Minia university

faculty of engineering

search in
electrical
measurement
(oscilloscope)
: done by
Asmaa El-said Mohammed Sakr
second year

2010_2009

In electrical laboratory we use a lot of instruments looks like voltammeter ,ammeter,

VOM , oscilloscope …….. et
. In this search we will take about the oscilloscope
Introduction
An oscilloscope (abbreviated sometimes as scope or O-scope) is a type of electronic
test instrument that allows signal voltages to be viewed, usually as a two-dimensional
graph of one or more electrical potential differences (vertical axis) plotted as a
function of time or of some other voltage (horizontal axis). Although an oscilloscope
displays voltage on its vertical axis, any other quantity that can be converted to a
voltage can be displayed as well. In most instances, oscilloscopes show events that
 repeat with either no change, or change slowly. The oscilloscope is one of the most
[
versatile and widely-used electronic instruments. [1
Oscilloscopes are commonly used when it is desired to observe the exact wave shape
of an electrical signal. In addition to the amplitude of the signal, an oscilloscope can
show distortion and measure frequency, time between two events (such as pulse width
or pulse rise time), and relative timing of two related signals. Some modern digital
oscilloscopes can analyze and display the spectrum of a repetitive event. Special-
purpose oscilloscopes, called spectrum analyzers, have sensitive inputs and can
display spectra well into the GHz range. A few oscilloscopes that accept plug-ins can
.display spectra in the audio range
Oscilloscopes are used in the sciences, medicine, engineering, telecommunications,
and industry. General-purpose instruments are used for maintenance of electronic
equipment and laboratory work. Special-purpose oscilloscopes may be used for such
purposes as analyzing an automotive ignition system, or to display the waveform of
.the heartbeat as an electrocardiogram
Originally all oscilloscopes used cathode ray tubes as their display element and linear
amplifiers for signal processing, but modern oscilloscopes can have LCD or LED
screens, fast analog-to-digital converters and digital signal processors. Although not
as commonplace, some oscilloscopes used storage CRTs to display single events for a
limited time. Oscilloscope peripheral modules for general purpose laptop or desktop
personal computers use the computer's display, and can convert them into useful and
.flexible test instruments
History
Hand-drawn oscillograms
Illustration of Joubert's step-by-step method of hand-plotting waveform
.measurements
The earliest method of creating an image of a waveform was through a laborious and
painstaking process of measuring the voltage or current of a spinning rotor at specific
points around the axis of the rotor, and noting the measurements taken with a
galvanometer. By slowly advancing around the rotor, a general standing wave can be
drawn on graphing paper by recording the degrees of rotation and the meter strength
.at each position
This process was first partially automated by Jules
François Joubert with his step-by-step method of
wave form measurement. This consisted of a special
single-contact commutator attached to the shaft of a
spinning rotor. The contact point could be moved
around the rotor following a precise degree indicator
scale and the output appearing on a galvanometer, to
be hand-graphed by the technician. [10] This process
could only produce a very rough waveform
approximation since it was formed over a period of
several thousand wave cycles, but it was the first
.step in the science of waveform imaging
A tiny tilting mirror
In the 1920s, a tiny tilting mirror attached to a diaphragm at the apex of a horn
provided good response up to a few kHz, perhaps even 10 kHz. A time base,
unsynchronized, was provided by a spinning mirror polygon, and a collimated beam
.of light from an arc lamp projected the waveform onto the lab wall or a screen
 Even earlier, audio applied to a diaphragm on the gas feed to a flame made the flame
.height vary, and a spinning mirror polygon gave an early glimpse of waveforms
Automatic paper-drawn oscillograph
The first automated oscillographs used a galvanometer to move a pen across a scroll
or drum of paper, capturing wave patterns onto a continuously moving scroll. Due to
the relatively high-frequency speed of the waveforms compared to the slow reaction
time of the mechanical components, the waveform image was not drawn directly but
instead built up over a period of time by combining small pieces of many different
.waveforms, to create an averaged shape
The device known as the Hospitalier Ondograph was based on this method of wave
form measurement. It automatically charged a capacitor from each 100th wave, and
discharged the stored energy through a recording galvanometer, with each successive
.charge of the capacitor being taken from a point a little farther along the wave
Such wave-form measurements were still averaged over many hundreds of wave)
(.cycles but were more accurate than hand-drawn oscillograms
