News and New Products

1- to 4-GHz, 20G-sample/sec DSOs and MSOs integrate protocol analysis

By Dan Strassberg, Contributing Technical Editor -- EDN, 6/1/2009

Agilent Technologies has expanded its MSO (mixed-signal-oscilloscope) and DSO (digital-storage-oscilloscope) portfolios with the addition of the six-model Infiniium 9000 series. All of the units offer true analog bandwidths of 1, 2.5, or 4 GHz on four channels, and optional built-in logic and protocol analysis on 16 digital channels. All analog channels offer both 50Ω and 1-MΩ inputs and acquire a maximum of 20G samples/sec in the two-channel mode. In the four-channel mode, the analog channels offer a standard memory depth of 10M samples, with options of as many as 1G samples in the two-channel mode. On any of the three analog-only models, you can in minutes enable the logic channels without returning the scopes to the factory or recalibrating them. All models come in easy-to-carry, 9-in.-deep, 25-lb packages and feature screens that, according to the company, are the industry’s largest: 15-in., 1024×768-pixel, touch-sensitive XGA (extended-graphics-array) LCDs.

The new units are also the first scopes to integrate both logic-analysis channels and a protocol-analyzer viewer for buses such as PCIe (peripheral-component-interconnect express) and USB (universal serial bus), according to the company. These features simplify setting up and using the instruments to test complex designs, encouraging greater instrument usage and increased return on investment.

Regardless of the scope’s analog bandwidth, the integrated digital channels acquire digital signals at rates as high as 2G samples/sec and trigger on a rich set of mixed analog/digital conditions for accurate analysis of timing relationships among control signals and data buses. A protocol viewer for PCIe and USB lets you extend the scopes’ debugging and testing capabilities to obtain rapid insights into the behavior of protocol-rich serial buses without finding and connecting additional test equipment.

The digital inputs accept many Agilent logic-analyzer accessories. In addition, general-purpose measurement and analysis features allow you to customize the instruments by adding software. To provide insight into common serial buses, FPGAs, and RF measurements, 25 optional application packages allow for rapid verification of a unit under test’s compliance with industry standards. Debugging software includes protocol triggering and viewing for PCIe and USB; serial decoding and triggering for I²C (inter-integrated-circuit), SPI (serial-peripheral-interface), CAN (controller-area-network), RS-232, and UART (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) interfaces; rapid core-assisted debugging of designs with Xilinx and Altera FPGAs; an InfiniiScan capability for triggering on infrequent signal anomalies that meet visual criteria; and more. Compliance testing features include communication-mask testing and compatibility with DDR-1, -2, and -3 interconnects, Ethernet, and USB 2.0.

The 15-in. displays offer 57% greater display area than do 12-in. displays. The larger displays provide the space users need to comfortably view large numbers of digital and serial signals in addition to analog traces. Infiniium 9000 series base prices range from $19,900 for a 1-GHz-bandwidth DSO to $41,500 for a 4-GHz MSO.