Oscilloscope Technology Basics

This presentation will provide a general overview of what modern oscilloscopes can do when
acquiring and analyzing complex electronic signals.

1
 Oscilloscopes
and
Accessories

62+ Years
World Class Leader

2 May 2006

The co-founders of Tektronix were Jack Murdock and Howard Vollum. Tektronix started its
business in 1946, by offering the first calibrated and triggered analog oscilloscope, called the
model 511.

2
 Why Do People Need Oscilloscopes?

3 May 2006

Tektronix has been the world leader in oscilloscopes since the company began in 1946.
Oscilloscopes are used to make measurements in the design, manufacture, installation,
service and repair of most products that we take for granted today.

3
 Worldwide Oscilloscope Market is
> $1,000,000,000 Annually

Design and Debug

Manufacturing Test
and Quality Control

Serial Analysis and

Compliance

Service and Repair

Education and Training

4 May 2006

The worldwide oscilloscope market is well over 1 billion dollars. The primary customers for
oscilloscopes are scientists, engineers and technicians who work for companies and
governments around the world. An oscilloscope is considered the main tool needed in
making most measurements in the industrial world.

4
 The Oscilloscope
Is Often Referred to As…

A Window. . .

. . . into the world of electronics

5 May 2006

Oscilloscopes are used to acquire and display measured information in various ways, based
on the application. In other words, an oscilloscope becomes a window into the world of
electronic measurements.

5
 All Oscilloscopes Can Draw a Graph of Amplitude
Over Time

ƒ Like a graph, Oscilloscopes help you see what happens over a

period of time

100
90
80
Qty or Strength

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

r
ril

t
y

r
ry

ch

ay

er
us

be

be
be
ar

l
n

Ju
ua

Ap

ob
M

Ju
ar

m
nu

m
em
br

Au
M

ct

ve

ce
Ja

pt
Fe

No

De
Se
Time

6 May 2006

The most fundamental way that an oscilloscope displays measured information is with a
graph of the measured signal’s varying amplitude over time.

6
 Special Purpose Oscilloscope

ƒ A Heart Monitor is an oscilloscope optimized to examine the

“wave shape” of a human heart beat

7 May 2006

A heart monitor draws this kind of graph when displaying the wave shape of a human heart
beat..

7
 Oscilloscopes
Take Pictures of Waveforms

ƒ The Oscilloscope acquires “Pictures” of the signal in a

sequence, to create a waveform display

8 May 2006

An oscilloscope can be thought of as a camera that acquires and displays sequential

pictures of the changing signal.

8
 All Oscilloscopes Need Probes

9 May 2006

An oscilloscope is not complete without some way to deliver the signal of interest to the
oscilloscope input. For this purpose, there are many types of signal probes available, based
on the type of signal being measured.

9
 Oscilloscopes Measure
Voltage Changes Over Time

ƒ Think of Voltage as Pressure in a Water Line

Pressure Is “Force per Unit Area”

such as “Pounds per Square Inch”

Pressure Also Is “Potential Energy/Unit of Volume”

(Energy = ForceXDistance)

Voltage = Potential Energy/Unit

of Electrical Charge

1 Volt = 1 Joule/Coulomb = 1 Newton-Meter/Coulomb

Newton = Metric Unit of Force
Meter = Metric Unit of Distance
Coulomb = Unit of Electric Charge (Cubic in Nature, Like Water!)

10 May 2006

An oscilloscope is designed to measure voltage at its inputs. Voltage is like pressure in the
mechanical world, and is an electronic measure of potential energy per unit of electric
charge. In the metric system, this is Joules per Coulomb of charge, or Newton-Meters per
Coulomb. A Newton is the metric unit of force. A meter is the unit of distance. The Coulomb
is the metric unit of electric charge.

10
 Oscilloscopes Can Also Measure
Current Changes Over Time

ƒ Think of Current (Amps) as the Flow of Water in a Water Line

Water Flow Is “Volume/Time”

such as “Gallons per Minute”

Current = Units of Electric Charge per Second

1 Amp (of current) = 1 Coulomb/Second

Coulomb = Unit of Electric Charge (Cubic in Nature, Like Water!)
= 6.25X1018 Electrons
Second = Unit of Time

11 May 2006

With the appropriate probe, an oscilloscope can also measure the varying flow of electric
current in an electric conductor over time. Electric current, or Amps, is the amount of
electric charge that flows in a conductor per second. This is much like the flow of water
volume in a water line, typically measured in gallons or liters per second. The unit of electric
charge is the Coulomb, equal to 6.25 times 10 to the 18th power, in number of electrons.

11
 Oscilloscopes Can Also Measure
the Frequency of a Signal

ƒ Frequency Is Simply the Rate of Occurrence of an Event

Frequency Implies a Repeating Event

1 GHz = 1 Billion Events per Second

Signal
Amplitude

Frequency = Event Cycles per Second Time

= Hertz (Hz)

12 May 2006

When a repeating signal is observed on the display of an oscilloscope, it is easy to see the
repeating nature of this signal. The signal’s rate of occurrence is its frequency, measured in
Hertz, or event cycles per second. It is possible, with today’s highest performance
oscilloscopes, to see the repeating nature of waveforms that are repeating at frequencies up
to and beyond 70 billion cycles per second, otherwise stated as 70 GHz.

12
 What Is Oscilloscope Bandwidth?

Bandwidth = Sine Wave -3 dB Point of a System

0 dB - 3 dB
6 div at 50 kHz 4.2 div at bandwidth

Bandwidth x Risetime = 0.35*

100 MHz Bandwidth = 3.5 nsec Risetime

* This constant is based on a one pole model. For higher

bandwidth instruments, this constant can range as high as 0.45.

