Common t ri gger modes i ncl ude
nor mal and aut o.
In normal mode t he osci l l oscope onl y sweeps i f t he i nput si gnal reaches
t he set t ri gger poi nt ; ot herwi se (on an anal og osci l l oscope) t he screen i s
bl ank or (on a di gi t al osci l l oscope) f rozen on t he l ast acqui red wavef orm.
Normal mode can be di sori ent i ng si nce you may not see t he si gnal at f i rst
i f t he l evel cont rol i s not adj ust ed correct l y.
Aut o mode causes t he osci l l oscope t o sweep, even wi t hout a t ri gger.
If no si gnal i s present , a t i mer i n t he osci l l oscope t ri ggers t he sweep.
Thi s ensures t hat t he di spl ay wi l l not di sappear i f t he si gnal does not
cause a t ri gger.
In pract i ce, you wi l l probabl y use bot h modes: normal mode because i t l et s
you see j ust t he si gnal of i nt erest , even when t ri ggers occur at a sl ow rat e,
and aut o mode because i t requi res l ess adj ust ment .
Many osci l l oscopes al so i ncl ude speci al modes f or si ngl e sweeps,
t ri ggeri ng on vi deo si gnal s, or aut omat i cal l y set t i ng t he t ri gger l evel .
Tr i gger Coupl i ng
Just as you can sel ect ei t her AC or DC coupl i ng f or t he vert i cal syst em,
you can choose t he ki nd of coupl i ng f or t he t ri gger si gnal .
Besi des AC and DC coupl i ng, your osci l l oscope may al so have hi gh
f requency rej ect i on, l ow f requency rej ect i on, and noi se rej ect i on t ri gger
coupl i ng. These speci al set t i ngs are usef ul f or el i mi nat i ng noi se f rom
t he t ri gger si gnal t o prevent f al se t ri ggeri ng.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
3 V
3 V
Positive
Slope
Negative
Slope
Input Signal
Triggering on the Positive
Slope with the Level Set to 3 V
Zero Volts
Triggering on the Negative Slope
with the Level Set to 3 V
Figure 36. Positive and negative slope triggering.
www.tektronix.com 31
Tr i gger Hol dof f
Somet i mes get t i ng an osci l l oscope t o t ri gger on t he correct part of a si gnal
requi res great ski l l . Many osci l l oscopes have speci al f eat ures t o make t hi s
t ask easi er.
Tri gger hol dof f i s an adj ust abl e peri od of t i me af t er a val i d t ri gger duri ng
whi ch t he osci l l oscope cannot t ri gger. Thi s f eat ure i s usef ul when you are
t ri ggeri ng on compl ex wavef orm shapes, so t hat t he osci l l oscope onl y
t ri ggers on an el i gi bl e t ri gger poi nt . Fi gure 37 shows how usi ng t ri gger
hol dof f hel ps creat e a usabl e di spl ay.
D is p la y S ys t e m a nd C o nt r o ls
An osci l l oscope s f ront panel i ncl udes a di spl ay screen and t he knobs,
but t ons, swi t ches, and i ndi cat ors used t o cont rol si gnal acqui si t i on and
di spl ay. As ment i oned at t he f ront of t hi s sect i on, f ront - panel cont rol s
are usual l y di vi ded i nt o ver t i cal , hor i zont al and t r i gger sect i ons. The
f ront panel al so i ncl udes i nput connect ors.
Take a l ook at t he osci l l oscope di spl ay. Not i ce t he gri d marki ngs on t he
screen t hese marki ngs creat e t he gr at i cul e. Each vert i cal and hori zont al
l i ne const i t ut es a maj or di vi si on. The grat i cul e i s usual l y l ai d out i n an
8- by- 10 di vi si on pat t ern. Label i ng on t he osci l l oscope cont rol s (such as
vol t s/ di v and sec/ di v) al ways ref ers t o maj or di vi si ons. The t i ck marks on
t he cent er hori zont al and vert i cal grat i cul e l i nes, as shown i n Fi gure 38
(see next page), are cal l ed mi nor di vi si ons. Many osci l l oscopes di spl ay on
t he screen how many vol t s each vert i cal di vi si on represent s and how many
seconds each hori zont al di vi si on represent s.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 37. Trigger holdoff.
www.tektronix.com 32
Di spl ay syst ems var y bet ween anal og osci l l oscopes and di gi t al
osci l l oscopes. Common cont rol s i ncl ude:
An intensity control to adjust the brightness of the waveform. As you increase the
sweep speed of an analog oscilloscope, you need to increase the intensity level.
A focus control to adjust the sharpness of the waveform, and a trace rotation
control to align the waveform trace with the screens horizontal axis. The
position of your oscilloscope in the earths magnetic field affects waveform
alignment. Digital oscilloscopes, which employ raster- and LCD- based displays,
may not have these controls because, in the case of these displays, the total
display is pre- determined, as in a personal computer display. In contrast,
analog oscilloscopes utilize a directed beam or vector display.
On many DSOs and on DPOs, a color palette control to select trace colors and
intensity grading color levels
Other display controls may allow you to adjust the intensity of the graticule lights
and turn on or off any on- screen information, such as menus
Ot he r Os c illo s c o p e C o nt r o ls
Mat h and Measur ement Oper at i ons
Your osci l l oscope may al so have operat i ons t hat al l ow you t o add
wavef orms t oget her, creat i ng a new wavef orm di spl ay. Anal og
osci l l oscopes combi ne t he si gnal s whi l e di gi t al osci l l oscopes creat e
new wavef orms mat hemat i cal l y. Subt ract i ng wavef orms i s anot her mat h
operat i on. Subt ract i on wi t h anal og osci l l oscopes i s possi bl e by usi ng t he
channel i nvert f unct i on on one si gnal and t hen usi ng t he add operat i on.
Di gi t al osci l l oscopes t ypi cal l y have a subt ract i on operat i on avai l abl e.
Fi gure 39 i l l ust rat es a t hi rd wavef orm creat ed by combi ni ng t wo
di f f erent si gnal s.
Usi ng t he power of t hei r i nt ernal processors, di gi t al osci l l oscopes of f er
many advanced mat h operat i ons: mul t i pl i cat i on, di vi si on, i nt egrat i on, Fast
Fouri er Transf orm, and more.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
100
90
10
0%
M inor M arks
M ajor
Division
Rise Time
M arks
Figure 38. An oscilloscope graticule.
Channel 1 Display
Channel 2 Display
ADD M ode: Channel 1
and Channel 2 Combined
Figure 39. Adding channels.
www.tektronix.com 33
We have descri bed t he basi c osci l l oscope cont rol s t hat a begi nner needs
t o know about . Your osci l l oscope may have ot her cont rol s f or vari ous
f unct i ons. Some of t hese may i ncl ude:
Automatic parametric measurements
Measurement cursors
Keypads for mathematical operations or data entr y
Printing capabilities
Interfaces for connecting your oscilloscope to a computer or directly
to the Internet
Look over t he ot her opt i ons avai l abl e t o you and read your osci l l oscope s
manual t o f i nd out more about t hese ot her cont rol s.
The C o m p le t e M e a s ur e m e nt S ys t e m
P r o b e s
Even t he most advanced i nst rument can onl y be as preci se as t he dat a
t hat goes i nt o i t . A pr obe f unct i ons i n conj unct i on wi t h an osci l l oscope
as part of t he measurement syst em. Preci si on measurement s st art at
t he probe t i p. The ri ght probes mat ched t o t he osci l l oscope and t he
devi ce- under- t est (DUT) not onl y al l ow t he si gnal t o be brought t o t he
osci l l oscope cl eanl y, t hey al so ampl i f y and preser ve t he si gnal f or t he
great est si gnal i nt egri t y and measurement accuracy.
Probes act ual l y become part of t he ci rcui t , i nt roduci ng resi st i ve,
capaci t i ve and i nduct i ve l oadi ng t hat i nevi t abl y al t ers t he measurement .
For t he most accurat e resul t s, t he goal i s t o sel ect a probe wi t h mi ni mal
l oadi ng. An i deal pai ri ng of t he probe wi t h t he osci l l oscope wi l l mi ni mi ze
t hi s l oadi ng, and enabl e you t o access al l of t he power, f eat ures and
capabi l i t i es of your osci l l oscope.
Anot her consi derat i on i n t he sel ect i on of t he al l - i mport ant connect i on t o
your DUT i s t he probe s f orm f act or. Smal l f orm f act or probes provi de
easi er access t o t oday s densel y packed ci rcui t r y (see Fi gure 40).
A descri pt i on of t he t ypes of probes f ol l ows. Pl ease ref er t o
Tekt roni x ABCs of Probes pri mer f or more i nf ormat i on about t hi s
essent i al component of t he overal l measurement syst em.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
To e ns ur e ac c ur at e r e c o ns t r uc t io n o f yo ur s ig nal, t r y
t o c ho o s e a p r o b e t hat , w he n p air e d w it h yo ur
o s c illo s c o p e , e x c e e d s t he s ig nal b and w id t h b y 5 t ime s .
Figure 40. Dense devices and systems require small form factor probes.
www.tektronix.com 34
P a s s iv e P r o b e s
For measuri ng t ypi cal si gnal and vol t age l evel s, passi ve probes provi de
ease- of - use and a wi de range of measurement capabi l i t i es at an
af f ordabl e pri ce. The pai ri ng of a passi ve vol t age probe wi t h a current
probe wi l l provi de you wi t h an i deal sol ut i on f or measuri ng power.
Most passi ve probes have some at t enuat i on f act or, such as 10X,
100X, and so on. By convent i on, at t enuat i on f act ors, such as f or t he
10X at t enuat or probe, have t he X af t er t he f act or. In cont rast ,
magni f i cat i on f act ors l i ke X10 have t he X f i rst .
The 10X (read as t en t i mes ) at t enuat or probe reduces ci rcui t l oadi ng
i n compari son t o a 1X probe and i s an excel l ent general - purpose passi ve
probe. Ci rcui t l oadi ng becomes more pronounced f or hi gher f requency
and/ or hi gher i mpedance si gnal sources, so be sure t o anal yze t hese si g-
nal / probe l oadi ng i nt eract i ons bef ore sel ect i ng a probe. The 10X
at t enuat or probe i mproves t he accuracy of your measurement s, but al so
reduces t he si gnal s ampl i t ude at t he osci l l oscope i nput by a f act or of 10.
Because i t at t enuat es t he si gnal , t he 10X at t enuat or probe makes i t
di f f i cul t t o l ook at si gnal s l ess t han 10 mi l l i vol t s peak- t o- peak. The 1X
probe i s si mi l ar t o t he 10X at t enuat or probe but l acks t he at t enuat i on
ci rcui t r y. Wi t hout t hi s ci rcui t r y, more i nt erf erence i s i nt roduced t o t he
ci rcui t bei ng t est ed. Use t he 10X at t enuat or probe as your general - purpose
probe, but keep t he 1X probe accessi bl e t o measure sl ow- speed,
l ow- ampl i t ude si gnal s. Some probes have a conveni ent f eat ure f or
swi t chi ng bet ween 1X and 10X at t enuat i on at t he probe t i p. If your
probe has t hi s f eat ure, make sure you are usi ng t he correct set t i ng
bef ore t aki ng measurement s.
