EE 420L Engineering Electronics II - Lab 2

Eric Monahan
monahan@unv.nevada.edu
2/10/16

Lab 2: Opera on of a Compensated Scope Probe

Perform, and document in your html lab report, the following:
Show scope waveforms of a 10:1 probe undercompensated, overcompensated, and compensated correctly.
Comment on where the type of scope probe (i.e., 1:1, 10:1, 100:1, etc.) is set on your scope (some scopes detect the type of probe used automa cally).
Dra the schema c of a 10:1 scope probe showing: the 9 MEG resistor, 1 MEG scope input resistance, capacitance of the cable, scope input capacitance, and capacitance in the probe p.
Using circuit analysis, and reasonable/correct values for the capacitances, show using circuit analysis and alegbra (no approxima ons), that the voltage on the input of the scope is 0.1 the
voltage on the probe p.
Devise an experiment, using a scope, pulse generator, and a resistor, to measure the capacitance of a length of cable. Compare your measurement results to the value you obtain with a
capacitance meter. Make sure you show your hand calcula ons.
Build a voltage divider using two 100k resistors. Apply a 0 to 1 V pulse at 1 MHz to the divider's input. Measure, and show in your report, the output of the divider when probing with a cable
(having a length greater than or equal to 3 ) and then a compensated scope probe. Discuss and explain the differences.
Finally, briefly discuss how you would implement a test point on a printed circuit board so that a known length of cable could be connected directly to the board and not load the circuitry on the
board.

Experiment 1: Show scope waveforms of a 10:1 probe undercompensated, overcompensated, and compensated correctly.
correctly

Undercompensated Probe Overcompensated Probe Compensated Probe

Experiment 2: Comment on where the type of scope probe (i.e., 1:1, 10:1, 100:1, etc.) is set on your scope (some scopes detect the type of probe used automa cally).

The type of scope probe is set in the channel menu for the Textronix oscilloscope used in the experiment. The channel menu allows the user to choose the proper a enua on for the type of probe
being u lized. A probe fixed at a 10:1 a enua on was used throughout the experiment. The image on the le below displays the 10X a enua on printed on the BNC connector, the 10MΩ system
input resistance, the typical input capacitance, 12pF, and the bandwidth, 200MHz. The image on the right displays the menu for channel 2 with the probe type set at 10X.

BNC Connector 10X A enua on

The table below is directly from the Tektronix website and offers a perspec ve on the range of different values for the parameters men oned above. Based on the table, the model is possibly a P6117
or an earlier model of the same type.

Source: Tektronix

Experiment 3: Dra the schema c of a 10:1 scope probe showing: the 9 MEG resistor, 1 MEG scope input resistance, capacitance of the cable, scope input capacitance,
and capacitance in the probe p.

The 10:1 probe schema c below displays the circuit u lized to gain the a enua on necessary to account for the probe effect on the circuit. Running the same simula on as demonstrated in the pre-
lab video resulted in the waveform to the right of the circuit. The pulse input from 0V to 1V results in an output of approximately 100mV. This validates the proper compensa on has been achieved by
the circuit.

Schema c 10:1 Probe 10:1 Probe Waveform

Using the same techniques outlined for crea ng a 10:1 probe, the schema c below displays a 100:1 scope probe with the resul ng waveform. As expected, the pulse output from 0V to 1V results in an
output of approximately 10mV.

Schema c 100:1 Probe 100:1 Probe Waveform

Experiment 4: Using circuit analysis, and reasonable/correct values for the capacitances, show using circuit analysis and alegbra (no approxima ons), that the voltage on
the input of the scope is 0.1 the voltage on the probe p.

The circuit analysis and algebra demonstra ng the voltage on the input of the scope is equivalent to 0.1 the voltage on the probe p. Calcula ons are performed assuming a scope input capacitance of
15pF and a cable capacitance of 90pF. The image on the le displays the circuit with impedances in parallel circled and labeled to correlate with the calcula ons displayed in the image on the right.

Circuit with Labeled Impedances Circuit Analysis

Experiment 5: Devise an experiment, using a scope, pulse generator, and a resistor, to measure the capacitance of a length of cable. Compare your measurement results to
the value you obtain with a capacitance meter. Make sure you show your hand calcula ons.

The simplest experiment to measure the capacitance of the cable is to create a simple RC circuit using the scope probe and cable as the capacitor in series with a resistor measured at 108kΩ. Using a

voltage pulse, as input and measuring the me the output of the circuit takes to reach 50% of , known as the delay me, allows deriva on of the capacitor value through the rela onships
displayed in the calcula ons in the center image. The image to the le below is the oscilloscope waveform for the simple RC circuit displaying a measured delay me of 980.0ns for a 1V input pulse at
100kHz. Using the measured me delay resulted in a calculated value of 13pF. Measuring the cable capacitance with a mul -meter resulted in a value of 28pF. This is higher than the calculated value
obtained, but may be due to varia ons in the different methods of measuring. For example, the probes used to measure the cable capacitance on the meter are long cables with their own capacitance
that varies depending on how far apart or close they are held to one another.

Delay Time of RC Circuit Cable Capacitance Deriva on

Experiment 6: Build a voltage divider using two 100k resistors. Apply a 0 to 1 V pulse at 1 MHz to the divider's input. Measure, and show in your report, the output of the
divider when probing with a cable (having a length greater than or equal to 3 ) and then a compensated scope probe. Discuss and explain the differences.

The waveform on the le below displays the input and output of the voltage divider when probing the output using a compensated probe. The center image displays the output measured with an
uncompensated cable, pictured in the image on the right. The compensated probe has a 10:1 a enua on and results in approximately 100mV output for a 1V input. This is due to the compensa on
that reduces the capacitance introduced to the circuit and the small RC resul ng in the capacitor taking less me to charge and thus allowing for a measurable signal. The uncompensated probe
results in a large capacitance being introduced to the circuit with a resul ng RC constant that is high and difficult to measure due to the extended me necessary for the introduced capacitance to fully
charge. This is demonstrated by the nearly linear output in the center image. The cable is effec vely ac ng as a wire.

Compensated Probe Uncompensated Cable Actual Cable used in Experiment 6

Experiment 7: Finally, briefly discuss how you would implement a test point on a printed circuit board so that a known length of cable could be connected directly to the
board and not load the circuitry on the board.

A test point can be implemented on a PCB such that a resistor and a variable capacitor in parallel are included in the circuit design process to prevent any effects that would occur when a known
length of cable is a ached to the test point. Essen ally, the probe compensa on is included in the circuit design and would allow probing with the uncompensated cable while minimizing the impact
of the scope input and cable capacitance on the circuit opera on.

Conclusion

Laboratory experiment two introduced the topic of scope probe compensa on and an opportunity to learn about the techniques involved in compensa ng scope probes, as well as the effects
compensated and uncompensated scope probes have on circuits. The influence uncompensated scope probes have on circuits by introducing large capacitances and altering circuit opera on can be
minimized by designing a circuit to compensate for the scope input capacitance and cable capacitance. This includes a resistor and capacitor in parallel at the p of the probe calculated via a basic
voltage divider to reduce the capacitance introduced to the circuit and allow for a faster signal. The result of laboratory experiment two is a more insigh ul comprehension of the impact a measuring
device can have on a circuit.

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