Tektronix Introduces the 30 GHz Probing System

Tektronix, Inc. announced the 30 GHz probing system with coaxial connectors. The new P7600 Series Probing System features probe-specific DSP filters that enhance performance and minimize noise levels. When paired with the Tektronix DPO/DSA73304D oscilloscope, the P7600 Series Probing System provides connectivity and signal fidelity for high-speed differential signal measurements on serial bus designs like PCI Express.

The P7600 Series includes two direct connect 2.92mm coaxial inputs, enabling conversion of an incoming differential signal pair to a single oscilloscope input channel. This enables up to 30 GHz differential measurement capabilities on all 4 DPO/DSA73304D oscilloscope channels. Efficient utilization of oscilloscope channels enables multi-lane serial bus acquisitions and/or simultaneous acquisition of high-speed data alongside other system activity like 100 MHz reference clocks or chip-to-chip bus traffic like I²C. The P7600 Series also includes TriMode^TM functionality that provides full support of differential measurements found in high-speed serial signals, along with independent single-ended and direct common mode measurements through the same probe connection.

TriMode probing improves productivity by reducing setup time on standards tests for serial buses like PCI Express, Serial Attached SCSI and Thunderbolt that require both common-mode and differential signaling measurements. With TriMode, only one connection to the DUT is needed. Switching between differential mode [A-B], single-ended mode [A-Gnd, B-Gnd], and common mode [((A+B)/2)-Gnd] is accomplished through a single button press.

To provide a clean frequency response through the probing system, the new P7600 Series TriMode probing system utilizes probe-specific S parameter data. When connected to a DSA/DPO70000D Series Oscilloscope, the probe transfers this data to the instrument to create a specific DSP band pass filter. Probe specific filters are critical as bandwidth increases, because at 30GHz even small variations in the signal path can lead to significant variations in frequency response.

Tektronix
www.tektronix.com