Many osci l l oscopes can det ect whet her you are usi ng a 1X or 10X
probe and adj ust t hei r screen readout s accordi ngl y. However wi t h some
osci l l oscopes, you must set t he t ype of probe you are usi ng or read f rom
t he proper 1X or 10X marki ng on t he vol t s/ di v cont rol .
The 10X at t enuat or probe works by bal anci ng t he probe s el ect ri cal
propert i es agai nst t he osci l l oscope s el ect ri cal propert i es. Bef ore
usi ng a 10X at t enuat or probe you need t o adj ust t hi s bal ance f or your
part i cul ar osci l l oscope. Thi s adj ust ment i s known as compensat i ng t he
probe and i s descri bed i n more det ai l i n t he Oper at i ng t he Osci l l oscope
sect i on of t hi s pri mer.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 41. A typical passive probe with accessories.
www.tektronix.com 35
Passi ve probes provi de excel l ent general - purpose probi ng sol ut i ons.
However, general - purpose passi ve probes cannot accurat el y measure
si gnal s wi t h ext remel y f ast ri se t i mes, and may excessi vel y l oad sensi t i ve
ci rcui t s. The st eady i ncrease i n si gnal cl ock rat es and edge speeds
demands hi gher speed probes wi t h l ess l oadi ng ef f ect s. Hi gh- speed
act i ve and di f f er ent i al probes provi de i deal sol ut i ons when measuri ng
hi gh- speed and/ or di f f erent i al si gnal s.
Ac t iv e a nd D if f e r e nt ia l P r o b e s
Increasi ng si gnal speeds and l ower- vol t age l ogi c f ami l i es make accurat e
measurement resul t s di f f i cul t t o achi eve. Si gnal f i del i t y and devi ce
l oadi ng are cri t i cal i ssues. A compl et e measurement sol ut i on at t hese
hi gh speeds i ncl udes hi gh- speed, hi gh- f i del i t y probi ng sol ut i ons t o mat ch
t he perf ormance of t he osci l l oscope (see Fi gure 42).
Act i ve and di f f er ent i al probes use speci al l y devel oped i nt egrat ed ci rcui t s
t o preser ve t he si gnal duri ng access and t ransmi ssi on t o t he osci l l oscope,
ensuri ng si gnal i nt egri t y. For measuri ng si gnal s wi t h f ast ri se t i mes, a
hi gh- speed act i ve or di f f erent i al probe wi l l provi de more accurat e resul t s.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 42. High- performance probes are critical when measuring the
fast clocks and edges found in todays computer buses and data
transmission lines.
Figure 43. Differential probes can separate common- mode noise from
the signal content of interest in todays fast, low- voltage applications
especially important as digital signals continue to fall below typical
noise thresholds found in integrated circuits.
P r o b e Ac c e s s o r ie s
Many modern osci l l oscopes provi de speci al aut omat ed f eat ures bui l t i nt o
t he i nput and mat i ng probe connect ors. In t he case of i nt el l i gent probe
i nt erf aces, t he act of connect i ng t he probe t o t he i nst rument not i f i es t he
osci l l oscope about t he probe s at t enuat i on f act or, whi ch i n t urn scal es t he
di spl ay so t hat t he probe s at t enuat i on i s f i gured i nt o t he readout on t he
screen. Some probe i nt erf aces al so recogni ze t he t ype of probe t hat i s,
passi ve, act i ve or current . The i nt erf ace may act as a DC power source f or
probes. Act i ve probes have t hei r own ampl i f i er and buf f er ci rcui t r y t hat
requi res DC power.
Ground l ead and probe t i p accessori es are al so avai l abl e t o i mprove
si gnal i nt egri t y when measuri ng hi gh- speed si gnal s. Ground l ead
adapt ers provi de spaci ng f l exi bi l i t y bet ween probe t i p and ground l ead
connect i ons t o t he DUT, whi l e mai nt ai ni ng ver y short l ead l engt hs f rom
probe t i p t o DUT.
Pl ease ref er t o Tekt roni x ABCs of Probes pri mer f or more i nf ormat i on
about probe accessori es.
www.tektronix.com 36
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 44. The Tektronix TekConnect

interface preserves signal integrity to

10 GHz and beyond to meet present and future bandwidth needs.
Figure 45. The Tektronix SF200A and SF500 Series SureFoot

adapters
provide reliable short- lead length probe tip connection to a specific pin on an
integrated circuit.
www.tektronix.com 37
P e r f o r m a nc e Te r m s
a nd C o ns id e r a t io ns
As previ ousl y ment i oned, an osci l l oscope i s anal ogous t o a camera t hat
capt ures si gnal i mages t hat we can obser ve and i nt erpret . Shut t er
speed, l i ght i ng condi t i ons, apert ure and t he ASA rat i ng of t he f i l m al l af f ect
t he camera s abi l i t y t o capt ure an i mage cl earl y and accurat el y. Li ke t he
basi c syst ems of an osci l l oscope, t he perf ormance consi derat i ons of an
osci l l oscope si gni f i cant l y af f ect i t s abi l i t y t o achi eve t he requi red
si gnal i nt egri t y.
Learni ng a new ski l l of t en i nvol ves l earni ng a new vocabul ar y. Thi s
i dea hol ds t rue f or l earni ng how t o use an osci l l oscope. Thi s sect i on
descri bes some usef ul measurement and osci l l oscope perf ormance
t erms. These t erms are used t o descri be t he cri t eri a essent i al t o
choosi ng t he ri ght osci l l oscope f or your appl i cat i on. Underst andi ng
t hese t erms wi l l hel p you t o eval uat e and compare your osci l l oscope
wi t h ot her model s.
B a nd w id t h
Bandwi dt h det ermi nes an osci l l oscope s f undament al abi l i t y t o measure a
si gnal . As si gnal f requency i ncreases, t he capabi l i t y of t he osci l l oscope t o
accurat el y di spl ay t he si gnal decreases. Thi s speci f i cat i on i ndi cat es t he
f requency range t hat t he osci l l oscope can accurat el y measure.
Osci l l oscope bandwi dt h i s speci f i ed as t he f requency at whi ch a si nusoi dal
i nput si gnal i s at t enuat ed t o 70. 7% of t he si gnal s t rue ampl i t ude, known
as t he 3 dB poi nt , a t erm based on a l ogari t hmi c scal e (see Fi gure 46).
Wi t hout adequat e bandwi dt h, your osci l l oscope wi l l not be abl e t o resol ve
hi gh- f requency changes. Ampl i t ude wi l l be di st ort ed. Edges wi l l vani sh.
Det ai l s wi l l be l ost . Wi t hout adequat e bandwi dt h, al l t he f eat ures, bel l s
and whi st l es i n your osci l l oscope wi l l mean not hi ng.
To det ermi ne t he osci l l oscope bandwi dt h needed t o accurat el y charact eri ze
si gnal ampl i t ude i n your speci f i c appl i cat i on, appl y t he 5 Ti mes Rul e.
An osci l l oscope sel ect ed usi ng t he 5 Ti mes Rul e wi l l gi ve you l ess t han
+ / - 2% error i n your measurement s t ypi cal l y suf f i ci ent f or t oday s
appl i cat i ons. However, as si gnal speeds i ncrease, i t may not be possi bl e
t o achi eve t hi s rul e of t humb. Al ways keep i n mi nd t hat hi gher bandwi dt h
wi l l l i kel y provi de more accurat e reproduct i on of your si gnal (see
Fi gure 47).
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 47. The higher the bandwidth, the more accurate the reproduction
of your signal, as illustrated with a signal captured at 250 MHz, 1 GHz and
4 GHz bandwidth levels.
The 5 Time s Rule
Os c illo s c o p e Band w id t h Re q uir e d = Hig he s t
Fr e q ue nc y Co mp o ne nt o f Me as ur e d Sig nal x 5
0
.
1
0
.
2
0
.
3
0
.
4
0
.
9
0
.
8
0
.
7
0
.
6
0
.
5
1
.
0
70 (-3dB)
75
80
85
90
95
100
Normalized Frequency(f/f )
3dB
} 3%
Figure 46. Oscilloscope bandwidth is the frequency at which a sinusoidal
input signal is attenuated to 70.7% of the signals true amplitude, known as
the 3 dB point.
www.tektronix.com 38
Ris e Tim e
In t he di gi t al worl d, ri se t i me measurement s are cri t i cal . Ri se t i me may
be a more appropri at e perf ormance consi derat i on when you expect t o
measure di gi t al si gnal s, such as pul ses and st eps. Your osci l l oscope
must have suf f i ci ent ri se t i me t o accurat el y capt ure t he det ai l s of
rapi d t ransi t i ons.
Ri se t i me descri bes t he usef ul f requency range of an osci l l oscope.
To cal cul at e t he osci l l oscope ri se t i me requi red f or your si gnal t ype, use
t he f ol l owi ng equat i on:
Not e t hat t hi s basi s f or osci l l oscope ri se t i me sel ect i on i s si mi l ar t o t hat f or
bandwi dt h. As i n t he case of bandwi dt h, achi evi ng t hi s rul e of t humb may
not al ways be possi bl e gi ven t he ext reme speeds of t oday s si gnal s.
Al ways remember t hat an osci l l oscope wi t h f ast er ri se t i me wi l l more
accurat el y capt ure t he cri t i cal det ai l s of f ast t ransi t i ons.
In some appl i cat i ons, you may know onl y t he ri se t i me of a si gnal .
A const ant al l ows you t o rel at e t he bandwi dt h and ri se t i me of t he
osci l l oscope, usi ng t he equat i on:
Some l ogi c f ami l i es produce i nherent l y f ast er ri se t i mes t han ot hers, as
i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 49.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Typic a l Signa l Ca lc ula t e d
Rise Time Signa l
Logic Fa mily Ba ndw idt h
TTL 2 ns 175 MHz
CMOS 1.5 ns 230 MHz
GTL 1 ns 350 MHz
LVDS 400 ps 875 MHz
ECL 100 ps 3.5 GHz
GaAs 40 ps 8.75 GHz
Figure 49. Some logic families produce inherently faster rise times
than others.
Figure 48. Rise time characterization of a high- speed digital signal.
Os c illo s c o p e Ris e Time Re q uir e d =
Fas t e s t Ris e Time o f Me as ur e d Sig nal 5
Band w id t h = k
Ris e Time
w he r e k is a value b e t w e e n 0 .3 5 and 0 .4 5 , d e p e nd ing
o n t he s hap e o f t he o s c illo s c o p e s f r e q ue nc y r e s p o ns e
c ur ve and p uls e r is e t ime r e s p o ns e . Os c illo s c o p e s
w it h a b and w id t h o f <1 GHz t yp ic ally have a 0 .3 5 value ,
w hile o s c illo s c o p e s w it h a b and w id t h >1 GHz us ually
have a value b e t w e e n 0 .4 0 and 0 .4 5 .
www.tektronix.com 39
S a m p le Ra t e
Sampl e r at e speci f i ed i n sampl es per second (S/ s) ref ers t o how
f requent l y a di gi t al osci l l oscope t akes a snapshot or sampl e of t he si gnal ,
anal ogous t o t he f rames on a movi e camera. The f ast er an osci l l oscope
sampl es (i . e. , t he hi gher t he sampl e rat e), t he great er t he resol ut i on and
det ai l of t he di spl ayed wavef orm and t he l ess l i kel y t hat cri t i cal i nf ormat i on
or event s wi l l be l ost , as shown i n Fi gure 50. The mi ni mum sampl e rat e
may al so be i mport ant i f you need t o l ook at sl owl y changi ng si gnal s over
l onger peri ods of t i me. Typi cal l y, t he di spl ayed sampl e rat e changes wi t h
changes made t o t he hori zont al scal e cont rol t o mai nt ai n a const ant
number of wavef orm poi nt s i n t he di spl ayed wavef orm record.
