Getting Started with Digital

Oscilloscopes

Probes

Agenda

Probe basics
Influence of probing the device under test
Choose the right probe (passive, active, current, differential)
Trigger and decode on serial busses like I2C,SPI,UART,LIN
Basics of mixed signal scopes
Using mixed signal scopes (cross trigger, measurements)
Q & A

What is an Oscilloscope Probe?

The oscilloscope probe is the basic
electrical and physical connection of the
oscilloscope to your device under test
In theory a probe is anything that gets a
signal from your device under test to
your oscilloscope
A probe can be something as simple as
a length of wire connected to a circuit or
something as complicated as a high
bandwidth differential probe

What is an Oscilloscope Probe?

A basic probe consists of some type of connector
(BNC), a length of wire and a probe head
The probe head is the connection point of the probe to
the circuit
A probe head typically consists of some type of
insulated handle to hold the probe and the actual probe
tip or conductor
The physical connection of the probe to the circuit and
the electrical characteristics of the probe are why
knowing your probe is an important part of any
measurement
The tradeoffs between different types of probes and
how the electrical characteristics of the probe affect a
circuit or device under test are important to understand
to ensure accurate and reliable measurements

Why Worry About Scope Probes?

When you attach a probe to your circuit one

of the three things can happen:
1. You can transfer the true shape of your
waveform to the screen of the scope.
2. The probe can change the shape of the
waveform and you will observe the
differently shaped signal on the scope.
3. You can change the operation of the device
under test (a good device might start
working improperly or vice-versa)

Agenda

Probe basics
Influence of probing the device under test
Choose the right probe (passive, active, current, differential)
Trigger and decode on serial busses like I2C,SPI,UART,LIN
Basics of mixed signal scopes
Using mixed signal scopes (cross trigger, measurements)
Q & A

Why Worry About Scope Probes?

When a probe is connected to a
circuit it takes energy from the
circuit and sends it to the
oscilloscope.
The probe is an additional load
that must be driven by the signal
source.
This load on the circuit can
change the shape of a signal and
change how the device under test
behaves
Probes are designed with high
resistance in the probe tip to
reduce the energy drawn from the
signal and reduce the loading
Maintaining high impedance
across all frequencies of interest
is the only way to guarantee
accurate, reliable and repeatable
measurements

Input Resistance Does Not Tell the Whole Story

High input resistance is important but only matters at DC or low
frequency AC, at higher frequencies the capacitance of a probe
dominates the overall impedance
The resulting probe impedance (Resistance and Capacitance) can
affect the signal displayed on the oscilloscope and the signal
transmitted in your device

The Resistance and

Capacitance create an RC
network that can filter the
signal and load the circuit
changing the shape seen on
the oscilloscope

Effects of Capacitance on Probe Impedance

A typical passive probe is physically and electrically
robust, features a high 10 M input resistance
bandwidth up to 500 MHz and about 10 pF input
capacitance
This means passive probes are great at DC or low
frequency AC but have some limitations at higher
frequencies
Probe Impedance can be calculated as frequency
increases

1
R

2fc

Z
1
R

2fc

Effects of Frequency on Probe Impedance

Input Resistance
Dominated
10 MW

At different frequencies, different

characteristics of the probe become
important

Input Capacitance
Dominated

At DC or low frequencies the High Input

Resistance dominates the overall
impedance

Input
Impedance
W

As frequency increases the capacitance

dominates the impedance and dramatically
lowers the overall impedance

0
DC

Frequency

At 1 Hz the impedance of a passive probe is 10 M

At 100 Hz the impedance of a passive probe is 9.5 M
At 100 kHz the impedance of a passive probe is 174 k
At 1 MHz the impedance of a passive probe is 17.4 k
At 10 MHz the impedance of a passive probe is 1.74 k
At 100 MHz the impedance of a passive probe is 174

2 GHz

The result of the high probe capacitance

shows up in the signal shape seen on the
oscilloscope

What about Inductance?

The final piece to the electrical
characteristics of a probe is grounding
Any lead added to the probe tip or probe
ground adds inductance to the circuit
Inductance from leads can add
overshoot and ringing to the signal seen
on the oscilloscope and misrepresent
the signal being probed
A lead can also act as an antenna and
pick up electrical noise from the
environment

Effects of Inductance on Probing

Inductance from extender
leads and ground leads can
act as an antenna which
picks up electrical noise form
the environment
The noise picked up by the
probe from the gets added to
the signal. This is another
good reason to keep both
the signal lead and ground
lead as short as possible.