13 May 2006

Bandwidth is the most often referenced banner specification for oscilloscopes. Bandwidth is
defined as the sine wave amplitude response of a system, where the sine wave output of
the system is attenuated by 3dB relative to the input. It is possible to estimate the square
wave rise time and/or fall time limits of an oscilloscope from it’s bandwidth specification.
Bandwidth multiplied by rise time will equal 0.35 when the combined oscilloscope and probe
response follows a one pole RC time constant model.
For high bandwidth oscilloscopes, this bandwidth times rise time relationship can range as
high as 0.45 for a system with constant group delay in the frequency domain. In other words,
this requires that there is no phase distortion of the spectral harmonic components in the
signal response of the oscilloscope. This is not always true for all oscilloscope vendors.
Higher bandwidth specifications are often advertised at the expense of increased square
wave aberrations. Phase distortion of spectral sine wave signal content can cause serious
aberrations on a displayed square wave signal. Tektronix prides itself in providing the best
oscilloscope step response signal fidelity in the industry.

13
 Step Response Aberrations Are Deviations
From an Ideal Square Wave Step

Settling
Time
for Ringing Droop
Overshoot

Peak Peak-to-Peak
Rounding

Nonlinearity

Preshoot

14 May 2006

Most signals being measured today by oscilloscopes are very complex. The step response
of an oscilloscope and probe combination is what gives confidence to the user. Step
response aberrations occur when there are deviations from an ideal square wave shape.
Step response can be verified by using a standard fast rise and/or fall time square wave
signal, that is faster than the signal to be measured. This can help to verify that the actual
signal being measure is displayed correctly, without distortion from the oscilloscope and
probe. Of course, the source impedance of the device under test is also a consideration,
since this impedance will interact with the probe impedance.

14
 Probe and Signal Impedance
Can Reduce Rise Time on a Square Wave

Rsource 1 kΩ
Probe Tip tr ~
~ 2.2 (Rsource * Cin)
Rise Time
10 MΩ CIn Increase 220 nsec
tRise Time 3 ns
Due To Cin= 100pF ~
~ for 1X Probe
Vsource LGround Lead Capacitance
Loading 22 nsec
Cin= 10pF ~
~ for 10X Probe

100% 100%
90% 90%

10% 10%
0% 0%

Rise Time Waveform for Rise Time Waveform for

the 1X Passive Probe the 10X Passive Probe

15 May 2006

Probes can interact with the circuit being tested. The 10X passive probe is recommended
for many oscilloscopes and is used extensively in the industry. In this example, the
expectation is to see a rise time (Tr) of 3 nano-seconds that is coming from a circuit with a
source impedance of 1 k-Ohm. The rise time is displayed as 22 nano-seconds using the
recommended 10X passive probe, and 220 nano-seconds for a 1X probe. Needless to say,
traditional probes simply will not do the job!

15
 Probe Lead Inductance and Capacitance
Can Cause Ringing on a Square Wave

Probe Tip
Rsource 50 Ω
10 MΩ CIn
Lsource LGround Lead
Vsource 10 pF

0.1 – 0.2 µH

For a 10X Passive Probe with Cin = 10 pF

and a 3” Lead Loop Diameter
Ring
Amplitude
~
~ 50% Amplitude Error

Typical Ring Ring Frequency Using

Frequency From 1
3” Lead Loop = ~
~ 100 - 160 MHz a 10 pF Input Capacitance
10X High Z Passive Probe
Diameter 2π LC
and 3” Lead Loop Diameter

16 May 2006

This next example assumes that there is a much lower 50 Ohm source impedance from the
signal to be measured. What happens to the rising edge of a pulse when using a single
ended probe with a ground lead that is too long?
The inductance of the probe’s ground lead and circuit return combine with the probe’s input
capacitance to create a series resonant circuit.. This circuit can ring, or resonate at a
frequency determined by the value of the inductance (L) and capacitance (C). The effect
shows up as ringing on the rising edge of the displayed pulse. For this example, a three
inch diameter ground loop, with between 0.1 and 0.2 micro-Henries of inductance, combined
with 10 pico-Farads of capacitance from the typical 10X passive probe, will ring at a
frequency between 100 and 160 MHz. A pulse with a 1 nano-second rise time will have a
bandwidth equivalent of 350 MHz, which is more than fast enough to ring the 100 to 160
MHz resonant circuit as shown in this slide.
In order to minimize the effects of inductive and capacitive loading from the probe, the L or C
must be reduced. It is often not possible to reduce the probe lead and circuit return
inductive paths enough to resolve the measurement needs. The only remaining answer is to
reduce the probe’s capacitance, by using an active probe.