How do you cal cul at e your sampl e rat e requi rement s? The met hod
di f f ers based on t he t ype of wavef orm you are measuri ng, and t he
met hod of si gnal reconst ruct i on used by t he osci l l oscope.
In order t o accurat el y reconst ruct a si gnal and avoi d al i asi ng, Nyqui st
t heorem says t hat t he si gnal must be sampl ed at l east t wi ce as f ast as i t s
hi ghest f requency component . Thi s t heorem, however, assumes
an i nf i ni t e record l engt h and a cont i nuous si gnal . Si nce no osci l l oscope
of f ers i nf i ni t e record l engt h and, by def i ni t i on, gl i t ches are not cont i nuous,
sampl i ng at onl y t wi ce t he rat e of hi ghest f requency component i s
usual l y i nsuf f i ci ent .
In real i t y, accurat e reconst ruct i on of a si gnal depends on bot h t he sampl e
rat e and t he i nt erpol at i on met hod used t o f i l l i n t he spaces bet ween t he
sampl es. Some osci l l oscopes l et you sel ect ei t her si n (x)/ x i nt erpol at i on
f or measuri ng si nusoi dal si gnal s, or l i near i nt erpol at i on f or square waves,
pul ses and ot her si gnal t ypes.
Some measurement syst ems wi t h sampl e rat es t o 20 GS/ s and bandwi dt hs
t o 4 GHz have been opt i mi zed f or capt uri ng ver y f ast , si ngl e- shot and
t ransi ent event s by oversampl i ng up t o 5 t i mes t he bandwi dt h.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 50. A higher sample rate provides greater signal resolution, ensuring
that you ll see intermittent events.
Fo r ac c ur at e r e c o ns t r uc t io n us ing s in( x ) / x
int e r p o lat io n, yo ur o s c illo s c o p e s ho uld have a
s amp le r at e at le as t 2 .5 t ime s t he hig he s t f r e q ue nc y
c o mp o ne nt o f yo ur s ig nal. Us ing line ar int e r p o lat io n,
s amp le r at e s ho uld b e at le as t 10 t ime s t he hig he s t
f r e q ue nc y s ig nal c o mp o ne nt .
www.tektronix.com 40
Wa v e f o r m C a p t ur e Ra t e
Al l osci l l oscopes bl i nk. That i s, t hey open t hei r eyes a gi ven number of
t i mes per second t o capt ure t he si gnal , and cl ose t hei r eyes i n bet ween.
Thi s i s t he wavef or m capt ur e r at e, expressed as wavef orms per second
(wf ms/ s). Whi l e t he sampl e rat e i ndi cat es how f requent l y t he osci l l oscope
sampl es t he i nput si gnal wi t hi n one wavef orm, or cycl e, t he wavef orm
capt ure rat e ref ers t o how qui ckl y an osci l l oscope acqui res wavef orms.
Wavef orm capt ure rat es var y great l y, dependi ng on t he t ype and
perf ormance l evel of t he osci l l oscope. Osci l l oscopes wi t h hi gh wavef orm
capt ure rat es provi de si gni f i cant l y more vi sual i nsi ght i nt o si gnal behavi or,
and dramat i cal l y i ncrease t he probabi l i t y t hat t he osci l l oscope wi l l qui ckl y
capt ure t ransi ent anomal i es such as j i t t er, runt pul ses, gl i t ches and
t ransi t i on errors. (Ref er t o Fi gures 51 and 52. )
Di gi t al st orage osci l l oscopes (DSOs) empl oy a seri al - processi ng
archi t ect ure t o capt ure f rom 10 t o 5, 000 wf ms/ s. Some DSOs provi de
a speci al mode t hat burst s mul t i pl e capt ures i nt o l ong memor y, t emporari l y
del i veri ng hi gher wavef orm capt ure rat es f ol l owed by l ong processi ng dead
t i mes t hat reduce t he probabi l i t y of capt uri ng rare, i nt ermi t t ent event s.
Most di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscopes (DPOs) empl oy a paral l el - processi ng
archi t ect ure t o del i ver vast l y great er wavef orm capt ure rat es. Some DPOs
can acqui re mi l l i ons of wavef orms i n j ust seconds, si gni f i cant l y i ncreasi ng
t he probabi l i t y of capt uri ng i nt ermi t t ent and el usi ve event s and al l owi ng
you t o see t he probl ems i n your si gnal more qui ckl y. Moreover, t he DPO s
abi l i t y t o acqui re and di spl ay t hree di mensi ons of si gnal behavi or i n real
t i me ampl i t ude, t i me and di st ri but i on of ampl i t ude over t i me resul t s i n
a superi or l evel of i nsi ght i nt o si gnal behavi or.
Re c o r d Le ng t h
Recor d l engt h, expressed as t he number of poi nt s t hat compri se a
compl et e wavef orm record, det ermi nes t he amount of dat a t hat can be
capt ured wi t h each channel . Si nce an osci l l oscope can st ore onl y a
l i mi t ed number of sampl es, t he wavef orm durat i on (t i me) wi l l be i nversel y
proport i onal t o t he osci l l oscope s sampl e rat e.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 51. A DSO provides an ideal solution
for non- repetitive, high- speed, multi- channel
digital design applications.
Figure 52. A DPO enables a superior level of
insight into signal behavior by delivering
vastly greater waveform capture rates and
three- dimensional display, making it the best
general- purpose design and troubleshooting
tool for a wide range of applications.
Figure 53. Capturing the high frequency
detail of this modulated 85 MHz carrier
requires high resolution sampling (100 ps).
Seeing the signals complete modulation
envelope requires a long time duration (1 ms).
Using long record length (10 MB), the
oscilloscope can display both.
Time Inte rva l =
Re c ord Le ngth
Sa mple Ra te
Modern osci l l oscopes al l ow you t o sel ect record l engt h t o opt i mi ze t he
l evel of det ai l needed f or your appl i cat i on. If you are anal yzi ng an
ext remel y st abl e si nusoi dal si gnal , you may need onl y a 500- poi nt
record l engt h, but i f you are i sol at i ng t he causes of t i mi ng anomal i es i n
a compl ex di gi t al dat a st ream, you may need a mi l l i on poi nt s or more f or
a gi ven record l engt h.
Tr ig g e r ing C a p a b ilit ie s
An osci l l oscope s t r i gger f unct i on synchroni zes t he hori zont al sweep at t he
correct poi nt of t he si gnal , essent i al f or cl ear si gnal charact eri zat i on.
Tri gger cont rol s al l ow you t o st abi l i ze repet i t i ve wavef orms and capt ure
si ngl e- shot wavef orms.
Pl ease ref er t o t he Tr i gger sect i on under Per f or mance Ter ms and
Consi der at i ons f or more i nf ormat i on regardi ng t ri ggeri ng capabi l i t i es.
Ef f e c t iv e B it s
Ef f ect i ve bi t s represent a measure of a di gi t al osci l l oscope' s abi l i t y t o
accurat el y reconst ruct a si newave si gnal s shape. Thi s measurement
compares t he osci l l oscope' s act ual error t o t hat of a t heoret i cal i deal
di gi t i zer. Because t he act ual errors i ncl ude noi se and di st ort i on, t he
f requency and ampl i t ude of t he si gnal must be speci f i ed.
Fr e q ue nc y Re s p o ns e
Bandwi dt h al one i s not enough t o ensure t hat an osci l l oscope can
accurat el y capt ure a hi gh f requency si gnal . The goal of osci l l oscope
desi gn i s a speci f i c t ype of f requency response: Maxi mal l y Fl at
Envel ope Del ay (MFED). A f requency response of t hi s t ype del i vers
excel l ent pul se f i del i t y wi t h mi ni mum overshoot and ri ngi ng. Si nce a
di gi t al osci l l oscope i s composed of real ampl i f i ers, at t enuat ors, ADCs,
i nt erconnect s, and rel ays, MFED response i s a goal t hat can onl y be
approached. Pul se f i del i t y vari es consi derabl y wi t h model and
manuf act urer. (Fi gure 46 i l l ust rat es t hi s concept . )
Ve r t ic a l S e ns it iv it y
Ver t i cal sensi t i vi t y i ndi cat es how much t he vert i cal ampl i f i er can ampl i f y
a weak si gnal usual l y measured i n mi l l i vol t s (mV) per di vi si on. The
smal l est vol t age det ect ed by a general - purpose osci l l oscope i s t ypi cal l y
about 1 mV per vert i cal screen di vi si on.
S w e e p S p e e d
Sweep speed i ndi cat es how f ast t he t race can sweep across t he
osci l l oscope screen, enabl i ng you t o see f i ne det ai l s. The sweep speed
of an osci l l oscope i s represent ed by t i me (seconds) per di vi si on.
Ga in Ac c ur a c y
Gai n accur acy i ndi cat es how accurat el y t he vert i cal syst em at t enuat es or
ampl i f i es a si gnal , usual l y represent ed as a percent age error.
H o r iz o nt a l Ac c ur a c y ( Tim e B a s e )
Hor i zont al , or t i me base, accur acy i ndi cat es how accurat el y t he
hori zont al syst em di spl ays t he t i mi ng of a si gnal , usual l y represent ed
as a percent age error.
Ve r t ic a l Re s o lut io n ( Ana lo g - t o - D ig it a l C o nv e r t e r )
Vert i cal resol ut i on of t he ADC, and t heref ore, t he di gi t al osci l l oscope,
i ndi cat es how preci sel y i t can convert i nput vol t ages i nt o di gi t al val ues.
Vert i cal resol ut i on i s measured i n bi t s. Cal cul at i on t echni ques can i mprove
t he ef f ect i ve resol ut i on, as exempl i f i ed wi t h hi - res acqui si t i on mode.
Pl ease ref er t o t he Hori zont al Syst em and Cont rol s sect i on under
The Syst ems and Cont r ol s of an Osci l l oscope sect i on.
www.tektronix.com 41
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 42
C o nne c t iv it y
The need t o anal yze measurement resul t s remai ns of ut most i mport ance.
The need t o document and share i nf ormat i on and measurement resul t s
easi l y and f requent l y over hi gh- speed communi cat i on net works has al so
grown i n i mport ance.
The connect i vi t y of an osci l l oscope del i vers advanced anal ysi s
capabi l i t i es and si mpl i f i es t he document at i on and shari ng of resul t s.
St andard i nt erf aces (GPIB, RS- 232, USB, Et hernet ) and net work
communi cat i on modul es enabl e some osci l l oscopes t o del i ver a vast
array of f unct i onal i t y and cont rol .
Some advanced osci l l oscopes al so l et you:
Create, edit and share documents on the oscilloscope
all while working with the instrument in your particular environment
Access network printing and file sharing resources
Access the Windows

desktop
Run third- party analysis and documentation software
Link to networks
Access the Internet
Send and receive e- mail
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 54. A TDS7000 Series oscilloscope connects people and equipment to
save time and increase total work group productivity.