Moving-paper oscillographs using UV-sensitive paper and advanced mirror
galvanometers provided multi-channel recordings in the mid-20th century. Frequency
.response was into at least the low audio range
Photographic Oscillograph
In order to permit direct measurement of waveforms it was necessary for the
recording device to use a very low-mass measurement system that can move with
sufficient speed to match the motion of the actual waves being measured. This was
done with the development of the moving-coil oscillograph by William Duddell
which in modern times is also referred to as a mirror galvanometer. This reduced the
measurement device to a small mirror that could move at high speeds to match the
.waveform
To perform a waveform measurement, a photographic slide would be dropped past a
window where the light beam emerges, or a continuous roll of motion picture film
would be scrolled across the aperture to record the waveform over time. Although the
measurements were much more precise than the built-up paper recorders, there was
still room for improvement due to having to develop the exposed images before they
.could be examined
Allen B. Du Mont Labs. made moving-film cameras, in which continuous film motion
provided the time base. Horizontal deflection was probably disabled, although a very
slow sweep would have spread phosphor wear. CRTs with P11 phosphor were either
.standard or available
DuMont also made projection oscilloscopes, with multistage PDA, ultimately 25 kV
.or so
CRT Invention
Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) were developed in the late 19th century. At that time, the
tubes were intended primarily to demonstrate and explore the physics of electrons
(then known as cathode rays). Karl Ferdinand Braun invented the CRT oscilloscope
as a physics curiosity in 1897, by applying an oscillating signal to electrically charged
deflector plates in a phosphor-coated CRT. Applying a reference oscillating signal to
the horizontal deflector plates and a test signal to the vertical deflector plates
.produced transient plots of electrical waveforms on the small phosphor screen
The first dual-beam oscilloscope was developed in the late 1930s by the British
company A.C.Cossor (later acquired by Raytheon). The CRT was not a true double
beam type but used a split beam made by placing a third plate between the vertical
deflection plates. It was widely used during WWII for the development and servicing
 of radar equipment. Although extremely useful for examining the performance of
pulse circuits it was not calibrated so could not be used as a measuring device. It was,
however, useful in producing response curves of IF circuits and consequently a great
.aid in their accurate alignment
The triggered-sweep oscilloscope
Oscilloscopes became a much more useful tool in 1946 when Howard Vollum and
Jack Murdock invented the triggered-sweep oscilloscope, Tektronix Model 511.
Howard Vollum had first seen such 'scopes in Germany. Before triggered sweep came
into use, the horizontal deflection of the oscilloscope beam was controlled by a free-
running sawtooth waveform generator. If the period of the horizontal sweep did not
match the period of the waveform to be observed, each subsequent trace would start at
a different place in the waveform leading to a jumbled display or a moving image on
the screen. The sweep could be synchronized with the period of the signal, but then
the sweep speed was uncalibrated. Many oscilloscopes had a synchronization feature
which fed a signal from the vertical deflection into the sweep generator circuit, but the
equivalent of trigger level had at best a narrow range, and trigger polarity was not
.selectable
Triggering allows stationary display of a repeating waveform, as multiple repetitions
of the waveform are drawn over the exact same trace on the phosphor screen. A
triggered sweep maintains the calibration of sweep speed, making it possible to
measure properties of the waveform such as frequency, phase, rise time, and others,
.that would not otherwise be possible
More importantly, triggers can occur at varying intervals, and unless too closely
spaced, each trigger creates an identical sweep. There is no requirement for a
.constant-frequency input to obtain stable traces
During World War II, a few oscilloscopes used for radar development (and a few
laboratory oscilloscopes) had so-called driven sweeps. These sweep circuits remained
dormant, with the CRT beam cut off, until a drive pulse from an external device
unblanked the CRT and started one constant-speed horizontal trace, which could have
a calibrated speed, permitting measurement of time intervals. Once the sweep was
complete, the sweep circuit blanked the CRT (turned off the beam) and the circuit
reset itself, ready for the next drive pulse. The Dumont 248, a commercially available
.oscilloscope produced in 1945, had this feature
Long-persistence CRTs, sometimes used in 'scopes for displaying quite-slowly-
changing voltages, used a phosphor such as P7, which comprised a double layer. The
inner layer fluoresced bright blue from the electron beam, and its light excited a
