Latest Test and Measurement News

20 GHz USB Sampling Oscilloscopes

02 July 2013 - Pico Technology introduced the new PicoScope 9300 Series Sampling Oscilloscopes with 20 GHz bandwidth for signal integrity measurements and characterisation of RF components, SERDES devices, cables, PCBs, and connectors. The two-channel oscilloscopes can perform pre-compliance tests, fault-finding, design, debug and margin testing on serial communications signals such as 10 Gb Ethernet, SONET/SDH STM64 and FEC1071, 10x Fibre Channel, and InfiniBand and PCI Express, all for only $14,995.

The oscilloscopes have a built-in signal generator with 4 ns minimum bit interval in PRBS mode and 8 ns minimum period in pulse mode. The devices have LAN and USB interfaces, and advanced display features such as colour and density profiling, multiple trace windows, histograms and statistics.

Specification highlights include: over 15 TS/s effective sampling rate, 17.5 ps input rise time, dual 16-bit, 60 dB dynamic range inputs, 5 ps/div dual timebase, 14 GHz prescaled trigger bandwidth, clock recovery up to 11.3 Gb/s and time interval resolution of 64 fs. The sampling rate of 1 MHz, the industry’s fastest, builds waveforms and persistence displays faster than any other sampling scope. Signal quality is just as impressive, with typical noise of 1.5 mV RMS at full bandwidth, external trigger jitter of 1.8 ps RMS, and recovered clock jitter of only 1 ps RMS.

The PicoSample software has been comprehensively updated for the new oscilloscopes. The range of controls has been revised and extended, with intuitive graphics, click-and-drag operations and measurement labels to simplify and speed up operation. A flexible layout allows you to devote as much of the screen as possible to your signal while displaying the controls and menus that you need. The software includes a comprehensive suite of measurement and analysis functions that is second to none: 61 math functions, 138 automatic measurements and 167 standard comms masks from 1.54 Mb/s to 12.5 Gb/s. The software is compatible with all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows XP to Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit versions).

The PicoScope 9300 Series Sampling Oscilloscopes are available now from Pico and Pico distributors worldwide. Prices are $14,995 / £9,088 / €12,393 for the base model and $18,995 / £11,512 / €15,698 for the model with clock recovery. All hardware, accessories and software features listed above are included in the price, with no hidden extras. A demonstration copy of the software can be downloaded from the website.

 www.picotech.com/