In choosing a way to mitigate electronic noise mitigation, it is necessary first to quantify it and ascertain its source. Thermal, also known as Nyquist or Johnson-Nyquist noise, is basis for many types of noise. It arises in all material objects to the extent that they are conductive. You can observe the effects of this […]
oscilloscope measurements
DisplayPort 2.0 PHY test setup integrates BERT, analysis of multi-lane 20 Gb/sec video links
The QualiPHY DisplayPort 2.0 source and sink compliance and DisplayPort AUX DME (Decode, Measure & Eye Diagram) oscilloscope software options build on a recently announced industry-leading DisplayPort 2.0 Link Layer compliance test solution. The market demands higher resolution for Virtual Reality and PC displays — up to 16,000 pixels (16K) — and ever faster refresh […]
Measuring picoseconds without breaking the bank
Modern analog/digital converters can help implement equivalent time sampling to provide picosecond timing resolution. Dave Guidry, Texas Instruments Inc. A picosecond is an astonishingly short period of time. Imagine a stopwatch with a trillion divisions between each tick of the second hand. While it sounds fantastical, this resolution of time measurement is indeed necessary for […]
A scope-based technique for optimizing EMI input filters
A simple oscilloscope setup can size common-mode and differential-mode noise filtering components separately and more accurately. Marcus Sonst, Rohde & Schwarz Any switched-mode power supply (SMPS) needs an EMI (electromagnetic interference) input filter to avoid disturbing power lines. Input filters generally contain both common-mode and differential-mode filter elements, and the two are rarely optimized separately. […]
A day in the life: Five RF measurements for field engineers
A handful of basic techniques go a long way toward characterizing modern communication systems. Sarah Gross, Keysight Technologies Field engineers often find that every day presents its own special challenges. A typical work day may involve measuring a variety of devices or signals — cables, antennas, over-the-air 5G signals, or intermittent spurious signals. Successful completion […]
Single-sideband modulation and its measurement
The most basic form of amplitude modulation is known as double-sideband AM, so called because mirror-image sidebands are produced above and below the carrier frequency. Early researchers found that they could use simple band-pass filters to eliminate one of the sidebands and even the carrier signal, improving the ratio of information-bearing power to total transmitted […]
Integration and differentiation operations and how they appear on a scope
Differential calculus is the study of rates at which quantities change. To find the derivative of a waveform at a specific point, we draw a tangent line through the point. The slope of the line, Δy/Δx, equals the derivative of the function at that point. Integral calculus quantifies the area bounded by a curve and […]
Scope test setup complies with IEEE 802.3ch MultiGBASE-T1 Automotive Ethernet standard
The new K88 option for R&S RTO and R&S RTP oscilloscopes from Rohde & Schwarz enables compliance testing on the next evolution of the automotive Ethernet standard. The new IEEE 802.3ch standard addresses the need for high speed networking and data transfers within the car. With the K88 software option, Rohde & Schwarz continues to […]
Rack-mount scope integrates spectrum analyzer, AWG, DVM, frequency counter/totalizer, serial protocol analyzer
The Rigol DS8000-R Series four-channel digital oscilloscopes are compact 1U half-rack-width instruments available in 350 MHz/1 GHz/2 GHz versions with a maximum sampling rate of 10 GSa/sec. In addition to their use installed in a test rack cabinet, these instruments can be conveniently used on a workbench. The DS8000-R series has been designed around RIgol’s […]
What is a load coil and how do you measure it?
The textbook description of an inductor often involves a coil of wire. Of course, any material other than a perfect ideal insulator has theoretical inductance. All the windings do is multiply the effect by creating overlapping fields. It’s good to keep in mind that inductance is measurable in many non-coils, such as power transmission lines, […]
