Digital oscilloscope
An oscilloscope is used to acquire, analyze and display electronic signal waveforms. Oscilloscopes are one of the more common examples of electrical test and measurement equipment. The oscilloscope samples electronic signals and plots their waveforms on a cathode ray tube (CRT) display screen in units of voltage versus time. Oscilloscopes have been used for years for a number of purposes, including monitoring waveforms of various data, among other purposes. They have become an essential for research, development, and manufacturing of electronic devices. Analog oscilloscopes have long been the most utilized instruments for viewing waveforms. Analog oscilloscopes provide a continuous time-based display of the instantaneous amplitude values of electrical phenomena, and are thus able to accurately display the waveforms of complex signals. Analog oscilloscopes, however, have a significant disadvantage in that they are unable to store signal waveforms. Also, when viewing very fast signal components, it is difficult to view spikes or glitches due to the dim scope illumination. The digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) is a subclass of oscilloscopes in which the time varying nature of the sampled signals is represented digitally within the device. Digital oscilloscopes operate by sampling a time varying analog signal periodically and storing the sample values in correlation with time in a waveform memory. These data may be then read out as locations in the memory are sequentially addressed by a clock signal to provide digital data which can be converted by a digital-to-analog converter to a time varying output signal. Digital oscilloscopes generally use raster scan displays to present the activity of electrical signals to their users. Each raster scan display, such as those seen every day on computer screens, consists of a two dimensional array of pixels, with each pixel location being uniquely defined by a row number and column number. In a digital storage oscilloscope, an input waveform is sampled at equally spaced time points along the time axis of the waveform, converted to digital data for storage, and displayed on a screen as an amplitude-versus-time waveform. DSOs offer several advantages over analog oscilloscopes, such as the ability to make automatic measurements on the digital data and the ability to store the digital data in memory for post processing viewing, generating a hard copy, uploading to a computer, or storing on a diskette. Among the advantages offered by digital oscilloscopes is the ability to display the same captured data in different ways. The non-simultaneous signal events can be stored in the device for subsequent comparison. Additionally, parameters can be derived from the digital data of the primary measurements, such as statistical features of the signals. Digital oscilloscopes can be divided into two broad classifications: those that operate using "real time' and those that operate using "equivalent time".
There's no product listing here. Be the first to
submit your product information.
Related products