Design Features: July 4, 1996

Cover Story
Digital oscilloscopes: For best results, understand how they work	Although you can use a digital scope without understanding how it works, doing so isn't wise. If you don't appreciate the complex operations that produce them, the displays can mislead you, resulting in costly errors in buying scopes. —Dan Strassberg, Senior Technical Editor
Design Features The hottest new technologies and the latest design techniques to help you work efficiently and effectively.
Fastand flexible:FIR filters in reconfigurable logic	Reconfigurable logic lets you implement DSP functions in hardware, providing a mix of speed and design flexibility that isn't available in DSPs or mask-programmed ASICs. Filter-design tools make design tasks easy. —Doug Conner, Technical Editor
Designing with flash memory: a tool exhibition	Flash memory has evolved from a single EPROM replacement to an integral part of many systems. The development tool's importance has increased with the application's complexity. Only a handful of vendors, however, provides the tools to help you navigate the flash-memory maze. —Markus Levy, Technical Editor
Control frequency response and noise in broadband, photodetector, transimpedance amplifiers	Converting the current output of a wideband photodetector to a voltage, minimizing noise, and achieving the desired frequency response can tax the patience of even an experienced designer. Careful selection and correct application of an op amp can often provide the best and most cost-effective solution. —Michael Steffes, Burr-Brown Corp
Digital logic simulation: event-driven, cycle-based, and home-brewed	Logic simulation is an interesting beast. Most engineers know what it does and what it's for, but few understand its subtle ramifications. —Clive "Max" Maxfield, Intergraph Computer Systems