16
 Real Time Digital Performance Defines
Sample Rate and Record Length

Analog Digital
Sample Rate
Record Length

A/D Memory

Analog Analog
Signal Signal

Electron Beam

ƒ Beam is bright only when enough electrons can ƒ Record Length is the number of samples acquired
strike the phosphor (Writing Speed) in a single acquisition
ƒ Sample Rate is measured as Samples per Second
(S/s, kS/s, MS/s, GS/s)

17 May 2006

Analog oscilloscopes have traditionally been appreciated for their troubleshooting abilities, as well
as their advantage of having a continuous waveform display. The continuous resolution display
provides waveforms to be viewed “alias free.” This continuous waveform display also results in an
intensity graded image that shows slower moving parts of the waveform to be brighter than faster
moving details. Analog oscilloscopes have also had a traditional advantage over their digital
counterparts when it comes to “waveform capture rate.” This capability addresses how many
triggered waveforms per second can be displayed. This is important when there are untriggered
infrequent anomalies (problems) that exist on a normally repeating waveform that you would like
to see. These infrequent problems can and do occur during “holdoff” time, when the oscilloscope
is not acquiring the signal for display. This holdoff time is determined by both the repetition rate of
the triggering signal, as well as the oscilloscope technology being used. The key is to minimize
this holdoff time, to maximize the probability of capturing the infrequent anomalies.
One very important difference between an analog and a digital storage oscilloscope is that in an
analog oscilloscope, the trigger tells the sweep when to begin. This significantly limits the viewing
of waveform details before the trigger. In a digital storage oscilloscope, the trigger actually tells
the waveform acquisition when to stop. This allows the selection of how many data points are to
be acquired before the trigger. With this flexibility, advanced pulse and logic triggering can be
used to acquire and display specific pulse types. Pre-trigger data can be specified to show all of
the pulse details that exist before the “end of pulse” trigger reference.
The most obvious benefit of the digital storage oscilloscope is it’s ability to store waveforms. This
is an enabler for many of the other benefits. It can capture infrequent anomalies. Stored
waveforms can be studied in detail. Pulse conditions such as dropout, slew rate, width, glitch,
setup and hold, and time qualified logic patterns or states can be triggered on. With fast sample
rate and long record length, much more of the signal can be analyzed.

17
 Take a Closer Look . . .
Zoom in on a Waveform Detail

ƒ Horizontal delayed sweep enables expansion of the glitch

18 May 2006

When anomalies appear on the displayed signal, it is often important to zoom in on the
details of the anomaly. With a long record length, this can be accomplished after the signal
has been captured with zoom and search functions in the oscilloscope. On the other hand, it
is possible with many oscilloscopes to delay and expand after the trigger to acquire a new
expanded waveform display of the predicted anomaly.

18
 Oscilloscope Triggering

ƒ Triggering references
the acquisition of a
waveform

Trigger Point

19 May 2006

Triggering is at the heart of any oscilloscope. Without an appropriate trigger, the signal of
interest will not be captured.

19
 Oscilloscope Edge Triggering

ƒ Trigger Type: Edge

ƒ Source: Channel 1
ƒ Slope: Rising
ƒ Mode: Normal
ƒ Coupling: DC

Trigger Point

20 May 2006

All oscilloscopes have edge triggering. The trigger point on the displayed signal will be
indicated in some way by vertical and horizontal marks. In addition to selecting edge trigger
mode, the user must also specify the trigger signal amplitude level, channel source, positive
or negative slope, and coupling such as AC, DC, high frequency reject, low frequency reject,
or noise reject.
For all triggering types, one of three triggering update modes must also be selected. Normal
trigger mode simply means that the acquisition of a new waveform must wait for the next
specified signal trigger. Auto trigger mode will wait for about one twentieth of a second since
the last trigger, for a new trigger in the signal. If a new trigger from the signal does not occur
within this wait time, a trigger will be automatically generated. Single trigger mode is
activated by a momentary reset button, that enables the trigger system to trigger one time on
the next specified trigger condition. There is usually a single trigger indicator on the front
panel or display of the oscilloscope, informing the user that the trigger system is waiting for
the next trigger.

20
 Oscilloscope Pulse Triggering

ƒ Trigger Type: Pulse

ƒ Source: Channel 1
ƒ When: Equals (=)
ƒ Pulse Width: 297 ns
ƒ Polarity: Positive ~300 ns
ƒ Mode: Normal
ƒ Coupling: DC

Trigger is placed after the ~300 ns Pulse

21 May 2006

Many oscilloscopes offer various types of advanced pulse triggering functions. These functions
allow the user to select specific pulse parameters, or features, to trigger on.
Pulse width triggering is the most common type of pulse triggering, where one or two pulse width
numbers are specified, referenced to a triggering amplitude level and polarity on the signal. It can
then be further specified to trigger only on pulse widths that are less than, or greater than a
specified width, or within or outside of two specified time limits.
Runt Triggering is defined by the amplitude of a pulse instead of its width. For this to occur, two
amplitude thresholds must be selected. Runts are then defined to be pulses that are too small in
amplitude. This occurs when the signal level starts outside of the two specified levels, and then
the signal transitions across the closest trigger level, and back out the same level, without
transitioning the other level.
Slew Rate Triggering occurs only on a signal that may have occasional incorrect rising and/or
falling edges that could cause an error in a digital circuit. Two amplitude limits and one time limit
must first be selected. It is then necessary to select whether a signal transition is either too fast, or
too slow. Finally, positive and/or negative polarity needs to be selected. In this way, triggering will
occur only when the rising or falling edge is either too fast or too slow.
Setup and Hold Trigger mode is yet another advanced triggering ability, that requires two signal
channels. Digital flip-flops and D edge trigger devices are used extensively when time
synchronization is required, especially with asynchronous interfaces like keyboards and
peripherals to computers. Metastable faults can occur when the clock and data signal transitions
occur too close together in time. This violation is defined by the setup and hold time specifications
for the flip-flop or edge trigger device that is being using. Setup and Hold Trigger mode allows
triggering to occur only on violations based on this specification.
Advanced triggering modes for oscilloscopes also include Logic Triggering, such as you might
expect on a logic analyzer. These logic conditions can also be time qualified for triggering. In
other words, if a logic condition lasts for less than (or more than) some specified amount of time,
then trigger only on that condition. It is also possible to trigger on the “lack of trigger” based on a
defined amount of time.