Storage
Zip
Drive
W ireless
LAN
Serial/
Parallel
USB
Devic es
Analysis
Software
Dual
M onitor
Web
Browser
Word
Proc essor
Sp read -
sheet
E- mail
W ind ows Desktop
Op en W ind ows Platform
Figure 55. A TDS3000 Series oscilloscope provides a wide
array of communications interfaces, such as a standard
Centronics port and optional Ethernet/ RS- 232, GPIB/ RS- 232,
and VGA/ RS- 232 modules.
www.tektronix.com 43
Ex p a nd a b ilit y
An osci l l oscope shoul d be abl e t o accommodat e your needs as t hey
change. Some osci l l oscopes al l ow you t o:
Add memor y to channels to analyze longer record lengths
Add application- specific measurement capabilities
Complement the power of the oscilloscope with a full range of probes
and modules
Work with popular third- party analysis and productivity
Windows- compatible software
Add accessories, such as batter y packs and rackmounts
Appl i cat i on modul es and sof t ware may enabl e you t o t ransf orm your
osci l l oscope i nt o a hi ghl y speci al i zed anal ysi s t ool capabl e of perf ormi ng
f unct i ons such as j i t t er and t i mi ng anal ysi s, mi croprocessor memor y
syst em veri f i cat i on, communi cat i ons st andards t est i ng, di sk dri ve
measurement s, vi deo measurement s, power measurement s and
much more.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 56. The TDSJIT2 optional software
package for the TDS7000 Series oscillo-
scope is specifically designed to meet jitter
measurement needs of todays high- speed
digital designers.
Figure 57. Equip the TDS700 Series oscillo-
scope with the TDSCEM1 application module
for communications mask compliance testing.
Figure 58. The TDS3SDI video module makes
the TDS3000 Series oscilloscope a fast, tell- all
tool for video troubleshooting.
Figure 59. Advanced analysis and productivity
software, such as MATLAB

, can be installed
in the TDS7000 Series oscilloscope to accom-
plish local signal analysis.
www.tektronix.com 44
Ea s e - o f - Us e
Osci l l oscopes shoul d be easy t o l earn and easy t o use, hel pi ng you work
at peak ef f i ci ency and product i vi t y. Just as t here i s no one t ypi cal car
dri ver, t here i s no one t ypi cal osci l l oscope user. There are bot h
t radi t i onal i nst rument users and t hose who have grown up i n t he
Wi ndows

/ Int ernet era. The key t o sat i sf yi ng such a broad group of

users i s f l exi bi l i t y i n operat i ng st yl e.
Many osci l l oscopes of f er a bal ance bet ween perf ormance and si mpl i ci t y
by provi di ng t he user wi t h many ways t o operat e t he i nst rument . A
f ront - panel l ayout provi des dedi cat ed vert i cal , hori zont al and t ri gger
cont rol s. An i con- ri ch graphi cal user i nt erf ace hel ps you underst and
and i nt ui t i vel y use advanced capabi l i t i es. Touch- sensi t i ve di spl ay sol ves
i ssues wi t h cl ut t ered benches and cart s, whi l e provi di ng access t o cl ear,
on- screen but t ons. On- l i ne hel p provi des a conveni ent , bui l t - i n ref erence
manual . Int ui t i ve cont rol s al l ow even occasi onal osci l l oscope users t o
f eel as comf ort abl e dri vi ng t he osci l l oscope as t hey do dri vi ng a car,
whi l e gi vi ng f ul l - t i me users easy access t o t he osci l l oscope s most
advanced f eat ures. In addi t i on, many osci l l oscopes are port abl e,
maki ng t he osci l l oscope ef f i ci ent i n many di f f erent operat i ng
envi ronment s i n t he l ab or i n t he f i el d.
P r o b e s
A probe f unct i ons as a cri t i cal component of t he measurement syst em,
ensuri ng si gnal i nt egri t y and enabl i ng you t o access al l of t he power and
perf ormance i n your osci l l oscope. Pl ease ref er t o The Compl et e
Measur ement Syst em under t he Syst ems and Cont r ol s of t he
Osci l l oscope sect i on, or t he Tekt roni x ABCs of Probes pri mer, f or
addi t i onal i nf ormat i on.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Figure 60. Traditional, analog- style knobs
control position, scale, intensity, etc.
precisely as you would expect.
Figure 61. Touch- sensitive display naturally
solves issues with cluttered benches and
carts, while providing access to clear, on-
screen buttons.
Figure 62. Use graphical control windows to
access even the most sophisticated functions
with confidence and ease.
Figure 63. The portability of many
oscilloscopes makes the instrument
efficient in many operating environments.
www.tektronix.com 45
Op e r a t ing t he Os c illo s c o p e
S e t t ing Up
Thi s sect i on bri ef l y descri bes how t o set up and st art usi ng an
osci l l oscope speci f i cal l y, how t o ground t he osci l l oscope, set t he
cont rol s i n st andard posi t i ons, and compensat e t he probe.
Proper groundi ng i s an i mport ant st ep when set t i ng up t o t ake measure-
ment s or work on a ci rcui t . Proper groundi ng of t he osci l l oscope prot ect s
you f rom a hazardous shock and groundi ng yoursel f prot ect s your ci rcui t s
f rom damage.
Gr o und t he Os c illo s c o p e
To ground t he osci l l oscope means t o connect i t t o an el ect ri cal l y
neut ral ref erence poi nt , such as eart h ground. Ground your osci l l oscope
by pl uggi ng i t s t hree- pronged power cord i nt o an out l et grounded t o
eart h ground.
Groundi ng t he osci l l oscope i s necessar y f or saf et y. If a hi gh vol t age
cont act s t he case of an ungrounded osci l l oscope any part of t he case,
i ncl udi ng knobs t hat appear i nsul at ed i t can gi ve you a shock. However,
wi t h a properl y grounded osci l l oscope, t he current t ravel s t hrough t he
groundi ng pat h t o eart h ground rat her t han t hrough you t o eart h ground.
Groundi ng i s al so necessar y f or t aki ng accurat e measurement s wi t h your
osci l l oscope. The osci l l oscope needs t o share t he same ground as any
ci rcui t s you are t est i ng.
Some osci l l oscopes do not requi re separat e connect i on t o eart h ground.
These osci l l oscopes have i nsul at ed cases and cont rol s, whi ch keeps any
possi bl e shock hazard away f rom t he user.
Gr o und Yo ur s e lf
If you are worki ng wi t h i nt egrat ed ci rcui t s (ICs), you al so need t o
ground yoursel f . Int egrat ed ci rcui t s have t i ny conduct i on pat hs t hat can
be damaged by st at i c el ect ri ci t y t hat bui l ds up on your body. You can rui n
an expensi ve IC si mpl y by wal ki ng across a carpet or t aki ng of f a sweat er
and t hen t ouchi ng t he l eads of t he IC. To sol ve t hi s probl em, wear a
groundi ng st rap, as shows i n Fi gure 64. Thi s st rap saf el y sends st at i c
charges on your body t o eart h ground.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
C
Figure 64. Typical wrist- type grounding strap.
www.tektronix.com 46
S e t t ing t he C o nt r o ls
Af t er pl uggi ng i n t he osci l l oscope, t ake a l ook at t he f ront panel . As
descri bed previ ousl y, t he f ront panel i s t ypi cal l y di vi ded i nt o t hree mai n
sect i ons l abel ed vert i cal , hori zont al , and t ri gger. Your osci l l oscope may
have ot her sect i ons, dependi ng on t he model and t ype anal og or di gi t al .
Not i ce t he i nput connect ors on your osci l l oscope t hi s i s where you
at t ach t he probes. Most osci l l oscopes have at l east t wo i nput channel s and
each channel can di spl ay a wavef orm on t he screen. Mul t i pl e channel s are
usef ul f or compari ng wavef orms.
Some osci l l oscopes have AUTOSET and/ or DEFAULT but t ons t hat can set
up t he cont rol s i n one st ep t o accommodat e a si gnal . If your osci l l oscope
does not have t hi s capabi l i t y, i t i s hel pf ul t o set t he cont rol s t o st andard
posi t i ons bef ore t aki ng measurement s.
General i nst ruct i ons t o set up t he osci l l oscope i n st andard posi t i ons
are as f ol l ows:
Set the oscilloscope to display channel 1
Set the vertical volts/ division scale and position controls to mid range positions
Turn off the variable volts/ division
Turn off all magnification settings
Set the channel 1 input coupling to DC
Set the trigger mode to auto
Set the trigger source to channel 1
Turn trigger holdoff to minimum or off
Set the intensity control to a nominal viewing level, if available
Adjust the focus control for a sharp display, if available
Set the horizontal time/ division and position controls to mid- range positions
Ref er t o t he manual t hat accompani ed your osci l l oscope f or more det ai l ed
i nst ruct i ons. The Syst ems and Cont r ol s of t he Osci l l oscope sect i on of
t hi s pri mer descri bes osci l l oscope cont rol s i n more det ai l .
Us ing P r o b e s
Now you are ready t o connect a probe t o your osci l l oscope. A probe, i f
wel l - mat ched t o t he osci l l oscope, wi l l enabl e you t o access al l of t he
power and perf ormance i n t he osci l l oscope and wi l l ensure t he i nt egri t y
of t he si gnal you are measuri ng.
Pl ease ref er t o The Compl et e Measur ement Syst em under t he Syst ems
and Cont r ol s of t he Osci l l oscope sect i on, or t he Tekt roni x ABCs of
Probes, f or addi t i onal i nf ormat i on.
C o nne c t ing t he Gr o und C lip
Measuri ng a si gnal requi res t wo connect i ons: t he probe t i p connect i on
and t he ground connect i on. Probes come wi t h an al l i gat or cl i p
at t achment f or groundi ng t he probe t o t he ci rcui t under t est . In pract i ce,
you at t ach t he groundi ng cl i p t o a known ground i n t he ci rcui t , such as
t he met al chassi s of a st ereo you are repai ri ng, and t ouch t he probe t i p
t o a t est poi nt i n t he ci rcui t .
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
C o m p e ns a t ing t he P r o b e
Passi ve at t enuat i on vol t age probes must be compensat ed t o t he
osci l l oscope. Bef ore usi ng a passi ve probe, you need t o compensat e
i t t o bal ance i t s el ect ri cal propert i es t o a part i cul ar osci l l oscope.
You shoul d get i nt o t he habi t of compensat i ng t he probe ever y t i me you
set up your osci l l oscope. A poorl y adj ust ed probe can make your
measurement s l ess accurat e. Fi gure 65 i l l ust rat es t he ef f ect s on a 1 MHz
t est si gnal when usi ng a probe t hat i s not properl y compensat ed.
Most osci l l oscopes have a square wave ref erence si gnal avai l abl e at a
t ermi nal on t he f ront panel used t o compensat e t he probe. General
i nst ruct i ons t o compensat e t he probe are as f ol l ows:
Attach the probe to a vertical channel
Connect the probe tip to the probe compensat i on, i.e. square wave
reference signal
Attach the ground clip of the probe to ground
View the square wave reference signal
Make the proper adjustments on the probe so that the corners of the
square wave are square
www.tektronix.com 47
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Probe Compensated Correctly
Probed Undercompensated
Probed O vercompensated
Probe
Adjustment
Signal
Probe
Adjustment
Signal
Probe
Adjustment
Signal
Note Proper
Amplitude of a
1 M Hz Test Signal
Note Reduced
Amplitude of a
1 M Hz Test Signal
Note Increased
Amplitude of a
1 M Hz Test Signal
Figure 65. The effects of improper probe compensation.
www.tektronix.com 48
When you compensat e t he probe, al ways at t ach any accessor y t i ps you
wi l l use and connect t he probe t o t he vert i cal channel you pl an t o use. Thi s
wi l l ensure t hat t he osci l l oscope has t he same el ect ri cal propert i es as i t
does when you t ake measurement s.
