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Scopes search and scan 2-GHz signals

LeCroy has upgraded its WaveRunner and WaveSurfer oscilloscope series to extend bandwidth to as much as 2 GHz. The company says its objective was to provide a combination of higher real-time bandwidth together with its characteristic deep memory, in a physical format that combines a large screen with a small “footprint” of space occupied on the desk or bench. The WaveRunner XI is available as a four-channel 1- or 2-GHz model; sampling rate for both is 5 Gsamples/sec, interleaved to 10 Gsamples/sec. 10 Mega-point/channel memory is standard on all models, and the units all feature a waveform-search and -analysis capability called WaveScan. The company uses the terms “search” and “scan” deliberately to imply the ability to seek out defined waveform conditions in real time and continuous acquisition, rather than to identify waveform features via post-processing in a captured record—which the units can also do. 18 search modes include pulse width, frequency, rise time, duty cycle and so on, and you can qualify those modes with a condition such as greater than, less than, or within a range: alternatively, you can specify statistical conditions such as, “the three smallest” occurrences of a condition. You can set “scan” to look for conditions that conventional triggers will not identify, such as out-of-range frequencies. The scope also supports triggering and decoding of I2C and SPI serial data.

The WaveSurfer Xs series of scopes is correspondingly updated, with models that reach 1 GHz real-time bandwidth and 2.5 Gsamples/sec. LeCroy has also introduced a range of single-ended active probes with an input impedance of 1 M and a capacitance of 0.9 pF. They will offer full 1.5- or 1-GHz system bandwidth at the probe tip, and provide a number of probing solutions for fine-pitch connections.

WaveRunner scopes have 10.4-in. SVGA screens and occupy some 15 cm depth on the bench: the top-specification 104Xi model (4 channels/ 2 GHz) costs € 18,990. The WaveSurfer Xs range occupies the same physical layout, with prices ranging up to € 11,990. —by
-Graham Prophet
LeCroy, www.lecroy.com.