21
 Oscilloscope Video Triggering

ƒ Trigger Type: Video

ƒ Source: Channel 1
ƒ Polarity: Normal
ƒ Sync: Odd Field
ƒ Standard: NTSC

22 May 2006

Video signal triggering is offered on many oscilloscopes. This can include both analog and
digital video triggering for standard, custom and high definition video signals. Features such
as field and line selection are often available.

22
 View Events Before a Trigger . . .

ƒ With a Digital Storage

Pretrigger
Oscilloscope you can
position the location
of the trigger and see
events leading up to
the triggering event.

23 May 2006

The ability to see signal content both before and after the specified trigger point is a key
capability of most digital storage oscilloscopes. This trigger position point is usually selected
as a percentage of the total acquisition record length.

23
 See a Low Frequency Signal
by Using Roll or Scan Display Mode

ƒ With an analog scope, you are ƒ With Digital Storage, the signal
limited by the phosphor decay is clear and easy to see with
time at slow time base settings Roll or Scan mode

24 May 2006

When a modern oscilloscope updates the display with new waveforms, it typically does this
a waveform at a time. However, when very slow signals are being displayed, such as at one
second per division or more, it is not practical to wait for a complete waveform to appear.
For this situation, an analog oscilloscope shows a slow moving dot, scanning from left to
right across the screen, plotting the vertical signal amplitude as it goes. The phosphor
persistence is the only displayed signal storage. To address this situation, some digital
storage oscilloscopes, at slow time base settings such as one second per division, can place
and store new waveform samples from left to right across the display as they occur. This is
called Scan mode, and simulates the scanning operation of an analog oscilloscope. On the
other hand, most digital storage oscilloscopes today use Roll display mode for slow time
base settings. Roll mode places new waveform samples, as they occur, at the right most
horizontal point on the display. And as a new sample appears at the right of the display, all
other displayed waveform points shift to the left one point. This causes the displayed
waveform to roll from right to left across the display, as new samples are acquired. The
advantage for Roll display mode is that the most recent window of time is always displayed.

24
 Capture Single Shot Events
With Fast Sample Rate

ƒ Acquires signals to full bandwidth, even at the fastest sweep

speed

. . . if you can trigger on the

signal . . . you can see it.

25 May 2006

Most analog oscilloscopes cannot display fast single shot signals. This is because the
writing speed of the electron beam in a typical real time analog oscilloscope is not adequate
to see one trace of the beam across the display. At fast time base settings, such as 1
nanosecond per division or faster, typical analog oscilloscopes can only display waveforms
that are repeating thousands of times per second or more. This allows the electron beam to
integrate enough energy to the display, to see the repeating waveform. Only with very
special micro channel plate technology from the past, is it possible to see the flash of a
single high speed trace on the display of an analog oscilloscope.
Modern digital storage oscilloscopes are able to acquire and display high speed single shot
signals by using fast sample rate. It is now possible to acquire waveforms from up to four
channels simultaneously, at 50 giga samples per second per channel. For this condition,
there is only 20 trillionths of a second between samples on each channel.

25
 See Multiple Signals at the Same Time

ƒ Two start-up waveforms from a

power supply
ƒ With Digital Storage, you can
see both waveforms on the same
display for easy and accurate
comparisons

26 May 2006

Acquiring and storing waveforms on two or more channels at a time allows for analysis of
signal behavior on today’s complex multi signal systems.

26
 See How Much a Signal Changes Over Time
With Infinite Persistence

27 May 2006

As waveform shapes change over time, it is possible to save these changing details with
Infinite Persistence display mode.

27
 Swept Frequency Display Shows
Aliasing Effects in Sample Mode

ƒ First Trace ƒ Second Trace

– Sample Mode – Peak Detect Mode
– Shows Many Alias Types – Reduces Aliasing

NOTE: Both Traces Represent the Same Waveform

28 May 2006

Most waveforms have both slow and fast moving details. The left waveform display
example shows how Sample Mode can “alias” fast moving waveform details. For this
example, the displayed sample rate is only 25 kS/s at a time base setting of 2.00
ms/division. The swept sine wave is correctly displayed at the left of the screen, but
becomes totally incorrect in the middle to right of the display, where the sine waves are
occurring much faster than the sample rate can keep up with. The right waveform display
shows how Peak Detect mode can help to remove the “alias,” and show more correctly what
is happening on the waveform.
In Peak Detect mode, the display is divided into “min/max” time intervals. Over 2 sample
intervals on the screen, many thousands of samples will be digitized with the fast A/D
converter. Over these many samples, only 2 are saved, the most positive and the most
negative. These two values are saved on the fly with fast digital comparators. This process
of saving min/max pairs is repeated for the total display. In other words, min/max pairs of
waveform data points can be displayed, where the minimum and maximum values were
acquired and saved at a much faster rate. This mode retains the amplitude extremes saved
by the fast sample rate of the A/D converter, and allows for the user to at least see the
amplitude extremes that occur, when the displayed sample rate is much slower.

28
 Envelope Mode Can Accumulate Noise
Average Mode Can Reduce Random Noise

ƒ First Trace
– Envelope Mode
– Shows Maximum Noise

ƒ Second Trace
– Average Mode
– Reduces Noise

29 May 2006

The top trace on this slide represents Envelope mode over many triggered acquisitions, and
shows the peak to peak aberrations that are present on the signal. This includes both noise
and glitches.
The bottom trace shows the use of averaging, which provides a low pass filter that
eliminates displaying uncorrelated noise on the otherwise repeating signal.