phosphorescent "outer" layer, directly visible inside the envelope (bulb). The latter
stored the light, and released it with a yellowish glow with decaying brightness over
tens of seconds. This type of phosphor was also used in radar analog PPI CRT
displays, which are a graphic decoration (rotating radial light bar) in some TV
.weather-report scenes
Triggered-sweep oscilloscopes compare the vertical deflection signal (or rate of
change of the signal) with an adjustable threshold, referred to as trigger level. As well,
the trigger circuits also recognize the slope direction of the vertical signal when it
crosses the threshold -- whether the vertical signal is positive-going or negative-going
at the crossing. This is called trigger polarity. When the vertical signal crosses the set
trigger level and in the desired direction, the trigger circuit unblanks the CRT and
starts an accurate linear sweep. Each start can happen at any time after the preceding
one (but not too soon) -- provided that the preceding sweep is complete, and the
sweep circuit has completely reset itself to its initial state. (This dead time can be
significant.) During the sweep, the sweep circuit itself ignores sweep-start signals
.from the trigger-processing circuits
 Having selectable trigger polarity and trigger level, along with the driven sweep,
made oscilloscopes into exceptionally-valuable and exceedingly-useful test and
measurement instruments. Early triggered-sweep oscilloscopes had calibrated time
bases, as well as vertical (deflection) amplifiers with calibrated sensitivity. The trace
.speed across the screen was given in units of time per division of the graticule
As oscilloscopes have become more powerful over time, enhanced triggering options
allow capture and display of more complex waveforms. For example, trigger holdoff
is a feature in most modern oscilloscopes that can be used to define a certain period
following a trigger during which the oscilloscope will not trigger again. This makes it
easier to establish a stable view of a waveform with multiple edges which would
.otherwise cause another trigger
Tektronix
Vollum and Murdock went on to found Tektronix, the first manufacturer of calibrated
oscilloscopes (which included a graticule on the screen and produced plots with
calibrated scales on the axes of the screen). Later developments by Tektronix included
the development of multiple-trace oscilloscopes for comparing signals either by time-
multiplexing (via chopping or trace alternation) or by the presence of multiple
electron guns in the tube. In 1963, Tektronix introduced the Direct View Bistable
Storage Tube (DVBST), which allowed observing single pulse waveforms rather than
(as previously) only repeating wave forms. Using micro-channel plates, a variety of
secondary-emission electron multiplier inside the CRT and behind the faceplate, the
most-advanced analog oscilloscopes (for example, the Tek 7104 mainframe) could
display a visible trace (or allow the photography) of a single-shot event even when
.running at extremely fast sweep speeds. This 'scope went to 1 GHz
In vacuum-tube 'scopes made by Tektronix, the vertical amplifier's delay line was a
long frame, L-shaped for space reasons, that carried several dozen discrete inductors
and a corresponding number of low-capacitance adjustable ("trimmer") cylindrical
capacitors. These 'scopes had plug-in vertical input channels. For adjusting the delay
line capacitors, a high-pressure gas-filled mercury-wetted reed switch created
extremely-fast-rise pulses which went directly to the later stages of the vertical
amplifier. With a fast sweep, any misadjustment created a dip or bump, and touching
a capacitor made its local part of the waveform change. Adjusting the capacitor made
.its bump disappear. Eventually, a flat top resulted
Vacuum-tube output stages in early wideband 'scopes used radio transmitting tubes,
but they consumed a lot of power. Picofarads of capacitance to ground limited
bandwidth. A better design, called a distributed amplifier, used multiple tubes, but
their inputs (control grids) were connected along a tapped L-C delay line, so the tubes'
input capacitances became part of the delay line. As well, their outputs (plates/anodes)
were likewise connected to another tapped delay line, its output feeding the deflection
plates. (This amplifier was push-pull, so there were four delay lines, two for input,
(.and two for output
Digital oscilloscopes
The first Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO) was invented by Walter LeCroy (who
founded the LeCroy Corporation, based in New York, USA) after producing high-
speed digitizers for the research center CERN in Switzerland. LeCroy remains one of
.the three largest manufacturers of oscilloscopes in the world
Starting in the 1980s, digital oscilloscopes became prevalent. Digital storage
oscilloscopes use a fast analog-to-digital converter and memory chips to record and
show a digital representation of a waveform, yielding much more flexibility for
triggering, analysis, and display than is possible with a classic analog oscilloscope.