Ground lead length is also important

Inductance Affects Pulse Shape
Pulse measured
with 10 passive
Probe
A: Without
Ground Lead
B: 50 cm Ground
Lead
C: 10 cm Ground
Lead
D: BNC Direct
Cable Connection
(true signal shape)

Agenda

Probe basics
Influence of probing the device under test
Choose the right probe (passive, active, current, differential)
Trigger and decode on serial busses like I2C,SPI,UART,LIN
Basics of mixed signal scopes
Using mixed signal scopes (cross trigger, measurements)
Q & A

Basic Types of Probes

Passive Probe
This is the standard oscilloscope probe supplied by all scope
manufacturers
No active devices, only passive parts
Physically and electrically robust rugged mechanical design with
the ability to measure several hundred volts
Maximum bandwidth is 500 MHz but at the higher frequencies
probe loading becomes an issue
Active Probe
Usually an optional probe that is powered by the oscilloscope
through a connector on the front panel
Based off of an active device such as a transistor or FET
Not as robust as passive probe but much wider bandwidths and
much lower capacitance
The ideal probe for high frequency measurements

Basic Types of Probes

Differential Probe
Active probe that is based off a differential amplifier
Measures the difference between two signals when
there is no ground reference
Comes in two flavors
High voltage for floating measurements in a power supply,
lighting ballast, motor drive, etc,
High bandwidth for differential serial data streams

Current Probe
Active device that measures the current in a signal
rather than the voltage
3 main types, transformer based, Hall effect devices
or combination transformer/Hall effect
Most modern clamp on current probes are
combination transformer/Hall effect

Passive Probe Basics

Passive probes make an attenuator
circuit with the probe impedance and
scope impedance
Probe
9 M
Attenuation ratio
1 M /(9 M +1M)
= 1/10

Scope
1 M

Importance of Oscilloscope Coupling

Signal is attenuated too much if the
coupling is set incorrectly
Attenuation ratio
50ohm/(9Mohm+50ohm)
= 1/180,001

Probe
9 Mohm

Most modern passive probes have a probe sense pin

that mates with a probe sense ring on the oscilloscope
this automatically sets the correct coupling and
attenuation factor

Scope
50 ohm

Scope/Probe Impedance Matching

As with passive probes , the input
resistance of a scope does not tell the
whole story
Every scope input has resistance and
capacitance

Scope/Probe Impedance Matching

Passive probes have an adjustment that
allows the user to tweak the impedance of the
passive probe to match the impedance of the
scope it is connected to, this low frequency
adjustment results in improved pulse shapes
on the oscilloscope display

Compensating High Impedance Probes

Under compensated

Correct Compensation

Over compensated

High impedance probes should be compensated daily

Connect the probe to the desired input channel and set the channel coupling to 1
MOhm DC

Connect the probe tip to the CAL output on the front panel of the DSO

Adjust the LF compensation trimmer in the probe BNC box for best squarewave
response as shown in the middle trace above

Active Probe Basics

Active probes can be based on a transistor or a FET
Typically Active FET probes can provide higher
overall impedance high resistance for DC and low
frequencies, low capacitance for high frequencies

Active probes have high

resistance at the probe tip
but terminate in to the 50
coupling of the scope

High Resistance
Low capacitance

50 ohm

Active (FET) Probes

VC C+
OFFSET

C1

Fixed Or selectable
attenuation
1:1, 10:1, 100:1 (typical)

Input capacitance
0.5 - 3 pF (typical)

Input resistance
2 k - 10 MOhms (typical)

Bandwidth
500 MHz to 7.5 GHz
(typical)

Requires power source

Cable is buffered and

performance is independent
of cable length

R2

PROBE

R1

R3

OUTPUT

VC C -

Attenuation = R2 / (R1+R2)
Input Resistance = (R1+R2)
Input Capacitance < 3 pF
Caution: Active probes have
limited input voltage range

Active or Passive?
Both passive probes and active probes have
strengths and weaknesses
Knowing when to use which probe will help
make accurate and reliable measurements
Passive probes are great for low frequency
measurements where high voltages may be
probed
Active transistor probes are better for
measurements which require the highest
bandwidth possible, typically 2 GHz or greater
Active FET probes are a great general
purpose probe for all frequencies from 10 kHz
to 2 GHz but are not designed for signals
above 8 12 V