Os c illo s c o p e M e a s ur e m e nt
Te c hniq ue s
Thi s sect i on revi ews basi c measurement t echni ques. The t wo most
basi c measurement s you can make are vol t age and t i me measurement s.
Just about ever y ot her measurement i s based on one of t hese t wo
f undament al t echni ques.
Thi s sect i on di scusses met hods f or t aki ng measurement s vi sual l y wi t h
t he osci l l oscope screen. Thi s i s a common t echni que wi t h anal og
i nst rument s, and al so may be usef ul f or at - a- gl ance i nt erpret at i on
of DSO and DPO di spl ays.
Not e t hat most di gi t al osci l l oscopes i ncl ude aut omat ed measurement t ool s.
Knowi ng how t o make measurement s manual l y as descri bed here wi l l hel p
you underst and and check t he aut omat i c measurement s of DSOs and
DPOs. Aut omat ed measurement s are expl ai ned l at er i n t hi s sect i on.
Vo lt a g e M e a s ur e m e nt s
Vol t age i s t he amount of el ect ri c pot ent i al , expressed i n vol t s, bet ween t wo
poi nt s i n a ci rcui t . Usual l y one of t hese poi nt s i s ground (zero vol t s) but not
al ways. Vol t ages can al so be measured f rom peak- t o- peak f rom t he
maxi mum poi nt of a si gnal t o i t s mi ni mum poi nt . You must be caref ul t o
speci f y whi ch vol t age you mean.
The osci l l oscope i s pri mari l y a vol t age- measuri ng devi ce. Once you have
measured t he vol t age, ot her quant i t i es are j ust a cal cul at i on away. For
exampl e, Ohm s l aw st at es t hat vol t age bet ween t wo poi nt s i n a ci rcui t
equal s t he current t i mes t he resi st ance. From any t wo of t hese quant i t i es
you can cal cul at e t he t hi rd usi ng t he f ol l owi ng f ormul a:
Anot her handy f ormul a i s t he power l aw: t he power of a DC si gnal equal s
t he vol t age t i mes t he current . Cal cul at i ons are more compl i cat ed f or AC
si gnal s, but t he poi nt here i s t hat measuri ng t he vol t age i s t he f i rst st ep
t oward cal cul at i ng ot her quant i t i es. Fi gure 70 shows t he vol t age of one
peak (Vp) and t he peak- t o- peak vol t age (Vp p).
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Volta ge = Curre nt * Re sista nc e
Curre nt = Volta ge
Re sista nc e
Re sista nc e = Volta ge
Curre nt
Pow e r La w : Pow e r = Volta ge * Curre nt
Voltage Peak
Zero Volts
Voltage
Peak-to-Peak
RM S Voltage
Figure 66. Voltage peak (Vp) and peak- to- peak voltage (Vp- p).
www.tektronix.com 49
The most basi c met hod of t aki ng vol t age measurement s i s t o count t he
number of di vi si ons a wavef orm spans on t he osci l l oscope s vert i cal scal e.
Adj ust i ng t he si gnal t o cover most of t he screen vert i cal l y makes f or t he
best vol t age measurement s (see Fi gure 67). The more screen area you
use, t he more accurat el y you can read f rom t he screen.
Many osci l l oscopes have on- screen l i ne cur sor s t hat l et you make
wavef orm measurement s aut omat i cal l y on- screen, wi t hout havi ng t o count
grat i cul e marks. A cursor i s si mpl y a l i ne t hat you can move across t he
screen. Two hori zont al cursor l i nes can be moved up and down t o bracket
a wavef orm s ampl i t ude f or vol t age measurement s, and t wo vert i cal l i nes
move ri ght and l ef t f or t i me measurement s. A readout shows t he vol t age
or t i me at t hei r posi t i ons.
Tim e a nd Fr e q ue nc y M e a s ur e m e nt s
You can make t i me measurement s usi ng t he hori zont al scal e of t he
osci l l oscope. Ti me measurement s i ncl ude measuri ng t he peri od and
pul se wi dt h of pul ses. Frequency i s t he reci procal of t he peri od, so once
you know t he peri od, t he f requency i s one di vi ded by t he peri od. Li ke
vol t age measurement s, t i me measurement s are more accurat e when you
adj ust t he port i on of t he si gnal t o be measured t o cover a l arge area of
t he screen, as i l l ust rat ed i n Fi gure 68.
P uls e Wid t h a nd Ris e Tim e M e a s ur e m e nt s
In many appl i cat i ons, t he det ai l s of a pul se s shape are i mport ant . Pul ses
can become di st ort ed and cause a di gi t al ci rcui t t o mal f unct i on, and t he
t i mi ng of pul ses i n a pul se t rai n i s of t en si gni f i cant .
St andard pul se measurement s are pul se wi dt h and pul se r i se t i me. Ri se
t i me i s t he amount of t i me a pul se t akes t o go f rom a l ow t o hi gh vol t age.
By convent i on, t he ri se t i me i s measured f rom 10% t o 90% of t he f ul l
vol t age of t he pul se. Thi s el i mi nat es any i rregul ari t i es at t he pul se s
t ransi t i on corners. Pul se wi dt h i s t he amount of t i me t he pul se t akes t o
go f rom l ow t o hi gh and back t o l ow agai n. By convent i on, t he pul se
wi dt h i s measured at 50% of f ul l vol t age. Fi gure 69 (see next page)
i l l ust rat es t hese measurement poi nt s.
Pul se measurement s of t en requi re f i ne- t uni ng t he t ri ggeri ng. To become
an expert at capt uri ng pul ses, you shoul d l earn how t o use t ri gger hol dof f
and how t o set t he di gi t al osci l l oscope t o capt ure pret ri gger dat a, as
descri bed i n t he Syst ems and Cont r ol s of an Osci l l oscope sect i on.
Hori zont al magni f i cat i on i s anot her usef ul f eat ure f or measuri ng pul ses,
si nce i t al l ows you t o see f i ne det ai l s of a f ast pul se.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Take Amplitude
M easurements
at Center Vertical
Graticule Line
Figure 67. Measure voltage on the center vertical graticule line.
Take Time M easurements
at Center Horizontal Graticule Line
Figure 68. Measure time on the center horizontal graticule line.
www.tektronix.com 50
P ha s e S hif t M e a s ur e m e nt s
One met hod f or measuri ng phase shi f t t he di f f erence i n t i mi ng bet ween
t wo ot herwi se i dent i cal peri odi c si gnal s i s t o use XY mode. Thi s
measurement t echni que i nvol ves i nput t i ng one si gnal i nt o t he vert i cal
syst em as usual and t hen anot her si gnal i nt o t he hori zont al syst em
cal l ed an XY measurement because bot h t he X and Y axi s are t raci ng
vol t ages. The wavef orm t hat resul t s f rom t hi s arrangement i s cal l ed a
Li ssaj ous pat t ern (named f or French physi ci st Jul es Ant oi ne Li ssaj ous
and pronounced LEE sa zhoo). From t he shape of t he Li ssaj ous pat t ern,
you can t el l t he phase di f f erence bet ween t he t wo si gnal s. You can al so
t el l t hei r f requency rat i o. Fi gure 70 shows Li ssaj ous pat t erns f or vari ous
f requency rat i os and phase shi f t s.
The XY measurement t echni que ori gi nat ed wi t h anal og osci l l oscopes.
DSOs may have di f f i cul t y creat i ng real - t i me XY di spl ays. Some DSOs
creat e an XY i mage by accumul at i ng t ri ggered dat a poi nt s over t i me,
t hen di spl ayi ng t wo channel s as an XY di spl ay.
DPOs, on t he ot her hand, are abl e t o acqui re and di spl ay a genui ne XY
mode i mage i n real - t i me, usi ng a cont i nuous st ream of di gi t i zed dat a.
DPOs can al so di spl ay an XYZ i mage wi t h i nt ensi f i ed areas. Unl i ke XY
di spl ays on DSOs and DPOs, t hese di spl ays on anal og osci l l oscopes are
t ypi cal l y l i mi t ed t o a f ew megahert z of bandwi dt h.
Ot he r M e a s ur e m e nt Te c hniq ue s
This section has covered basic measurement techniques. Other measurement
techniques involve setting up the oscilloscope to test electrical components
on an assembl y l i ne, capt uri ng el usi ve t ransi ent si gnal s, and many ot hers.
The measurement t echni ques you wi l l use wi l l depend on your appl i cat i on,
but you have l earned enough t o get st art ed. Pract i ce usi ng your
osci l l oscope and read more about i t . Soon i t s operat i on wi l l be
second nat ure t o you.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
100%
90%
50%
10%
0%
Rise Time
Fall Time
Voltage
Pulse Width
Figure 69. Rise time and pulse width measurement points.
0 45 90 180 270 360
0 22 30 45 90 135 180
0 15 30 60 90 120
0 11 15 22 30 45 67 30 90
Phase Shift
1:1
1:2
1:3
1:4
X:Y Ratio
Frequency
Figure 70. Lissajous patterns.
www.tektronix.com
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Wr it t e n Ex e r c is e s
Thi s sect i on cont ai ns wri t t en exerci ses t hat cover i nf ormat i on i n t hi s book.
The exerci ses are di vi ded i nt o t wo part s, Part I and Part II.
Part I covers i nf ormat i on present ed i n t hese sect i ons:
The Osci l l oscope
Per f or mance Ter ms and Consi der at i ons
Part II covers i nf ormat i on present ed i n sect i ons:
The Syst ems and Cont r ol s of an Osci l l oscope
Oper at i ng t he Osci l l oscope
Measur ement Techni ques
The f ol l owi ng exerci ses cover vocabul ar y and appl i cat i on i nf ormat i on.
Check how wel l you have absorbed t he i nf ormat i on i n t hese sect i ons by
doi ng t hi s short sel f t est . Answers begi n on page 55.
P a r t I
The Osci l l oscope
Perf ormance Terms and Consi derat i ons
Ter m Definit ion
1. __Acquisition A The unit of electric potential difference.
2. __Analog B A performance measurement indicating the precision of an ADC, measured in bits.
3. __Bandwidth C Term used when referring to degree points of a signals period.
4. __Digital Phosphor D The number of times a signal repeats in one second.
5. __Frequency E The amount of time it takes a wave to complete one cycle.
6. __Glitch F A stored digital value that represents the voltage of a signal at a specific point in time on the display.
7. __Period G A common waveform shape that has a rising edge, a width, and a falling edge.
8. __Phase H A performance measurement indicating the rising edge speed of a pulse.
9. __Pulse I Oscilloscope circuitry that controls the timing of the sweep.
10. __Waveform Point J An intermittent spike in a circuit.
11. __Rise Time K A signal measured by an oscilloscope that only occurs once.
12. __Sample Point L The oscilloscopes process of collecting sample points from the ADC, processing them, and storing them in memory.
13. __Digital Storage M Something that operates with continuously changing values.
14. __Time Base N Digital oscilloscope that captures 3 dimensions of signal information in real-time.
15. __Transient O Digital oscilloscope with serial processing.