Unlike its analog predecessor, the digital storage oscilloscope can show pre-trigger
events, opening another dimension to the recording of rare or intermittent events and
troubleshooting of electronic glitches. As of 2006 most new oscilloscopes (aside from
.education and a few niche markets) are digital
Digital scopes rely on effective use of the installed memory and trigger functions: not
enough memory and the user will miss the events they want to examine; if the scope
has a large memory but does not trigger as desired, the user will have difficulty
.finding the event
Description
Display and general external appearance
A typical oscilloscope has a display screen, numerous input connectors, and control
knobs and buttons on the front panel. Portable instruments are small enough to carry
to a work site and may even be battery operated. Laboratory grade oscilloscopes,
especially old instruments using vacuum tubes, are bench-top devices. Special
purpose oscilloscopes may be permanently mounted in a rack. To aid measurement, a
grid called the graticule is superimposed on the face of the screen. Each square in the
.graticule is known as a (major) division

Size and portability

Large bench-top oscilloscopes were sometimes mounted on carts to allow sharing one
expensive instrument among several work areas. Miniaturized oscilloscopes were of
great value for field service equipment repair. Nowadays even a very capable
laboratory instrument can be lifted by a single person, and hand-held digital
.oscilloscopes are made by several manufacturers
Inputs
The signal to be measured is fed to one of the input connectors, which is usually a
coaxial connector such as a BNC or UHF type. Binding posts or banana plugs may be
used for lower frequencies. If the signal source has its own coaxial connector, then a
simple coaxial cable is used; otherwise, a specialized cable called a "scope probe",
supplied with the oscilloscope, is used. In general, for routine use, an open wire test
lead for connecting to the point being observed is not satisfactory, and a probe is
generally necessary. General-purpose oscilloscopes have a standardized input
resistance of 1 meg-ohm in parallel with a capacitance of around 20 Pico-farads. This
allows the use of standard oscilloscope probes. Scopes for use with very high
frequencies may have 50-ohm inputs, which must be either connected directly to a 50-
.ohm signal source or used with Z0 or active probes
Less-frequently-used inputs include one (or two) for triggering the sweep, horizontal
deflection for X-Y mode displays, and trace brightening/darkening, sometimes called
."Z-axis" inputs
Probes
Open wire test leads are likely to pick up interference, and their capacitance at the
probing end is likely to disturb the circuit/device being examined. They are
appropriate only for low frequencies and low-impedance devices. Nearly always,
probes made for 'scope use are the ordinary means of connecting to the device being
examined. The probe cable is a special coaxial type (with a resistive center conductor
to damp out ringing), with quite-effective shielding. Its capacitance is greater than that
.of an open wire, and in some cases, such a probe is satisfactory
However, a typical 'scope probe contains a 9-megohm series resistor shunted by a
low-value capacitor; combined with the input resistance and capacitance of a standard
'scope input, the probe and the 'scope input form a fairly-accurate 10:1 attenuator that
(up to a certain bandwidth) is frequency-independent. This degrades the 'scope's
sensitivity by a factor of 10, but the capacitance at the probe tip as only a few pF
 (picofarads), which is not enough to disturb many typical circuits. (Nevertheless, the
reactance of even that few pF is significantly low at high frequencies within the probe
and 'scope's bandwidth.) In the great majority of cases, the loss of sensitivity in order
.to gain less disturbance to the circuit being observed is very worthwhile
Attenuator probes do not necessarily match the input of a given 'scope, and their
capacitance needs to be adjusted if they are connected to a different 'scope. As well,
they should be checked periodically even when not moved. They are checked and if
necessary adjusted by looking at a square wave with a quite-flat top and bottom.
