Electronics Measurement &

Instrumentation
4EC3-06
Unit -3
Cathode Ray Oscilloscope
Dr. Girraj Sharma
Associate Professor
Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering
JAIPUR ENGINEERING COLLEGE AND RESEARCH CENTRE, JAIPUR

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Video animation of CRT
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
General purpose CRO

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Sampling Oscilloscope

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Digital Storage Oscilloscope

Digital Storage Oscilloscope is an instrument that analyses the signal digitally and stores
the data in the electronic digital memory. By examining the stored traces in memory, it can
display visual as well as numerical values.

• It digitizes the input signal in order to have subsequent digital signals. The input is stored
in digital memory in the form of 0 and 1. This stored digitized signal is then viewed on
the CRT screen after the signal reconstruction in analog form.

• Here, the digital copy of input waveform is stored and further analysed using Digital
Signal Processing techniques.

• The maximum frequency that can be measured by using Digital Oscilloscope

basically depends on sampling rate and nature of converter.

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Block diagram of a DSO

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Oscilloscope (CRO) Probes

• Oscilloscope Probes are a conducting wire which is used to establish a connection between the circuit under test
and the measuring instrument. While connecting the test circuit, the probe does not alter, load or disturbs the
circuit and signal conditions to be analyzed.

• Any signal going to the oscilloscope will first pass through the probe. Therefore bandwidth of probes combines
with the bandwidth of CRO. The probe bandwidth must be higher than the oscilloscope bandwidth. The probe
bandwidth is chosen to at least 10 times of CRO frequency.

• The probe should have high impedance. The probe bandwidth should be as high as possible. It should be about 10
times the bandwidth of the oscilloscope. The ideal oscilloscope probes offer the following key attributes:

1. Ease of connection
2. Absolute signal fidelity
3. Zero signal source loading
4. Complete noise immunity

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

The general diagram of the oscilloscope probes is shown in the Figure below.

1.Direct probe
2.Isolation Probe
3.High impedance or 10: 1 Probe
4.Active Probes
5.Current Probe
6.Differential Probes

•These are the simplest type of probes.

•These probes terminate with banana tips or other
Direct Probe 1:1 types of tips.
•The tip of the probe has crocodile clips or other
means of connecting the oscilloscope to the test
circuit.
•The probes use shielded co-axial cable.
•This type of probe does not provide any
improvement in the input impedance. They are
called as “1X probes”.

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Isolation Probe •The input capacitance of the oscilloscope and the stray
capacitance of the test lead are very high. It causes the sensitive
circuit to break into oscillation when CRO is connected.
•This effect can be prevented by an isolation probe. The isolation
probe is made by placing a carbon resistor in series with a test
lead.
•An isolation probe is employed to avoid the undesirable circuit
loading effect of the shielded probe.

High Impedance or 10: 1 Probe •This probe is also known as a passive voltage probe.
•The basic function of this probe is to increase the input
impedance and reduce the effective input capacitance of an
oscilloscope.
•This probe head uses a parallel resistor and capacitor
combination.
•The resistance R1 is shunted by an adjustable capacitor C1.
This capacitor is called a compensating capacitor.
•The resistor R1 and C1 are designed such that, input increases
by factor 10 and input capacitance decreases by a factor of 10.
Therefore this combination of R1 and C1 is called x10 probe.

Active Probe •The active probes are used for connecting fast-rising and
high-frequency signals.
•These probes are very useful for small signal measurements
as their attenuation factor is very small.
•The active probe consists of an active element like FET
source follower circuit and BJT emitter follower circuit along
with a co-axial cable termination.
•FET source follower provides high input impedance which
reduces loading effect.
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Current Probe •CRO can be used to measure current if the current is converted to a
voltage. It is done by the current probe.
•It uses the concept of the Hall Effect. According to Hall Effect, when a
current flow in conductor or semiconductor which is perpendicular to the
magnetic field, a potential difference appears between the opposite edges
of conductor or semiconductor at right angles to the current and to the
magnetic field.
•This probe provides a method of inductively coupling the signal to the
CRO input.
•The direct electrical connection between the test circuit and CRO is not
necessary.
•This probe can be clamped around a wire carrying an electrical current
without any physical contact to the probe. Thus the magnitude of current
with a frequency range from d.c to 50 MHz can be measured using this
probe.

Differential Probes
•They are an active probe.
•It has two inputs, positive and negative.
•It has a separate ground lead and it drives single terminated 50Ω cable
to transmit its output to one oscilloscope channel.
•The output voltage signal is proportional to the difference between the
voltages appearing to the input terminals. There is a restriction that the
two input signals must be within a few volts from the ground so that
signals can stay within the dynamic range of the probe.
•The output is proportional to the difference between the two inputs
and hence the name, differential probe.

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Numerical Problems

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC

Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC
Dr. Girraj Sharma, Asso. Prof. JECRC