16. __ADC Resolution P A sine wave frequency range, defined by the 3dB point.
17. __Volt Q The raw data from an ADC used to calculate and display waveform points.
Vocabul ar y Exer ci se Wr i t e t he l et t er of t he def i ni t i ons i n t he r i ght col umn next t o t he cor r ect wor ds i n t he l ef t col umn.
51
P a r t I
The Osci l l oscope
Per f or mance Ter ms and Consi derat i ons
Appl i cat i on Exer ci se
Ci rcl e t he best answers f or each st at ement . Some st at ement s have more
t han one ri ght answer.
1. Wi t h an osci l l oscope you can:
a. Cal cul at e t he f requency of a si gnal .
b. Fi nd mal f unct i oni ng el ect ri cal component s.
c. Anal yze si gnal det ai l s.
d. Al l t he above.
2. The di f f er ence bet ween anal og and di gi t i zi ng osci l l oscopes i s:
a. Anal og osci l l oscopes do not have on screen menus.
b. Anal og osci l l oscopes appl y a measurement vol t age di rect l y t o
t he di spl ay syst em, whi l e di gi t al osci l l oscopes f i rst convert t he
vol t age i nt o di gi t al val ues.
c. Anal og osci l l oscopes measure anal ogs, whereas di gi t i zi ng
osci l l oscopes measure di gi t s.
d. Anal og osci l l oscopes do not have an acqui si t i on syst em.
3. An osci l l oscope s ver t i cal sect i on does t he f ol l owi ng:
a. Acqui res sampl e poi nt s wi t h an ADC.
b. St art s a hori zont al sweep.
c. Let s you adj ust t he bri ght ness of t he di spl ay.
d. At t enuat es or ampl i f i es t he i nput si gnal .
4. The t i me base cont r ol of t he osci l l oscope does t he f ol l owi ng:
a. Adj ust s t he vert i cal scal e.
b. Shows you t he current t i me of day.
c. Set s t he amount of t i me represent ed by t he hori zont al wi dt h of
t he screen.
d. Sends a cl ock pul se t o t he probe.
5. On an osci l l oscope di spl ay:
a. Vol t age i s on t he vert i cal axi s and t i me i s on t he
hori zont al axi s.
b. A st rai ght di agonal t race means vol t age i s changi ng
at a st eady rat e.
c. A f l at hori zont al t race means vol t age i s const ant .
d. Al l t he above.
6. Al l r epeat i ng waves have t he f ol l owi ng pr oper t i es:
a. A f requency measured i n hert z.
b. A peri od measured i n seconds.
c. A bandwi dt h measured i n hert z.
d. Al l t he above.
7. If you pr obe i nsi de a comput er wi t h an osci l l oscope, you ar e l i kel y
t o f i nd t he f ol l owi ng t ypes of si gnal s:
a. Pul se t rai ns.
b. Ramp waves.
c. Si ne waves.
d. Al l t he above.
8. When eval uat i ng t he per f or mance of an anal og osci l l oscope, some
t hi ngs you mi ght consi der ar e:
a. The bandwi dt h.
b. The vert i cal sensi t i vi t y.
c. The ADC resol ut i on.
d. The sweep speed.
9. The di f f er ence bet ween di gi t al st or age osci l l oscopes (DSO) and
di gi t al phosphor osci l l oscopes (DPO) i s:
a. The DSO has a hi gher bandwi dt h.
b. The DPO capt ures t hree di mensi ons of wavef orm
i nf ormat i on i n real - t i me.
c. The DSO has a col or di spl ay.
d. The DSO capt ures more si gnal det ai l s.
www.tektronix.com 52
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 53
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
P a r t I I
The Syst ems and Cont r ol s of an Osci l l oscope
Operat i ng t he Osci l l oscope
Measurement Techni ques
Ter m Definit ion
1. __Averaging Mode A The unintentional interaction of the probe and oscilloscope with the circuit being tested which distorts a signal.
2. __Circuit Loading B A conductor that connects electrical currents to the Earth.
3. __Compensation C A sampling mode in which the digital oscilloscope collects as many samples as it can as the signal occurs, then
constructs a display, using interpolation if necessary.
4. __Coupling D A sampling mode in which the digital oscilloscope constructs a picture of a repetitive signal by capturing a little bit of
information from each repetition.
5. __Earth Ground E A device that converts a specific physical quantity such as sound, pressure, strain, or light intensity into an
electrical signal.
6. __EquivalentTime F A test device for injecting a signal into a circuit input.
7. __Graticule G A processing technique used by digital oscilloscopes to eliminate noise in a displayed signal.
8. __Interpolation H The method of connecting two circuits together.
9. __Real Time I A connectthedots processing technique to estimate what a fast waveform looks like based on only a
few sampled points.
10. __Signal Generator J The grid lines on a screen for measuring oscilloscope traces.
11. __Single Sweep K A trigger mode that triggers the sweep once, must be reset to accept another trigger event.
12. __Transducer L A probe adjustment for 10X attenuator probes that balances the electrical properties of the probe with the
electrical properties of the oscilloscope.
Vocabul ar y Exer ci se Wr i t e t he l et t er of t he def i ni t i ons i n t he r i ght col umn next t o t he cor r ect wor ds i n t he l ef t col umn.
www.tektronix.com 54
P a r t I I
The Syst ems and Cont r ol s of an Osci l l oscope
Operat i ng t he Osci l l oscope
Measurement Techni ques
The Syst ems and Cont r ol s of an Osci l l oscope
Operat i ng t he Osci l l oscope
Measurement Techni ques
Appl i cat i on Exer ci se
Ci rcl e t he best answers f or each st at ement . Some st at ement s have more
t han one ri ght answer.
1. To oper at e an osci l l oscope saf el y, you shoul d:
a. Ground t he osci l l oscope wi t h t he proper t hree pronged
power cord.
b. Learn t o recogni ze pot ent i al l y dangerous el ect ri cal component s.
c. Avoi d t ouchi ng exposed connect i ons i n a ci rcui t bei ng t est ed
even i f t he power i s of f .
d. Al l t he above.
2. Gr oundi ng an osci l l oscope i s necessar y:
a. For saf et y reasons.
b. To provi de a ref erence poi nt f or maki ng measurement s.
c. To al i gn t he t race wi t h t he screen s hori zont al axi s.
d. Al l t he above.
3. Ci r cui t l oadi ng i s caused by:
a. An i nput si gnal havi ng t oo l arge a vol t age.
b. The probe and osci l l oscope i nt eract i ng wi t h t he
ci rcui t bei ng t est ed.
c. A 10X at t enuat or probe bei ng uncompensat ed.
d. Put t i ng t oo much wei ght on a ci rcui t .
4. Compensat i ng a pr obe i s necessar y t o:
a. Bal ance t he el ect ri cal propert i es of t he 10X at t enuat or
probe wi t h t he osci l l oscope.
b. Prevent damagi ng t he ci rcui t bei ng t est ed.
c. Improve t he accuracy of your measurement s.
d. Al l t he above.
5. The t r ace r ot at i on cont r ol i s usef ul f or :
a. Scal i ng wavef orms on t he screen.
b. Det ect i ng si ne wave si gnal s.
c. Al i gni ng t he wavef orm t race wi t h t he screen s hori zont al
axi s on an anal og osci l l oscope.
d. Measuri ng pul se wi dt h.
6. The vol t s per di vi si on cont r ol i s used t o:
a. Scal e a wavef orm vert i cal l y.
b. Posi t i on a wavef orm vert i cal l y.
c. At t enuat e or ampl i f y an i nput si gnal .
d. Set t he numbers of vol t s each di vi si on represent s.
7. Set t i ng t he ver t i cal i nput coupl i ng t o gr ound does t he f ol l owi ng:
a. Di sconnect s t he i nput si gnal f rom t he osci l l oscope.
b. Causes a hori zont al l i ne t o appear wi t h aut o t ri gger.
c. Let s you see where zero vol t s i s on t he screen.
d. Al l t he above.
8. The t r i gger i s necessar y t o:
a. St abi l i ze repeat i ng wavef orms on t he screen.
b. Capt ure si ngl e shot wavef orms.
c. Mark a part i cul ar poi nt of an acqui si t i on.
d. Al l t he above.
9. The di f f er ence bet ween aut o and nor mal t r i gger mode i s:
a. In normal mode t he osci l l oscope onl y sweeps once
and t hen st ops.
b. In normal mode t he osci l l oscope onl y sweeps i f t he i nput
si gnal reaches t he t ri gger poi nt ; ot herwi se t he screen i s bl ank.
c. Aut o mode makes t he osci l l oscope sweep cont i nuousl y
even wi t hout bei ng t ri ggered.
d. Al l t he above.
10. The acqui si t i on mode t hat best r educes noi se i n a
r epeat i ng si gnal i s:
a. Sampl e mode.
b. Peak det ect mode.
c. Envel ope mode.
d. Averagi ng mode.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 55
11. The t wo most basi c measur ement s you can make wi t h an osci l l o-
scope ar e:
a. Ti me and f requency measurement s.
b. Ti me and vol t age measurement s.
c. Vol t age and pul se wi dt h measurement s.
d. Pul se wi dt h and phase shi f t measurement s.
12. If t he vol t s/ di vi si on i s set at 0.5, t he l ar gest si gnal t hat can f i t on
t he scr een (assumi ng an 8 x 10 di vi si on scr een) i s:
a. 62. 5 mi l l i vol t s peak t o peak.
b. 8 vol t s peak t o peak.
c. 4 vol t s peak t o peak.
d. 0. 5 vol t s peak t o peak.
13. If t he seconds/ di vi si on i s set at 0.1 ms, t he amount of t i me
r epr esent ed by t he wi dt h of t he scr een i s:
a. 0. 1 ms.
b. 1 ms.
c. 1 second.
d. 0. 1 kHz.
14. By convent i on, pul se wi dt h i s measur ed:
a. At 10% of t he pul se s peak- t o- peak (pk- pk) vol t age.
b. At 50% of t he pul se s peak- t o- peak (pk- pk) vol t age.
c. At 90% of t he pul se s peak- t o- peak (pk- pk) vol t age.
d. At 10% and 90% of t he pul se s peak- t o- peak (pk- pk) vol t age.
15. You at t ach a pr obe t o your t est ci r cui t but t he scr een i s
bl ank. You shoul d:
a. Check t hat t he screen i nt ensi t y i s t urned up.
b. Check t hat t he osci l l oscope i s set t o di spl ay t he channel t hat
t he probe i s connect ed t o.
c. Set t he t ri gger mode t o aut o si nce norm mode bl anks
t he screen.
d. Set t he vert i cal i nput coupl i ng t o AC and set t he
vol t s/ di vi si on t o i t s l argest val ue si nce a l arge DC si gnal may
go of f t he t op or bot t om of t he screen.
e. Check t hat t he probe i sn t short ed and make sure
i t i s properl y grounded.
f . Check t hat t he osci l l oscope i s set t o t ri gger on t he
i nput channel you are usi ng.
g. Al l of t he above.
Ans w e r Ke y
Thi s sect i on provi des t he answers t o al l wri t t en exerci ses
i n t he previ ous sect i ons.