When properly adjusted, the horizontal trace of the square wave does not tilt either
upward or downward. Because the probe, combined with the 'scope input, forms a
frequency-compensated attenuator, this procedure is often called "compensating" a
probe. Any decent 'scope has an output jack that provides a known-amplitude square
.wave with excellent shape for checking and adjusting probes
Probes with 10:1 attenuation are by far the most common; for large signals (and
slightly-less capacitive loading), 100:1 probes are not rare. There are also probes that
contain switches to select 10:1 or direct (1:1) ratios, but one must be aware that the
1:1 setting has significant capacitance (tens of pF) at the probe tip, because the whole
.cable's capacitance is now directly connected
Good 'scopes allow for probe attenuation, easily showing effective sensitivity at the
probe tip. Some of the best ones have indicator lamps behind translucent windows in
the panel to prompt the user to read effective sensitivity. The probe connectors
(modified BNC's) have an extra contact to define the probe's attenuation. (A certain
(.value of resistor, connected to ground, "encodes" the attenuation
There are special high-voltage probes which also form compensated attenuators with
the 'scope input; the probe body is physically large, and one made by Tektronix
requires partly filling a canister surrounding the series resistor with volatile liquid
fluorocarbon to displace air. At the 'scope end is a box with several waveform-
trimming adjustments. For safety, a barrier disc keeps one's fingers distant from the
point being examined. Maximum voltage is in the low tens of kV. (Observing a high-
voltage ramp can create a staircase waveform with steps at different points every
repetition, until the probe tip is in contact. Until then, a tiny arc charges the probe tip,
and its capacitance holds the voltage (open circuit). As the voltage continues to climb,
(.another tiny arc charges the tip further
There are also current probes, with cores that surround the conductor carrying current
to be examined. One type has a hole for the conductor, and requires that the wire be
passed through the hole; it's for semi-permanent or permanent mounting. However,
other types, for testing, have a two-part cores that permit them to be placed around a
wire. Inside the probe, a coil wound around the core provides a current into an
appropriate load, and the voltage across that load is proportional to current. However,
.this type of probe can sense AC, only
A more-sophisticated probe (originally made by Tektronix) includes a magnetic flux
sensor (Hall-effect) in the magnetic circuit. The probe connects to an amplifier, which
feeds (low frequency) current into the coil to cancel the sensed field; the magnitude of
that current provides the low-frequency part of the current waveform, right down to
DC. The coil still picks up high frequencies. There is a combining network akin to a
.loudspeaker crossover network
The trace
In its simplest mode, the oscilloscope repeatedly draws a horizontal line called the
trace across the middle of the screen from left to right. One of the controls, the
timebase control, sets the speed at which the line is drawn, and is calibrated in
seconds or decimal fractions of a second per division. If the input voltage departs
from zero, the trace is deflected either upwards (normally for positive polarity) or
 downwards (negative). Another control, the vertical control, sets the scale of the
vertical deflection, and is calibrated in volts per division. The resulting trace is a plot
of voltage against time, with the more distant past on the left and the more recent past