Active vs. Passive Probe Impedance

Passive probes provide the highest impedance below 20 kHz

High input capacitance causes circuit loading at high frequencies or with

low frequency signals containing high frequency content

HFP

ZS Probe

10 M

PP007

Active FET probes provide high

impedance from DC 20 kHz and
maintain that impedance out to 1.5
GHz due to low .9 pF capacitance
FET probes are truly general
purpose and the right probe to use
at any frequency

1 M

Impedance (W )

100 k

10 k

1 k
Transistor based active probes

are great for high frequency

Low input resistance causes
circuit loading at low frequencies

100

10

Frequency (Hz)

Probing a small geometry IC

The method shown here will minimize the overshoot and
ringing caused by the ground loop. A flat, spade shape
ground lead has less inductance than a circular wire shape
ground lead with the same length. Less ground lead
inductance means less induced overshoot from the probe.
An Insulated IC Tip
will prevent shorting
between legs (close
up view follows on a
later slide).
Use the Ground Blade
and Copper Pad for
the shortest possible
ground loop.

Courtesy LeCroy Corporation

The copper pad can be soldered to the

ground pins of the IC to emulate the internal
ground plane.

Probing Surface Mount Devices Using

Probing SMD components can be difficult due

to their small size.
Use the Discrete SMD
Tip to make a reliable
connection to an SMD
component
Use a variety of
ground leads like the
Short Lead to reach a
ground point
Courtesy LeCroy Corporation

Probe several different test points that have a

common ground

Use the Straight Tip to

probe small test
points
Use the Solder-In
Ground to easily use
the same ground point
over and over again
Courtesy LeCroy Corporation

Why Differential?
General purpose oscilloscopes can only measure
Ground Referenced voltages however not all
measurements are ground referenced
Consider power supply measurements where to test
points are referenced to each other and there is no
ground
Upper V measurement required
GS

between point A and B

+175 Volts
A

B
Output

- 175 Volts

Differential Voltage Measurements

Methods for making differential
measurements
Float the scope
Channel A minus Channel B
Isolators
True Differential

Floating the Scope

Floating the scope is a
bad idea
Floating the scope
can
Damage the DUT
Damage the scope
Result in poor
measurement accuracy

Floating the Scope

HAZARDOUS
VOLTAGE
EXPOSED !!!

Probe Ground Lead

Effects Corrupt Measurement

Scope Transformer or
Power Supply Stressed

CIRCUIT UNDER TEST

vSIGNAL

Z CIRCUIT

vA - B

POWER
SUPPLY
SCOPE PROBE

vC - G

B
Z GROUND LEAD

OSCILLOSCOPE
POWER CORD

Z COMMON

iCOMMON

Z SCOPE GROUND

vCOMMON
Z POWER TO GROUND
IDEAL EARTH GROUND

ILL-Defined Load Placed on Circuit

A Minus B Method
Both A & B must be on screen.
This determines the maximum sensitivity the
oscilloscope can be set at.
Limited channel accuracy matching severely
limits the ability to Reject (Subtract) the
signal that is Common to both A & B.

Line
Voltage

1W
Shunt

Load Circuit

Scope remains
safely grounded

Channel A - Channel B is not adequate when:

The Common Mode Voltage >> Voltage Being Measured

A B limitations
This technique will not work when the signal of
interest is much smaller than the common mode

Scope may not be able to obtain a stable trigger

Must trigger on either Ch A or Ch B, not the difference.

Poor high frequency CMRR restricts its use to

rejecting common mode signals at line frequency or
lower.
Channel gain much be carefully calibrated to match
probe attenuation
Standard probes and oscilloscope attenuators lack
provision to precisely match AC attenuation.

Isolators
Double
Insulated
Probe

Line
Voltage

Conventional
Scope Front End

1W
Shunt

Load Circuit

Transformer or
optical isolation

Parasitic
Capacitance

Scope remains
safely grounded

Earth Ground

An isolator allows the oscilloscope to make safe floating measurements

Consists of oscilloscope front end protected with insulation which drives a system based
on optical or transformer isolation

Limitations of Isolators

Unbalanced inputs
Parasitic capacitance
Low CMRR at high frequencies

True Differential Measurements

+175 Volts

A
B

Output

Important Characteristics:
Common Mode Range
Common Mode Rejection Ratio
True Balanced Inputs
Load sees high Impedance
Lead parasitic effects cancel out !

