USB oscilloscopes capture analog and digital signals. Through software, engineers can analyze protocols and logic signals. By adding a D/A converter, a USB oscilloscope can also become a waveform generator. A USB oscilloscope consists of the signal capture and conditioning electronics package, a personal computer (PC) that can be a laptop or tablet unit, or […]
Test Equipment
That Maxwell book that was returned to a library 115 years late: what’s it about? Part 2
Work on resistance measurement, described in An Elementary Treatise on Electricity, helped pave the way to successful trans-Atlantic telegraphy. In Part 1, I discussed An Elementary Treatise on Electricity by James Clerk Maxwell. One volume made national news earlier this summer when it was returned to New Bedford, Mass. Free Public Library 115 years overdue. […]
That Maxwell book that was returned to a library 115 years late: what’s it about? (Part 1)
Published in 1881, An Elementary Treatise on Electricity evolved from notes Maxwell had written in preparation for lectures on electricity at the Cavendish Laboratory. In June 2023, the national media carried a story about a book 115 years overdue that was returned to the Free Public Library in New Bedford, Mass. The book turned out […]
How does a thermocouple work, and do I really need an ice bath? part 2
Modern thermocouple instruments automate the cold-junction-compensation process. Part 1 of this two-part series introduced thermocouple cold-junction compensation (CJC). This part will elaborate on the concept. Table 1, presented in part 1 and repeated here, lists a subset of the NIST voltage and temperature data for the type T thermocouple.Figure 1 shows a typical measurement setup, […]
How does a thermocouple work, and do I really need an ice bath? part 1
Efforts at the Bureau of Standards 110 years ago paved the way for the cold-junction-compensation technique used today. Thermocouples have long been used to make temperature measurements. They are simple, consisting of a pair of wires of dissimilar metals welded together at one end. They are rugged, operate over wide temperature ranges, and generate readily […]
IMS 2023 roundup: test equipment
Test equipment plays a major role in product development and production, which was apparent at IMS 2023. In the photos and videos below, you’ll get a taste of test developments at RF, mmWave, and sub-THz frequencies. This year, D-band (110 GHz to 170 GHz) seized a larger portion of the exhibit hall than in past […]
SoC generates RF test signals and analyzes results
The Apollo MxFE software-defined signal processing SoC from Analog Devices digitizes and generates analog signals with DSP in between. Applications cover aerospace & defense, instrumentation, and wireless communications. Digitizing high-speed signals, processing them, and creating responses typically requires separate ADCs, DACs, and DSPs or FPGAs. The Apollo MxFE system-on-chip (SoC) combines signal capture, creation, and […]
EE World’s 2023 T&M Handbook is now available
For 2023, the digital version features 11 technical articles that cover test from signal integrity on the bench to automated test on the production floor.
Co-packaged optics: promises and complexities
Integrating optics into the same package as switching ASICs improves signal integrity and increases data rates, but challenges remain. Near-packaged optics could emerge as an interim solution to the problem. The constant need for more throughput in data centers pushes engineers to develop ever-faster optical and electrical links. In addition to designing for more speed, […]
5G mmWave test builds on RF best practices
The high level of integration in today’s mmWave phone means traditional test methods no longer apply.