.on the right
Front panel controls
Focus control
This control adjusts CRT focus to obtain the sharpest, most-detailed trace. In practice,
focus needs to be adjusted slightly when observing quite-different signals, which
means that it needs to be an external control. Flat-panel displays do not need a focus
.control; their sharpness is always optimum
Intensity control
This adjusts trace brightness. Slow traces on CRT 'scopes need less, and fast ones,
especially if they don't repeat very often, require more. On flat panels, however, trace
brightness is essentially independent of sweep speed, because the internal signal
.processing effectively synthesizes the display from the digitized data
Beam finder
Modern 'scopes have direct-coupled deflection amplifiers, which means the trace
could be deflected off-screen. They also might have their CRT beam blanked without
the operator knowing it. In such cases, the screen is blank. To help in restoring the
display quickly and without experimentation, the beam finder circuit overrides any
blanking and ensures that the beam will not be deflected off-screen; it limits the
deflection. With a display, it's usually very easy to restore a normal display. (While
active, beam-finder circuits might temporarily distort the trace severely, however this
(.is acceptable
Graticule
The graticule is a grid of squares that serve as reference marks for measuring the
displayed trace. These markings, whether located directly on the screen or on a
removable plastic filter, usually consist of a 1 cm grid with closer tick marks (often at
2 mm) on the centre vertical and horizontal axis. One expects to see ten major
divisions across the screen; the number of vertical major divisions varies. Comparing
the grid markings with the waveform permits one to measure both voltage (vertical
axis) and time (horizontal axis). Frequency can also be determined by measuring the
.waveform period and calculating its reciprocal
On old and lower-cost CRT 'scopes the graticule is a sheet of plastic, often with light-
diffusing markings and concealed lamps at the edge of the graticule. The lamps had a
brightness control. Higher-cost instruments have the graticule marked on the inside
face of the CRT, to eliminate parallax errors; better ones also had adjustable edge
illumination with diffusing markings. (Diffusing markings appear bright.) Digital
'scopes, however, generate the graticule markings on the display in the same way as
.the trace
External graticules also protect the glass face of the CRT from accidental impact.
Some CRT 'scopes with internal graticules have an unmarked tinted sheet plastic light
.filter to enhance trace contrast; this also serves to protect the faceplate of the CRT
Accuracy and resolution of measurements using a graticule is relatively limited; better
'scopes sometimes have movable bright markers on the trace that permit internal
.circuits to make more refined measurements
Both calibrated vertical sensitivity and calibrated horizontal time are set in 1 - 2 - 5 -
10 steps. This leads, however, to some awkward interpretations of minor divisions. At
2, each of the five minor divisions is 0.4, so one has to think 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6,
 which is rather awkward. One Tektronix plug-in used a 1 - 2.5 - 5 - 10 sequence,
.which simplified estimating. The "2.5" didn't look as "neat", but was very welcome
Timebase Controls
These select the horizontal speed of the CRT's spot as it creates the trace; this process
is commonly referred to as the sweep. In all but the least-costly modern 'scopes, the
sweep speed is selectable and calibrated in units of time per major graticule division.