29
 Make Amplitude and
Time Measurements With Cursors

3.92 V

Time Cursors
3.88 V
3.600 ns

40.0 mV
-2.500 ns

Amplitude Cursors

1.100 ns

30 May 2006

It is often important to make manually selected amplitude and time measurements on the
oscilloscope’s displayed waveform. Manual cursors help to make these measurements.
Most oscilloscopes provide screen based manual cursor measurements with amplitude and
time readouts. Waveform based cursor measurements are also possible on some digital
storage oscilloscopes. This is most valuable when amplitude at time, or amplitude at
frequency for FFT, is needed. For this kind of measurement, a cross hair cursor on a
waveform, or set of waveforms, is manually positioned in time, or frequency for a FFT
display. The amplitude and time or frequency measurements are then displayed.

30
 Make Automatic
Parametric Measurements

ƒ With Digital Storage answers are automatic and accurate

Frequency Counter

31 May 2006

Hands free automatic measurements are also possible on most digital storage
oscilloscopes. These include amplitude measurements such as peak to peak, mean and
RMS, as well as time related measurements like width, period, and frequency. On some
oscilloscopes, it is also possible to make gated or windowed measurements by using
horizontal cursors.

31
 Use Math
to Add, Subtract or Multiply Waveforms

ƒ Channel 1 plus channel 2 ƒ Channel 2 minus channel 1

results in a Math (red) results in a Math (red)
waveform waveform

32 May 2006

Waveform math functions are very useful for many reasons. For example, it is possible to
subtract one waveform from another, to make a differential measurement with two probes
connected to two channels, when stringent common mode rejection ratio and DC offset
range are not important. Also, by multiplying a voltage waveform with a current waveform
for the same circuit, it is possible to display a power waveform in Watts.

32
 Use Math
to Display FFT Spectrum Analysis

ƒ The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) Math mode converts a time-

domain signal into its frequency components resulting in a
Spectrum display

33 May 2006

Most digital storage oscilloscopes today can convert a time domain waveform into a
frequency domain spectrum display, using Fast Fourier Transform, or FFT. This is very
important when analyzing harmonic distortion or high frequency content in a signal.

33
 See XY vs. YT Displays
XY Plots One Channel vs. Another Channel

X Y signals in phase X Y signals 45 X Y signals 90

degrees out of phase degrees out of phase

34 May 2006

XY display mode is yet another way to display signal information, when comparing the
behavior of two or more phase related signals. With digital storage oscilloscopes, this
phase information can be analyzed to the full bandwidth of the oscilloscope. This is not the
case for analog real time oscilloscopes.

34
 Waveform Capture Rate Performance
for Different Tektronix Oscilloscopes

Analog Real Time 2467B with

Micro Channel Plate
Waveform Capture Rate
Greater Than 400,000 Waveforms/Sec
(Waveforms/Second)
1000000
TDS7000B with DPX™
100000 Enhanced DPO Acquisition
>400,000 Waveforms/Sec
DPO7000
10000
>250,000 Waveforms/Sec
TDS1000/TDS2000
>180 Waveforms/Sec DPO4000
1000
>3500 Waveforms/Sec

100
Typical DSO
10
<100 Waveforms/Sec

0.1 5 ms/div 500 ps/div

Sweep Speed (Log Scale)

35 May 2006

Because of the traditional disadvantage that typical DSOs have had with respect to
waveform capture rate, oscilloscope technology investments have been focused on
changing this situation. The newest breakthrough that has resulted is called DPX™
enhanced DPO. This graph shows the comparison of ART, DSO, and DPX™ enhanced
DPO performance on a log versus log scale for waveform capture rate versus sweep speed.

35
 Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope (DPO)
Is Not a Persistence Mode

Analog DSO Persistence DPO

ƒ DPOs provide intensity grading, in real-time, as part of the

acquisition system
– Fast Waveform Capture Rate limited by acquisition (trigger) rate
– Provides intensity graded display information on dynamic signals
– Captures dynamic signal variations, in real-time, enabling the user to see
actual signal behavior
– Allows vectored waveforms
– Rapidly builds a statistical representation of actual signal behavior

36 May 2006

Because of DPX™ enhanced DPO, digital storage oscilloscope technology has now
surpassed the best of analog oscilloscopes when troubleshooting for infrequent anomalies
on repeating waveforms. In addition to having equivalent waveform capture rate and writing
speed (compared to the best of analog oscilloscopes), digital storage also provides pre-
trigger view for every triggered acquisition, simultaneous viewing of all channels (up to four),
color grading history for waveform information in variable persistence, and of course,
waveform storage.

36
 DPO Helps to Solve
Today’s Measurement Challenges

ƒ Infrequent Event Capture

– Example: Metastable Event in
High-Speed Logic
– Need: Detection and analysis of
rare signal events
– Challenges: Find and analyze
infrequent faulty digital signals
that have:
ƒ Low frequency of occurrence
ƒ Potentially non-repetitive
characteristics
ƒ Vastly different durations
from the primary signal
ƒ Highly dynamic characteristics
ƒ Unknown characteristics

37 May 2006

This oscilloscope display shows the accumulated output characteristics of a flip-flop that is
continuously being driven into a metastable state. These metastable events are each totally
unpredictable, and occur very infrequently under normal operation. Their wave shape is
vastly different from the primary (normal) signal, and they tend to be buried within a lot of
other information. They are quite dynamic and it is not possible to know what they will look
like until they occur. This makes it difficult to use advanced triggering to capture these
“digital killers.” This display shows the point by point accumulation of literally millions of
waveforms, including many metastable waveform states.
Metastability recovery time can be statistically analyzed with histograms, to help design
engineers determine the appropriate level of synchronization protection in their
asynchronous designs.