- 175 Volts

The Differential Solution

Remaining Lead Parasitic
Effects from CM are
Canceled Out by
Differential Input Stage

Circuit Attachment is SAFELY Made

Using Probes Rated for the Job!

Scope is Not
Overdriven

CIRCUIT UNDER TEST

vSIGNAL A

ZSCOPE PROBE

ZCIRCUIT

vA - B
B

POWER
SUPPLY

DA1855
DIFFERENTIAL
AMPLIFIER

ZSCOPE PROBE

vA - B
OSCILLOSCOPE
POWER CORD

ZCOMMON

iCOMMON

ZSCOPE GND

vCOMMON
IDEAL EARTH GND

Common Mode Voltage

(Line & Ground Loop)
Is Subtracted Out
Circuit Loading is Balanced High Impedance

Scope and
Amplifier
Operate
SAFELY at
Ground

ZPOWER TO GND
High CMRR, Wide Common Mode Range,
Signal Gain, Offset, Low Noise and Fast
Overdrive Recovery Allow Minute Details of
the A - B Signal to be Seen

True Differential Amplifiers The Best Solution

Accurate differential measurements while

oscilloscope is safely grounded
Two high impedance inputs matched inputs
High CMRR over wide frequency ranges
Two types of products
High Voltage Active Differential Probes
Good performance, low cost but CMRR, Noise and
Overdrive Recovery is sacrificed
CMRR up to 10,000:1

Differential Amplifier with probe pair

Excellent performance, highest CMRR, low noise and
excellent overdrive recovery, cost is higher
CMRR up to 100,000:1

Common Mode Rejection

Common Mode Rejection is the ability of the
differential amplifier to eliminate the common mode
voltage from the output.
Real world differential amplifiers do not remove all of
the common mode signal.
The measure of how effective the differential
amplifier is in removing common mode is Common
Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR).
Why do we care about CMRR?
Common mode feedthrough sums with the signal of
interest and becomes indistinguishable from the true signal

40

Common Mode Rejection

Flyback Topology Switchmode Power Supply
Drain to Source Measurement

Common Mode Rejection

High Performance Differential Amplifier Both
inputs connected to the Source

CMRR Observations
In this particular measurement there is so
much common mode feed through that the
signal shape can be seen when using either
probe
The difference is that the high performance
amplifier feed through is 5 to 6 times less than
the high voltage differential probe
The 100,000:1 CMRR specification of the
amplifier helps maintain accurate
measurements in a variety of noisy scenarios
where common mode interface can corrupt
measurements

CMRR changes with Frequency

ADP30x

High Performance
Differential Amplifiers
start at higher CMRR,
up to 100,000:1 and can
be maintained across
wide frequency bands

DA1855A

CMRR

100,000

HV Differential probes
have good CMRR at DC
and low frequency but it
cannot be maintained
through the entire probe
bandwidth

10,000

1,000
10

100

1,000

10,000
Frequency (Hz)

100,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

How Do We Measure Current?

Shunts
DC to High Frequency AC
Embedded Sensors

Transformers
AC Current Transformers (CT)
AC Current Probes

Hall Devices
DC to Low Frequency AC

Transformers + Hall Devices

DC to High Frequency AC

Measuring Current - Shunts

Advantages
Low inductance coaxial shunts
can be very accurate
Wide Bandwidth - DC to High
Frequency
Wide dynamic range - high crest
factor

ISOURCE = VSHUNT / RSHUNT

Disadvantages

TO SCOPE

Requires differential voltage

measurement
Inserts Impedance (resistance)
Into Circuit Under Test
Requires circuit to be broken

Measuring Current Current Transformer (CT)

ISOURCE = (VTERM / RTERM) / Turns Ratio
n = (TS / TP)

Advantages
Precision transformers can be
very accurate
Low cost

RTERM

Disadvantages
Measures only AC
DC component moves
(lowers) the dynamic
operating range for
measuring AC components
Requires circuit to be broken
Inserts Impedance Into Circuit
Under Test

Measuring Current Transformer/Hall Device

Current Probes
Advantages
Hall Device
AC Winding

Measures both AC & DC

Easy to attach to circuit
Moderate cost

Disadvantages
May require access wire to
be added to circuit
Inserts Impedance Into
Circuit Under Test

Oscilloscope Current Probes

Most oscilloscope current probes use the combination
of transformer and Hall technologies
These types of probes provide a more general
purpose solution because of the ability to measure
from DC to high frequency AC
These types of probes also can be designed with a
split core so they can be clamped on to the circuit not
requiring a break in the wire