Par t I: Voc abular y Exer c ise Answ er s
1. L 5. D 9. G 13. O
2. M 6. J 10. F 14. I
3. P 7. E 11. H 15. K
4. N 8. C 12. Q 16. B
17. A
Par t I: Osc illosc ope Applic at ion Exer c ise Answ er s
1. D 3. D 5. D 7. A
2. B,D 4. C 6., A,B 8. A,B,D
9. B
Par t II: Voc abular y Exer c ise Answ er s
1. G 4. H 7. J 10. F
2. A 5. B 8. I 11. K
3. L 6. D 9. C 12. E
Par t II: Osc illosc ope Applic at ion Exer c ise Answ er s
1. D 5. C 9. B,C 13. B
2. A,B 6. A,C,D 10. D 14. B
3. B 7. D 11. B 15. G
4. A,C 8. D 12. C
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 56
Acqui si t i on Mode Modes t hat cont rol how wavef orm poi nt s are
produced f rom sampl e poi nt s. Some t ypes i ncl ude sampl e, peak det ect ,
hi res, envel ope, and average.
Al t er nat e Mode A di spl ay mode of operat i on i n whi ch t he osci l l oscope
compl et es t raci ng one channel bef ore begi nni ng t o t race anot her channel .
Al t er nat i ng Cur r ent (AC) A si gnal i n whi ch t he current and vol t age var y
i n a repeat i ng pat t ern over t i me. Al so used t o i ndi cat e si gnal coupl i ng t ype.
Ampl i f i cat i on An i ncrease i n si gnal ampl i t ude duri ng i t s t ransmi ssi on
f rom one poi nt t o anot her.
Ampl i t ude The magni t ude of a quant i t y or st rengt h of a si gnal . In el ec-
t roni cs, ampl i t ude usual l y ref ers t o ei t her vol t age or power.
Anal og- t o- Di gi t al Conver t er (ADC) A di gi t al el ect roni c component t hat
convert s an el ect ri cal si gnal i nt o di scret e bi nar y val ues.
Anal og Osci l l oscope An i nst rument t hat creat es a wavef orm di spl ay
by appl yi ng t he i nput si gnal (condi t i oned and ampl i f i ed) t o t he vert i cal
axi s of an el ect ron beam movi ng across a cat hode- ray t ube (CRT) screen
hori zont al l y f rom l ef t t o ri ght . A chemi cal phosphor coat ed on t he CRT
creat e a gl owi ng t race wherever t he beam hi t s.
Anal og Si gnal A si gnal wi t h cont i nuousl y vari abl e vol t ages.
At t enuat i on A decrease i n si gnal ampl i t ude duri ng i t s t ransmi ssi on
f rom one poi nt t o anot her.
Aver agi ng A processi ng t echni que used by di gi t al osci l l oscopes t o
reduce noi se i n a di spl ayed si gnal .
Bandwi dt h A f requency range, usual l y l i mi t ed by 3 dB.
Cat hode- r ay Tube (CRT) An el ect ron- beam t ube i n whi ch t he beam
can be f ocused on a l umi nescent screen and vari ed i n bot h posi t i on and
i nt ensi t y t o produce a vi si bl e pat t ern. A t el evi si on pi ct ure t ube i s a CRT.
Chop Mode A di spl ay mode of operat i on i n whi ch smal l t i me segment s
of each channel are t raced sequent i al l y so t hat more t han one wavef orm
can appear on t he screen si mul t aneousl y.
Ci r cui t Loadi ng The uni nt ent i onal i nt eract i on of t he probe and
osci l l oscope wi t h t he ci rcui t bei ng t est ed, di st ort i ng t he si gnal .
Compensat i on A probe adj ust ment f or passi ve at t enuat i on probes
t hat bal ances t he capaci t ance of t he probe wi t h t he capaci t ance of
t he osci l l oscope.
Coupl i ng The met hod of connect i ng t wo ci rcui t s t oget her. Ci rcui t s con-
nect ed wi t h a wi re are di rect l y coupl ed (DC); ci rcui t s connect ed t hrough a
capaci t or or t ransf ormer are i ndi rect l y (AC) coupl ed.
Cur sor An on screen marker t hat you can al i gn wi t h a wavef orm t o
make more accurat e measurement s.
Del ayed Ti me Base A t i me base wi t h a sweep t hat can st art (or be t ri g-
gered t o st art ) rel at i ve t o a pre- det ermi ned t i me on t he mai n t i me base
sweep. Al l ows you t o see event s more cl earl y and t o see event s t hat are
not vi si bl e sol el y wi t h t he mai n t i me base sweep.
Di gi t al Si gnal A si gnal whose vol t age sampl es are represent ed by di s-
cret e bi nar y numbers.
Di gi t al Osci l l oscope A t ype of osci l l oscope t hat uses an
anal og t o di gi t al convert er (ADC) t o convert t he measured vol t age
i nt o di gi t al i nf ormat i on. Three t ypes: di gi t al st orage, di gi t al phosphor,
and di gi t al sampl i ng osci l l oscopes.
Di gi t al Phosphor Osci l l oscope (DPO) A t ype of di gi t al osci l l oscope
t hat cl osel y model s t he di spl ay charact eri st i cs of an anal og osci l l oscope
whi l e provi di ng t radi t i onal di gi t al osci l l oscope benef i t s (wavef orm st orage,
aut omat ed measurement s, et c. ) The DPO uses a paral l el - processi ng
archi t ect ure t o pass t he si gnal t o t he rast er- t ype di spl ay, whi ch provi des
i nt ensi t y- graded vi ewi ng of si gnal charact eri st i cs i n real t i me. The DPO
di spl ays si gnal s i n t hree di mensi ons: ampl i t ude, t i me and t he di st ri but i on
of ampl i t ude over t i me.
Di gi t al Sampl i ng Osci l l oscope A t ype of di gi t al osci l l oscope t hat
empl oys equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng met hod t o capt ure and di spl ay
sampl es of a si gnal , i deal f or accurat el y capt uri ng si gnal s whose
f requency component s are much hi gher t han t he osci l l oscope s
sampl e rat e.
Di gi t al St or age Osci l l oscope (DSO) A di gi t al osci l l oscope t hat acqui res
si gnal s vi a di gi t al sampl i ng (usi ng an anal og- t o- di gi t al convert er). It uses a
seri al - processi ng archi t ect ure t o cont rol acqui si t i on, user i nt erf ace, and
t he rast er di spl ay.
Di gi t i ze The process by whi ch an anal og- t o- di gi t al convert er (ADC)
i n t he hori zont al syst em sampl es a si gnal at di scret e poi nt s i n t i me and
convert s t he si gnal s vol t age at t hese poi nt s i nt o di gi t al val ues cal l ed
sampl e poi nt s.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Glo s s a r y
www.tektronix.com 57
Di r ect Cur r ent (DC) A si gnal wi t h a const ant vol t age and/ or current .
Al so used t o i ndi cat e si gnal coupl i ng t ype.
Di vi si on Measurement marki ngs on t he cat hode- ray t ube (CRT) grat i cul e
of t he osci l l oscope.
Ear t h Gr ound A conduct or t hat wi l l connect el ect ri cal current s t o
t he Eart h.
Ef f ect i ve Bi t s A measure of a di gi t al osci l l oscope' s abi l i t y t o accurat el y
reconst ruct a si ne wave si gnal s shape. Thi s measurement compares t he
osci l l oscope' s act ual error t o t hat of a t heoret i cal i deal di gi t i zer.
Envel ope The out l i ne of a si gnal s hi ghest and l owest poi nt s acqui red
over many di spl ayed wavef orm repet i t i ons.
Equi val ent - t i me Sampl i ng A sampl i ng mode i n whi ch t he osci l l oscope
const ruct s a pi ct ure of a repet i t i ve si gnal by capt uri ng a l i t t l e bi t of
i nf ormat i on f rom each repet i t i on. Two t ypes of equi val ent - t i me sampl i ng:
random and sequent i al .
Focus The osci l l oscope cont rol t hat adj ust s t he cat hode- ray t ube (CRT)
el ect ron beam t o cont rol t he sharpness of t he di spl ay.
Fr equency The number of t i mes a si gnal repeat s i n one second,
measured i n Hert z (cycl es per second). The f requency equal s 1/ peri od.
Fr equency Response A Bode pl ot of i nput t o out put response of an
ampl i f i er or at t enuat or f or si ne waves wi t h const ant ampl i t udes at
di f f erent f requenci es over a f requency range.
Gai n Accur acy - An i ndi cat i on of how accurat el y t he vert i cal syst em
at t enuat es or ampl i f i es a si gnal , usual l y represent ed as a percent age error.
Gi gaher t z (GHz) - 1, 000, 000, 000 Hert z; a uni t of f requency.
Gl i t ch - An i nt ermi t t ent , hi gh- speed error i n a ci rcui t .
Gr at i cul e - The gri d l i nes on a screen f or measuri ng osci l l oscope t races.
Gr ound -
1. A conduct i ng connect i on by whi ch an el ect ri c ci rcui t or
equi pment i s connect ed t o t he eart h t o est abl i sh and
mai nt ai n a ref erence vol t age l evel .
2. The vol t age ref erence poi nt i n a ci rcui t .
Her t z (Hz) - One cycl e per second; t he uni t of f requency.
Hor i zont al Accur acy (Ti me Base) - An i ndi cat i on of how accurat el y
Hor i zont al Sweep The act i on of t he hori zont al syst em t hat causes a
wavef orm t o be drawn.
Int ensi t y Gr adi ng Frequency- of - occurrence i nf ormat i on t hat i s
essent i al t o underst andi ng what t he wavef orm i s real l y doi ng.
Int er pol at i on A connect t he dot s processi ng t echni que t o est i mat e
what a f ast wavef orm l ooks l i ke based on onl y a f ew sampl ed poi nt s.
Two t ypes: l i near and si n x/ x.
Ki l oher t z (kHz) 1000 Hert z; a uni t of f requency.
Loadi ng The uni nt ent i onal i nt eract i on of t he probe and osci l l oscope wi t h
t he ci rcui t bei ng t est ed whi ch di st ort s a si gnal .
Logi c Anal yzer An i nst rument used t o make t he l ogi c st at es of many
di gi t al si gnal s vi si bl e over t i me. It anal yzes t he di gi t al dat a and can
represent t he dat a as real - t i me sof t ware execut i on, dat a f l ow val ues,
st at e sequences, et c.
Megaher t z (MHz) 1, 000, 000 Hert z; a uni t of f requency.
Megasampl es per second (MS/ s) A sampl e rat e uni t equal t o
one mi l l i on sampl es per second.
Mi cr osecond (s) A uni t of t i me equi val ent t o 0. 000001 seconds.
Mi l l i second (ms) A uni t of t i me equi val ent t o 0. 001 seconds.
Nanosecond (ns) A uni t of t i me equi val ent t o 0. 000000001 seconds.
Noi se An unwant ed vol t age or current i n an el ect ri cal ci rcui t .
Osci l l oscope An i nst rument used t o make vol t age changes vi si bl e over
t i me. The word osci l l oscope comes f rom osci l l at e, si nce osci l l oscopes
are of t en used t o measure osci l l at i ng vol t ages.
Peak (Vp) The maxi mum vol t age l evel measured f rom a zero
ref erence poi nt .
Peak Det ect i on An acqui si t i on mode avai l abl e wi t h di gi t al osci l l oscopes
t hat enabl es you t o obser ve si gnal det ai l s t hat may ot herwi se be mi ssed,
part i cul arl y usef ul f or seei ng narrow pul ses spaced f ar apart i n t i me.
