When you already have the best performing mid-range oscilloscope series on the market, what’s the logical the next step? At many companies, that next step would be to strip out features and raise prices. In contrast, here at Tektronix we’re well aware that many labs face flat or declining budgets while having to incorporate higher-end serial technologies into their embedded system designs to keep pace with market demands.
So, in keeping with what our customers need in a oscilloscope, the new MSO/DPO5000B Series of mid-range oscilloscopes not only deliver a more robust features set – like a standard 480 GB SSD for lightning fast start up times -- prices are some 10-20 percent lower across the full range of models, options and accessories.
With faster-speed serial buses such as USB 2.0, USB HSIC and Ethernet increasingly being used in embedded designs, higher bandwidth oscilloscopes are not just a nice to have, they have become a requirement. The MSO/DPO5000B Series offers the most complete performance in this segment with up to 2 GHz bandwidth, 10 GS/s sampling, up to 250 M record length, 250,000 waveform per second capture rate, and >11 bits resolution with HiRes acquisition. DPX intensity grading technology helps you find elusive glitches and other transients in seconds. This performance is augmented by the industry’s highest bandwidth 1 GHz passive probe with loading of just 4 pF.
“Tektronix mid-range oscilloscopes are used in more embedded system and power conversion development labs than any other brand of instrument” notes Dave Farrell, general manager, Mainstream Oscilloscopes at Tektronix. “The reason for this success stems from our class-leading performance and features across every single point of evaluation – from raw performance to serial decode to probing options and customizable analysis.”
Adding to an already extensive set of tools for waveform capture, measurement and analysis, the MSO/DPO5000B Series oscilloscopes now include Visual Trigger support as a standard feature. Visual Trigger and search allow users to create triggers based on shapes such as rectangles or hexagons making it much easier to capture complex waveforms on multiple channels. The unique Wave Inspector allows users to quickly search through waveforms for faster troubleshooting and discovery of anomalies on live and captured signals.
To support power conversion applications, Tektronix also announced a new version of DPOPWR Advanced Power Measurement and Analysis software. Using this software, designers can configure multiple measurements with custom defined settings, measure and analyze power losses in switching devices, and evaluate magnetic parameters in a single acquisition. The addition of new measurements such as Inrush Current, Capacitance, and Reactive Power provide more insight for input and output characterization of power supplies.
DPOPWR transforms oscilloscopes into sophisticated power analysis tools, with such measurements as total power loss for an inductor.
Lastly, the announcement included new automated debug and compliance testing support for BroadR-Reach. Option BRR allows the use of a single Tektronix oscilloscope (such as an MSO/DPO5000B) for the full range of tests required by the specification including power spectral density (PSD) and return loss measurements. Until now, engineers have been required to use a spectrum analyzer and a network analyzer respectively for these tests. In addition to an issued patent, Tektronix has a pending patent application covering this testing technology. This “one-box” solution simplifies setup complexity and reduces equipment expense.
Option BRR provides one-box compliance testing for BroadR-Reach, including Power Spectral Density.
In today’s world, faster-speed buses are introducing design challenges like embedded clocks or tighter jitter budgets and often require more specialized analysis and compliance testing to ensure interoperability. Power conversion efficiency is another critical application, driven in part by the emergence of new disruptive technologies such as SiC and GaN with increased switching speeds, requiring oscilloscopes with higher bandwidth, faster sampling rates and specialized probing. If any of these issues are on your plate – or will be in the near future – the MSO/DPO5000B might just be the oscilloscope series you’ve been waiting for.