37
 DPO Helps to Solve
Today’s Measurement Challenges

ƒ Long-Time Interval Capture

– Example: Hard Disk Drive
Read Channel
– Need: Detecting subtle patterns
of signal behavior over long time
intervals
– Challenges: Find and
characterize disk drive signal
faults and variations that have:
ƒ Rapid signal variations within
long time window requires
Multiple time windows
ƒ DPO Distribution of occurrence
information

38 May 2006

In this hard disk drive read channel example, the acquired and displayed patterns of signal
behavior over a long time interval are shown. As much as 8 milliseconds of data is acquired
and displayed, and yet the existence of anomalies that have nanoseconds, or sub-
nanosecond time durations can be seen. Over a long time window, there can be very short
details such as dropouts that can appear as intensity information on the screen. Observing
dropouts in the form of intensity information can be extremely valuable in identifying a fault in
this technology.

38
 DPO Helps to Solve
Today’s Measurement Challenges

ƒ Edge Jitter Evaluation

– Example: High-Speed Optical
Communications Links
– Need: Understanding of signal
edge timing characteristics
– Challengers: Analyze optical
communications signals that
have:
ƒ Highly dynamic characteristics
ƒ Distribution of occurrence
information
ƒ Critical timing issues
ƒ Behaviors that require rapid
statistical characterization

39 May 2006

The demands of high speed communications have created a requirement for very precise
timing relationships. Successfully designing a communications circuit depends on
understanding, characterizing, and minimizing critical jitter characteristics. In this case a
communication signal is being displayed as an eye diagram, in order to analyze the timing
and jitter characteristics over many occurrences of the signal transitions. The signal is a
highly dynamic pseudo-random bit stream. A lot of the distribution of occurrence intensity
grading information is, by definition, caused by timing jitter. To understand the nature of this
jitter, it is necessary to have a statistically valid data set to characterize. But spending a lot
of time building that volume of data for characterization is not productive. Gaining jitter
analysis results quickly requires a very fast waveform capture rate, combined with visual and
statistical analysis tools. DPO technology meets this need.

39
 DPO Helps to Solve
Today’s Measurement Challenges

ƒ Complex Modulation
– Example: Digital Cellular
(Constellation Diagram)
– Need: Detect phase and offset
of I and Q signals
– Challenges: Analyze and
characterize digital cellular in-
phase (I) and quadrature (Q)
signal details that have:
ƒ Highly dynamic characteristics
ƒ Qualitative and quantitative
information
ƒ Distribution of occurrence
information
ƒ Dual axis bandwidth
characteristics

40 May 2006

This example shows, with DPO technology, a complex modulation signal as a XY displayed
digital constellation diagram. The objective is to detect phase and offset in this I and Q
signal. The display is very active, with a lot of information. Part of what is displayed is
rotation and offset characteristics of the signal. This display depends on having a dual axis
high bandwidth acquisition system with matched delay characteristics, plus very fast
waveform capture rate and intensity grading, that can supply the necessary performance to
acquire and display this kind of XY image.
Analog real time oscilloscopes cannot deliver this XY performance because of the vertical
delay line and non-linear horizontal amplifier, that are optimized for amplitude vs. time
displays. In addition, analog scopes do not store the data.
Traditional DSOs do not have the intensity grading, combined with very fast waveform
capture rate, required to deliver this I/Q signal display.

40
 DPO Helps to Solve
Today’s Measurement Challenges

ƒ Dynamic-Complex Signals
– Example: Composite Video
– Need: Accurate representation
of dynamic-complex signal
– Challenges: Make
measurement on:
ƒ Multiple modulation types
ƒ Multiple periods
ƒ Highly dynamic signals
ƒ Detailed signal information over
long time intervals
ƒ Distribution of occurrence
information

41 May 2006

This display example is showing a composite video signal. Composite video is a very good
example of a complex waveform for two reasons. One, a lot of people are familiar with it.
Two, a lot of people will have experience trying to get a good visual impression of this
waveform's behavior by using both analog and digital oscilloscopes. Analog real time
oscilloscopes can do a great job of displaying this signal. Traditional digital storage
oscilloscopes do not. In some circumstances a digital storage scope can be used to quantify
details on this signal, but it can't display the overall signal very well. The challenge is that
this signal has multiple modulation types. Because active video moves so much, it is very
difficult to acquire and display in real time. And because of the modulation schemes, a
composite video signal requires that detailed signal information be displayed over long time
intervals. The distribution of occurrence information, as seen in the intensity grading, is
needed to quickly evaluate the performance of the signal source.

41
 High-Speed Serial vs. Low-Speed Serial

• Critical Timing
High-Speed
• Compliance Tests
• Point-to-Point Data PCI Express
• Troubleshooting in the RF Realm
XAUI SATA
• Timing Less Critical
• Multicast Data Infiniband Display Port
• Troubleshooting
FBDIMM Firewire
Connections HDMI

1GbE USB 2.0

100MbE
10MbE Low-Speed
FlexRay
SPI I2 C
USB

CAN
MOST

RS232 D2B
LIN J1805

42 May 2006

With high-speed serial designs, compliance testing is necessary. Measurement of critical

transition timing on the encoded transmission is required under very exacting conditions for
point-to-point data transmission. Troubleshooting can be quite complex for high speed
boards and connectors.
With low-speed serial signals, timing is less critical. Multicast transmissions are sent to
many points connected to the bus. And unlike the RF troubleshooting with high-speed
signals, low-speed troubleshooting is at the system level -- free from most radio-frequency
concerns.