Peak- t o- peak (Vp- p) The vol t age measured f rom t he maxi mum poi nt of a
si gnal t o i t s mi ni mum poi nt .
Per i od The amount of t i me i t t akes a wave t o compl et e one cycl e.
The peri od equal s 1/ f requency.
Phase The amount of t i me t hat passes f rom t he begi nni ng of a cycl e t o
t he begi nni ng of t he next cycl e, measured i n degrees.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
t he hori zont al syst em di spl ays t he t i mi ng of a si gnal , usual l y represent ed
as a percent age error.
www.tektronix.com 58
Phase Shi f t The di f f erence i n t i mi ng bet ween t wo ot herwi se
si mi l ar si gnal s.
Pr e- t r i gger Vi ewi ng The abi l i t y of a di gi t al osci l l oscope t o capt ure
what a si gnal di d bef ore a t ri gger event . Det ermi nes t he l engt h of
vi ewabl e si gnal bot h precedi ng and f ol l owi ng a t ri gger poi nt .
Pr obe An osci l l oscope i nput devi ce, usual l y havi ng a poi nt ed met al
t i p f or maki ng el ect ri cal cont act wi t h a ci rcui t el ement , a l ead t o connect
t o t he ci rcui t s ground ref erence, and a f l exi bl e cabl e f or t ransmi t t i ng t he
si gnal and ground t o t he osci l l oscope.
Pul se A common wavef orm shape t hat has a f ast ri si ng edge, a wi dt h,
and a f ast f al l i ng edge.
Pul se Tr ai n A col l ect i on of pul ses t ravel i ng t oget her.
Pul se Wi dt h The amount of t i me t he pul se t akes t o go f rom l ow t o hi gh
and back t o l ow agai n, convent i onal l y measured at 50% of f ul l vol t age.
Ramps Transi t i ons bet ween vol t age l evel s of si ne waves t hat change at
a const ant rat e.
Rast er A t ype of di spl ay.
Real - t i me Sampl i ng A sampl i ng mode i n whi ch t he osci l l oscope
col l ect s as many sampl es as possi bl e f rom one t ri ggered acqui si t i on.
Ideal f or si gnal s whose f requency range i s l ess t han hal f t he osci l l oscope s
maxi mum sampl e rat e.
Recor d Lengt h The number of wavef orm poi nt s used t o creat e a
record of a si gnal .
Ri se Ti me The t i me t aken f or t he l eadi ng edge of a pul se t o ri se f rom i t s
l ow t o i t s hi gh val ues, t ypi cal l y measured f rom 10% t o 90%.
Sampl i ng The conversi on of a port i on of an i nput si gnal i nt o a number
of di scret e el ect ri cal val ues f or t he purpose of st orage, processi ng and/ or
di spl ay by an osci l l oscope. Two t ypes: real - t i me sampl i ng and equi val ent -
t i me sampl i ng.
Sampl e Poi nt The raw dat a f rom an ADC used t o cal cul at e
wavef orm poi nt s.
Sampl e Rat e Ref ers t o how f requent l y a di gi t al osci l l oscope t akes a
sampl e of t he si gnal , speci f i ed i n sampl es per second (S/ s).
Scr een The surf ace of t he di spl ay upon whi ch t he vi si bl e pat t ern
i s produced t he di spl ay area.
Si gnal Int egr i t y The accurat e reconst ruct i on of a si gnal , det ermi ned by
t he syst ems and perf ormance consi derat i ons of an osci l l oscope, i n addi t i on
t o t he probe used t o acqui re t he si gnal .
Si gnal Sour ce A t est devi ce used t o i nj ect a si gnal i nt o a ci rcui t i nput ;
t he ci rcui t s out put i s t hen read by an osci l l oscope. Al so known as a
si gnal generat or.
Si ne Wave A common cur ved wave shape t hat i s
mat hemat i cal l y def i ned.
Si ngl e Shot A si gnal measured by an osci l l oscope t hat onl y occurs once
(al so cal l ed a t ransi ent event ).
Si ngl e Sweep A t ri gger mode t o di spl ay one t ri ggered screen of a si g-
nal and t hen st op.
Sl ope On a graph or an osci l l oscope screen, t he rat i o of a vert i cal
di st ance t o a hori zont al di st ance. A posi t i ve sl ope i ncreases f rom l ef t t o
ri ght , whi l e a negat i ve sl ope decreases f rom l ef t t o ri ght .
Squar e Wave A common wave shape consi st i ng of repeat i ng
square pul ses.
Sweep One hori zont al pass of an osci l l oscope s el ect ron beam f rom l ef t
t o ri ght across t he CRT screen.
Sweep Speed Same as t he t i me base.
Ti me Base Osci l l oscope ci rcui t r y t hat cont rol s t he t i mi ng of t he sweep.
The t i me base i s set by t he seconds/ di vi si on cont rol .
Tr ace The vi si bl e shapes drawn on a CRT by t he movement of t he
el ect ron beam.
Tr ansducer A devi ce t hat convert s a speci f i c physi cal quant i t y such as
sound, pressure, st rai n, or l i ght i nt ensi t y i nt o an el ect ri cal si gnal .
Tr ansi ent A si gnal measured by an osci l l oscope t hat onl y occurs once
(al so cal l ed a si ngl e shot event ).
Tr i gger The ci rcui t t hat ref erences a hori zont al sweep on
an osci l l oscope.
Tr i gger Hol dof f A cont rol t hat al l ows you t o adj ust t he peri od of t i me
af t er a val i d t ri gger duri ng whi ch t he osci l l oscope cannot t ri gger.
Tr i gger Level The vol t age l evel t hat a t ri gger source si gnal must reach
bef ore t he t ri gger ci rcui t i ni t i at es a sweep.
Tr i gger Mode A mode t hat det ermi nes whet her or not t he osci l l oscope
draws a wavef orm i f i t does not det ect a t ri gger. Common t ri gger modes
i ncl ude normal and aut o.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 59
Tr i gger Sl ope The sl ope t hat a t ri gger source si gnal must reach bef ore
t he t ri gger ci rcui t i ni t i at es a sweep.
Ver t i cal Resol ut i on (Anal og- t o- Di gi t al Conver t er ) An i ndi cat i on of
how preci sel y an anal og- t o- di gi t al convert er (ADC) i n a di gi t al osci l l oscope
can convert i nput vol t ages i nt o di gi t al val ues, measured i n bi t s.
Cal cul at i on t echni ques, such as hi res acqui si t i on mode, can i mprove
t he ef f ect i ve resol ut i on.
Ver t i cal Sensi t i vi t y An i ndi cat i on of how much t he vert i cal ampl i f i er can
ampl i f y a weak si gnal usual l y measured i n mi l l i vol t s (mV) per di vi si on.
Vol t The uni t of el ect ri c pot ent i al di f f erence.
Vol t age The di f f erence i n el ect ri c pot ent i al , expressed i n vol t s, bet ween
t wo poi nt s.
Wave The generi c t erm f or a pat t ern t hat repeat s over t i me. Common
t ypes i ncl ude: si ne, square, rect angul ar, saw- t oot h, t ri angl e, st ep, pul se,
peri odi c, non- peri odi c, synchronous, asynchronous.
Wavef or m A graphi c represent at i on of a vol t age var yi ng over t i me.
Wavef or m Capt ur e Rat e Ref ers t o how qui ckl y an osci l l oscope acqui res
wavef orms, expressed as wavef orms per second (wf ms/ s).
Wavef or m Poi nt A di gi t al val ue t hat represent s t he vol t age of a si gnal
at a speci f i c poi nt i n t i me. Wavef orm poi nt s are cal cul at ed f rom sampl e
poi nt s and st ored i n memor y.
Wr i t i ng Speed The abi l i t y of an anal og osci l l oscope t o provi de a vi si bl e
t race of t he movement of a si gnal f rom one poi nt t o anot her. Thi s abi l i t y i s
rest ri ct i ve f or l ow- repet i t i on si gnal s t hat have f ast - movi ng det ai l s, such as
di gi t al l ogi c si gnal s.
Z Axi s The di spl ay at t ri but e on an osci l l oscope t hat shows bri ght ness
vari at i ons as t he t race i s f ormed.
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
www.tektronix.com 60
N o t e s :
X YZ s o f O s c i l l o s c o p e s
Pr im er
Copyright 2001, Tektronix, Inc. All rights reserved. Tektronix
products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued and
pending. Information in this publication supersedes that in all
previously published material. Specification and price change
privileges reserved. TEKTRONIX and TEK are registered trade-
marks of Tektronix, Inc. All other trade names referenced are the
service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective companies.
05/01 HB/PG 03W-8605-2
Cont ac t Tekt r onix
ASEAN Count ri es (65) 356- 3900
Aust ral i a & New Zeal and 61 (2) 9888- 0100
Aust ri a, Cent ral East ern Europe, Greece,
Turkey, Mal t a & Cyprus + 43 2236 8092 0
Bel gi um + 32 (2) 715 89 70
Brazi l and Sout h Ameri ca 55 (11) 3741- 8360
Canada 1 (800) 661- 5625
Denmark + 45 (44) 850 700
Fi nl and + 358 (9) 4783 400
France & Nort h Af ri ca + 33 1 69 86 81 81
Germany + 49 (221) 94 77 400
Hong Kong (852) 2585- 6688
Indi a (91) 80- 2275577
It al y + 39 (2) 25086 501
Japan (Sony/ Tekt roni x Corporat i on) 81 (3) 3448- 3111
Mexi co, Cent ral Ameri ca & Cari bbean 52 (5) 666- 6333
The Net herl ands + 31 23 56 95555
Norway + 47 22 07 07 00
Peopl es Republ i c of Chi na 86 (10) 6235 1230
Republ i c of Korea 82 (2) 528- 5299
Sout h Af ri ca (27 11) 254- 8360
Spai n & Port ugal + 34 91 372 6000
Sweden + 46 8 477 65 00
Swi t zerl and + 41 (41) 729 36 40
Tai wan 886 (2) 2722- 9622
Uni t ed Ki ngdom & Ei re + 44 (0)1344 392000
USA 1 (800) 426- 2200
For ot her areas, cont act : Tekt roni x, Inc. at 1 (503) 627- 1924
Ot he r P r im e r s Av a ila b le f r o m Te k t r o nix :
An Over vi ew of Si gnal Source Technol ogy and Appl i cat i ons
ABCs of Probes
Int roduct i on t o Logi c Anal ysi s: A Hardware Debug Tut ori al
The XYZs of Logi c Anal yzers
UMTS Prot ocol s and Prot ocol Test i ng
GPRS Prot ocol Test i ng i n t he Wi rel ess Worl d
Troubl eshoot i ng cdmaOne

BTS Transmi t t ers i n t he Fi el d

Int erf erence Test i ng
SDH Tel ecommuni cat i ons St andards
SONET Tel ecommuni cat i ons St andards
DWDM Perf ormance and Conf ormance Test i ng
A Gui de t o Pi ct ure Qual i t y Measurement s
A Gui de t o MPEG Fundament al s
A Gui de t o St andard and Hi gh- def i ni t i on Di gi t al Vi deo Measurement s
Cust omer Ser vi ce Traceabi l i t y
w w w.t e kt r o nix .c o m
Oscilloscopes
Logic Analyzers
Signal Sources
Communications Test Equipment
Television Test Equipment
Probes
Accessories
Other Test and Measurement Equipment