An oscilloscope-based automotive protocol trigger/decode solution (D9010AUTP) covers CAN XL (Controller Area Network eXtra Long) protocol that enables engineers to verify and debug low-speed automotive serial bus protocols and simplify the development and troubleshooting of systems including CAN/CAN FD (Flexible Data Rate) and CAN XL. CAN XL is the third-generation CAN standard in development by […]
oscilloscope measurements
Does Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law really fail?
Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887) was an accomplished Prussian physicist and instrument maker, and best known for his current and voltage circuit laws. Kirchhoff’s first circuit law, known as his current law, states that the algebraic sum of currents in a network of conductors meeting at a point is zero. Kirchhoff’s second circuit law, known as his […]
Teaching instrumentation gets new filter options, lock-in amp
New enhancements for Moku:Go, a complete, portable and accessible lab solution platform designed for engineers and students to actively test designs and projects, feature a full range of connectivity, optional programmable power supplies and an intuitive user interface. These enhancements include the addition of new instruments for Moku:Go: Digital Filter Box: A tool to design […]
Scope test regime validates PCIe 6.0 standard transmitters
An oscilloscope software pack implements PCI Express 6.0 compatible Base transmitter tests. PCIe 6.0 is an important and scalable standard for data-intensive markets such as data center, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), and high-performance computing. To meet ever growing performance demands, PCIe 6.0 standard transitions to PAM4 signaling and new innovative error correcting techniques. The Tektronix […]
Measuring resonance with a scope and signal generator
One of the first things EE students learn in their ac circuits course is resonance. Electrical resonance, to quickly review, arises in an electric circuit at a frequency called the resonances frequency when the impedances or admittances of circuit elements cancel each other. In some circuits, resonance happens when the impedance between the input and […]
Tricks for pulling signals out of noise
Thermal noise, also known as Johnson-Nyquist noise, is generated by thermal agitation of charge carriers inside an electrical conductor or component regardless of any applied voltage. A small voltage can actually be measured across a wire segment that is at non-zero temperature and lying on a non-conductive surface. Apprentice electricians are puzzled by this phenomenon, […]
PHY interposer supports PCI Express 5.0 CEM spec
The CrossSync PHY technology now supports the PCI Express 5.0 Card Electromechanical (CEM) specification. This new CEM interposer (PE230UIA-X) joins the existing CrossSync PHY enabled M.2 form factor interposers (PE210UIA for PCIe 4.0 and the PE222UIA for PCIe 5.0), with more form factors in development to fill out the portfolio of cross-layer probing. Engineers at […]
Making pictures from sound on an oscilloscope
If you take an ordinary sound file and feed it to both channels of an oscilloscope operating in X-Y mode, you’ll get an image on the scope looking a lot like a pulsating straight line at some angle to the horizontal. But the situation changes if you use a stereo signal with the left channel […]
Odd ball application department: Using a scope to display SEM images
The Applied Science YouTube channel run by Ben Krasnow (who in his day job is a hardware engineer at Verily, Google Life Sciences) focuses on interesting applications of science and technology. One video in particular caught our eye where Kranow uses an oscilloscope to help view digital images captured by a scanning electron microscope made […]
Examining serial protocols with test instruments
There are currently a large number of serial protocols in use. Many oscilloscopes include the capability to decode and display data sent over widely used serial buses. Recently, a blog on the Tektronix website detailed which serial decode packages engineers most commonly configure on the Tektronix scopes they order. The buses that turn out to […]