42
 The Agony of Manual Decode

There has to be an easier way!

First three bits are most-significant digit of a 7-bit address

Next four bits are least-significant digit of 7-bit address

Most-significant digit of 8-bit byte

Read or write
Acknowledge Least significant digit of 8-bit byte

Missing acknowledge

SOP 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 EOP
= read data 03 from address 18
1 8 RA 0 3 A

43 May 2006

To look at this captured low speed serial bus traffic in a protocol or hex format, out comes
the paper and pencil, and it’s time to start counting bits.
But, instead of that … maybe there’s a better way.

43
 I2C Bus Decoding:
Debugging a Faulty Sensor

44 May 2006

Here is how an I-squared-C low speed serial bus trigger can help to debug a faulty
temperature sensor. Notice that the bus is being decoded right on the display, for easy
analysis.
The address of the two temperature sensors, 18 and 19, are known. The I-squared-C bus
trigger is set up to capture the fan speed controller writing to sensor 18. The fan controller
attempts writing to the sensor, but receives no ack. It tries again, but again no ack, as shown
on this screen.
Next, the fan controller tries writing to the temperature sensor at address 19. This time, the
write is successful, with an ack and a start-repeat, followed by a read with the temperature
information.

44
 New Measurements Are Needed In The
Transition from Parallel to Serial Digital Buses

Near End Eye Diagram

Far End Eye Diagram
ƒ Serial
– All data resides on the same pipe
– Scalable
– Messages are placed into “envelopes” with header/footer information
– Decoding is more complex than parallel

45 May 2006

Parallel data transmission systems have been used in computers over the years. These
systems are now giving way to serial data transmission. It has become next to impossible to
control timing requirements in parallel systems as clocking speeds surpass 250MHz. So, a
250MHz 8 bit parallel digital buss can be serialized into one data stream on a Low Voltage
Differential Signaling path, with an embedded 8b/10b clock, operating at 2.5Gb/s. Debugging
a high speed serial data stream like this can be very challenging. With a single stream of
traffic going down one pipe, it is challenging to find the issues associated with a particular
message type. New measurement and debugging techniques must be put together to
manage and design to these new serial buses.

45
 Common Elements of High-Speed Serial Links

ƒ Differential Signaling
D- = Ch3
ƒ TMDS or LVDS
ƒ Embedded Clocks D+ = Ch1

ƒ 8b/10b Encoding
ƒ Typical Measurements
VCM = (Ch1+Ch3)/2 = Math1
– Jitter
– Eye Diagram
– Rise/Fall Times
VDIFF = Ch1-Ch3 = Math2
– Bit Rate
– Differential Amplitude
– AC/DC Common Mode Voltages
ƒ While many elements are common across
different standards, there are variations
from one standard to the next.

46 May 2006

High speed serial data transmission standards have been advancing at a staggering pace in
virtually all computing and communications environments. The transmission paths are
based on a common Low Voltage Differential Signaling design methodology, called LVDS.
The one exception to this nomenclature is in the world of the High Definition Multimedia
Interface, or HDMI standard. In this case, the transmission path name is Transition
Minimized Differential Signaling, or TMDS. In most of these standards, the reference clock
is embedded in the data signal. A unit interval is the time from one clock transition to the
next, or the minimum time from a positive transition to a negative transition. To make sure
that no more than 5 unit intervals of time occurs on the transmitted signal without a
transition, an 8b/10b encoding standard was developed by IBM. This is necessary for a
recovered reference clock to be created by a receiver. The key objective is to insure that the
Bit Error Rate requirements of the standards are met, typically 1 part in 10 to the 12th power,
or 1 part per trillion. This in turn requires that the measurement equipment have very
complex jitter analysis capabilities, combined with very high signal fidelity. The eye diagram
is the fundamental measurement tool, used in conjunction with mask testing and statistical
jitter analysis methods, to accurately estimate bit error rate, and verify signal operation
based on compliance standards.

46
 For High-Speed Serial Analysis and Compliance
Testing

ƒ Jitter Analysis on modern oscilloscopes is a very effective tool, in isolating the causes
of bit error rate in a high speed serial data stream.
ƒ Real Time Oscilloscopes excel in the ease of use and completeness of the analysis and
compliance testing.
ƒ Sampling Oscilloscopes excel in the available BW and in separation of the
oscilloscope’s own Inter Symbol Interference from that of the signal being measured.

47 May 2006

Both real time oscilloscopes and equivalent time sampling oscilloscopes have their place in
the world of high speed serial analysis and compliance testing.
Sampling oscilloscopes have the advantage when it comes to signal fidelity and bandwidth.
Also, signal paths can be analyzed for transmission line impedance integrity with Time
Domain Reflectometry.
However, real time oscilloscopes are needed when the analysis depends on acquiring and
analyzing all of the serial data within a prescribed window of time. This time window can
represent literally millions of bits of serial data, when analyzing transmitted data based on a
spread spectrum clock that must be recovered by a receiver. By the way, spread spectrum
clocks are needed to help meet Electro Magnetic Interference standards in high speed
circuits.

