OSCILLOSCOPE

A project by:
• Faraz Thakur
Introduction:
 An oscilloscope (also known as a scope, CRO, DSO or, an O-scope) is a
type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly
varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or
more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis,
plotted as a function of time, (horizontal or 'x' axis).
 Oscilloscopes are commonly used to observe the exact wave shape of
an electrical signal.
 Oscilloscopes are used in the sciences, medicine, engineering, and
telecommunications industry.
 Originally all oscilloscopes used cathode ray tubes as their display
element and linear amplifiers for signal processing, (commonly
referred to as CROs) however, modern oscilloscopes have LCD or LED
screens, fast analog-to-digital converters and digital signal processors.
Display & General External
Appearance
The basic oscilloscope, as
shown in the illustration, is
typically divided into four
sections: the display,
vertical controls, horizontal
controls and trigger
controls. The display is
usually a CRT or LCD panel
which is laid out with both
horizontal and vertical
reference lines referred to as
the graticule. In addition to
the screen, most display
sections are equipped with
three basic controls, a focus
knob, an intensity knob and
a beam finder button.
Front Panel Controls
 Focus Control: This control adjusts CRT focus to obtain the sharpest, most-
detailed trace. In practice, focus needs to be adjusted slightly when
observing quite-different signals, which means that it needs to be an external
control. Flat-panel displays do not need a focus control; their sharpness is
always optimum.

 Intensity Control: This adjusts trace brightness. Slow traces on CRT

oscilloscopes need less, and fast ones, especially if not often repeated,
require more. On flat panels, however, trace brightness is essentially
independent of sweep speed, because the internal signal processing
effectively synthesizes the display from the digitized data.

 Position: The vertical/horizontal position control lets you move the

waveform up or down/left or right to exactly where you want it on the screen.

 Volts per Division: The volts per division (usually written volts/div) setting
varies the size of the waveform on the screen. A good general purpose
oscilloscope can accurately display signal levels from about 4 millivolts to 40
volts.
 Seconds per Division: The seconds per division setting varies the
width of the waveform on the screen.

 Trigger Controls:
1. Coupling: It decides the filtering the oscilloscope gives to the trigger
signal to make it respond only to some AC or DC voltage level of the
input signal or other noise gets filtered out.
2. Source: It decides which signal is the one which will determine the
triggering.
3. Level: It decides at what voltage of the signal the triggering will take
place.

 Beam finder Switch: When pressed, causes the display to be

compressed within the graticule area.
 Vertical Mode Switches: Selects the signal from the vertical
amplifiers. It consists of the following five function switches:
1. Left ­Selects the signal from the left-hand vertical amplifier for
display.
2. Alt ­Selects signals from the left-hand and the right-hand vertical
amplifiers in alternating patterns for display. Signals are switched
after each sweep.
3. Add ­Selects signals from both vertical amplifiers for display. Signals
are added together and the sum is displayed.
4. Chop ­Selects signals from both vertical amplifiers in an alternating
pattern. Signals are switched at a 1­megahertz rate, under the control
of an internal oscillator.
5. Right ­Selects signal from the right hand vertical amplifier for display.
Probe
 A test probe (test lead, test prod, or scope probe) is a physical device
used to connect the oscilloscope to the device under test.
Types Of Probes
Passive Probe
 It has two types
1. 10 attenuation
 Good for low circuit loading
 Suitable to high frequency
signal
 Difficult to measure less than
10mV signals
2. 1 attenuation
 Good for small signals
 Introduces more interference
Active Probe
 They provide their own
amplification or perform some
other type of operation to
process the signal before
applying it to the oscilloscope.
 These types of probes can solve
problems such as circuit loading
or perform tests on signals,
sending the results to the
oscilloscope.
 Active probes require a power
source for their operation.
Types Of Oscilloscope
1. Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)
2. Analog Storage Oscilloscope
3. Analog Sampling Oscilloscope
4. Digital Oscilloscope
5. Mixed-Signal Oscilloscope
6. Handheld Oscilloscope
7. PC-based Oscilloscope (PCO)
Uses Of Oscilloscope
 Oscilloscopes are used to view the signals coming directly from devices
such as sound cards, allowing the real-time display of waves.
 They are used as electrocardiograms, to test circuits and to
troubleshoot electronic devices such as televisions.
 Oscilloscopes with storage features allow signals to be captured,
retrieved and analyzed for later use.
 They are used to measure AC & DC voltages.
 They are used to observe corresponding change in output when input
is changed.