47
 High-Speed Test Connectivity

High-Speed Differential
SMA probe using single
scope channel
Active Differential Probes
covering range of
Direct SMA input 1 GHz – 20 GHz

48 May 2006

It is critical to select oscilloscope probes that can easily be connected to the fixtures or DUT,
and which provide the bandwidth and signal fidelity required for the measurements being
made. Shown are some examples.
Guidance on usage:
• Use differential probes to minimize common mode noise effects.
• Utilize SMA where appropriate – some serial data buses have 50 ohm per side
impedance, so SMA is a natural fit.
• Utilize high impedance differential probes where appropriate, especially in situations
where traditional coax solutions can’t be used, such as in small spaces, and where
impedances other than 50 Ohms are used.

48
 High Speed Signal Analysis
Real-Time Eye (RT-Eye) – Compliance Test

49 May 2006

This display is an example where real time eye analysis is being used to verify compliance
to a standard mask set for pre-emphasis and de-emphasis.

49
 Serial ATA

HOST DEVICE

Data Rates
Gen1: 1.5 Gb/s
Gen2: 3 Gb/s
Gen3: 6 Gb/s

50 May 2006

Serial ATA is a serial data channel between computers and disk drives.
The current data rates are 1.5Gbps and 3Gbps. There is no separate clock signal. The clock
signal is embedded in the data, and must be recovered by the receiver circuitry as part of
the data reception. This is typically done using a phase locked loop, or PLL..
Serial Attached SCSI is similar, designed primarily to address server needs. This standard
is referred to as SAS. SCSI stands for Small Computer Serial Interface.

50
 FB-DIMM

FB-DIMM 0 FB-DIMM 1 FB-DIMM 7

Computer
Motherboard
DDR2 DDR2 DDR2

Memory
AMB AMB AMB
Controller
Hub Southbound
Traffic

Northbound
Traffic

Clocks

51 May 2006

FB stands for Fully Buffered.

DIMM stands for Dual In Line Memory Module.
AMB stands for Advance Memory Buffer.
DDR2 stands for Double Data Rate 2 SDRAM.
This architecture provides for 14 north bound lanes and 10 south bound lanes of serial
communication. Each lane is a differential serial link. With AMB of 3.2Gb/s, the system clock
is 133MHz. At 4.0Gb/s, the system clock goes to 166MHz. At 4.8Gb/s, the clock rate is
200MHz.

51
 PCI Express

Data Rates
Gen1: 2.5 Gb/s
Gen2: 5 Gb/s

52 May 2006

This slide shows the basic architecture of the PCI Express serial interface. PCI Express is
the new standard for the PC I/O card interface, and utilizes from 1 to 16 lanes of serial data
transfer.

52
 High Definition Multimedia Interface

Data Rate: 250 Mbps to 1.65 Gbps

53 May 2006

HDMI is a unidirectional transmission standard for digital video, with high speed data
transmitted from source to sink.
The pixel rate is 25MHz for standard digital video to 165MHz for high definition digital video,
resulting in bit rates of 250Mbps to 1.65Gbps.
Note the separate clock.
DDC is the Display Data Channel, which is essentially an I2C bus. This is used to convey
the EDID info to the source, as well as to convey CEC commands (automatic setup tasks or
remote control commands).
EDID is Extended Display ID Data.

53
 Signal Analysis
HDMI Compliance Test

54 May 2006

The HDMI specification calls for the eye diagram mask to be offset, rather than centered in
the eye. Here, the HDMI test software has produced a proper eye diagram for HDMI.

54
 Protocol Decode for Serial Data

ƒ Simultaneously view signal and protocol activity

– Decode high speed 8b/10b coded serial signals
– Correlate events across physical and link layers (signals and traffic)
– View information in multiple domains for maximum productivity
– Probe anywhere to view protocol activity

U1

PCI-E,
SATA, . . .

U2

55 May 2006

As with low speed serial data streams, it is often important for a system engineer to decode
high speed serial data, when debugging a new design. Here we see an example of a
decoded high speed 8b/10b serial data stream.

55
 Cutting Edge Analysis Solutions

56 May 2006

Traditional jitter analysis of high speed serial data streams has been accomplished by
looking at data transitions at the zero crossing point on the waveform. This does not take
into account what might happen if the decision point on the eye diagram were to move up or
down in amplitude, due to drift or noise. A new tool set based on statistical analysis of both
the time and amplitude axis on an eye diagram is now available. This tool derives its results
from the PDF, or Probability Density Function of a serial PRBS, or Pseudo Random Bit
Stream signal that is being transmitted. From the PDF, a BER Eye is statistically computed.
This 3 dimensional image is provided, whereby an estimated bit error rate can be found,
based on the decision point within the image. This analysis is called JNB, which stands for
Jitter and Noise Bit Error Rate.
This capability is available on the 8200 sampling oscilloscope platform. The software
package is named 80SJNB Advanced Jitter, Noise, and BER Analysis.

56
 Tektronix’ Oscilloscope Product Portfolio

Product Classification
Value Performance

CSA/DSO
Primary Segments

DPO70000 8200
Communications

DPO4000

Computing TDS3000C DPO3000

and DPO7000
Electronics

TPS2000
THS700

TDS2000
Other Industries TDS1000

Service Mfg. Analog Data Acquisition High-Speed

Repair Test Design Analysis & Research Digital Design

57 May 2006

Tektronix continues as the leader in oscilloscope measurement solutions, across the

broadest range of measurement applications, with the most comprehensive range of
products in the industry.

57
 Tektronix
Leads the Market

Oscilloscopes
and
Accessories

58 May 2006

58