Quite a wide range of sweep speeds is generally provided, from seconds to as fast as
picoseconds (in the fastest 'scopes) per division. Usually, a continuously-variable
control (often a knob in front of the calibrated selector knob) offers uncalibrated
speeds, typically slower than calibrated. This control provides a range somewhat
greater than that of consecutive calibrated steps, making any speed available between
.the extremes
Hold-off control
Found on some better analog 'scopes, this varies the time (hold-off) during which the
sweep circuit ignores triggers. It provides a stable display of some repetitive events in
which some triggers would create confusing displays. It is usually set to minimum,
because a longer time decreases the number of sweeps per second, resulting in a
.dimmer trace
Vertical sensitivity, coupling, and polarity controls
To accommodate a wide range of input amplitudes, a switch selects calibrated
sensitivity of the vertical deflection. Another control, often in front of the calibrated-
selector knob, offers a continuously-variable sensitivity over a limited range from
.calibrated to less-sensitive settings
Often, but not always, the observed signal is offset by a steady component, and only
the changes are of interest. A switch (AC position) connects a capacitor in series with
the input that passes only the changes (provided that they are not too slow -- "slow"
would mean visible). However, when the signal has a fixed offset of interest, or
changes quite slowly, the input is connected directly (DC switch position). Any
decent 'scope displays DC. For convenience, to see where zero volts input currently
shows on the screen, many 'scopes have a third switch position (GND) that
disconnects the input and grounds it. Often, in this case, the user centers the trace with
.the Vertical Position control
Better 'scopes have a polarity selector. Normally, a positive input moves the trace
.upward, but this permits inverting -- positive deflects the trace downward
Horizontal sensitivity control
This control is found only on more elaborate 'scopes; it offers adjustable sensitivity
.for external horizontal inputs
Vertical position control
Moves the whole displayed trace up and down. Often used to set the no-input trace
exactly on the center line of the graticule, but permits offsetting vertically by a limited
amount. With direct coupling, can compensate for a limited DC component of an
.input
Horizontal position control
Moves the display sidewise. Usually sets the left end of the trace at the left edge of the
graticule, but can displace the whole trace when desired. Also moves X-Y mode
traces sidewise in some 'scopes, and can compensate for a limited DC component as
.for vertical position
Dual-trace controls
 Each input channel usually has its own set of
sensitivity, coupling, and position controls, although
some four-trace 'scopes have only mimimal controls
.for their third and fourth channels
Dual-trace 'scopes have a mode switch to select either
channel alone, both channels, or (in some 'scopes) an
X-Y display, which uses the second channel for X
deflection. When both channels are displayed, the type
of channel switching can be selected on some 'scopes;
on others, the type depends upon timebase setting. If
manually selectable, channel switching can be free-
running (asynchronous), or between consecutive
sweeps. Some Philips dual-trace analog 'scopes had a
fast analog multiplier, and provided a display of the
.product of the input channels
Multiple-trace 'scopes have a switch for each channel to enable or disable display of
.that trace's signal

Delayed-sweep controls
These include controls for the delayed-sweep timebase, which is calibrated, and often
also variable. The slowest speed is several steps faster than the slowest main sweep
speed, although the fastest is generally the same. A calibrated multiturn delay time
control offers wide range, high resolution delay settings; it spans the full duration of
the main sweep, and its reading corresponds to graticule divisions (but with much
.finer precision). Its accuracy is also superior to that of the display
A switch selects display modes: Main sweep only, with a brightened region showing
when the delayed sweep is advancing, delayed sweep only, or (on some 'scopes) a
.combination mode
Good CRT 'scopes include a delayed-sweep intensity control, to allow for the dimmer
trace of a much-faster delayed sweep that nevertheless occurs only once per main
sweep. Such 'scopes also are likely to have a trace separation control for multiplexed
.display of both the main and delayed sweeps together
Sweep trigger controls
A switch selects the Trigger Source. It can be an external input, one of the vertical
channels of a dual or multiple-trace 'scope, or the AC line (mains) frequency. Another
switch enables or disables Auto trigger mode, or selects single sweep, if provided in
.the 'scope. Either a spring-return switch position or a pushbutton arms single sweeps
A Level control varies the voltage on the waveform which generates a trigger, and the
Slope switch selects positive-going or negative-going polarity at the selected trigger
.level
Basic types of sweeps
Triggered sweeps
Type 465 Tektronix oscilloscope. This was a very popular analog oscilloscope,
.portable, and is an excellent representative example
To display events with unchanging or slowly (visibly) changing waveforms, but
occurring at times that may or may not be evenly spaced, modern oscilloscopes have
triggered sweeps. Compared to simpler 'scopes with sweep oscillators that are always
.running, triggered-sweep 'scopes are markedly more versatile
 A triggered sweep starts at a selected point on the signal, providing a stable display.
In this way, triggering allows the display of periodic signals such as sine waves and
square waves, as well as nonperiodic signals such as single pulses, or pulses that don't
.recur at a fixed rate
With triggered sweeps, the scope will blank the beam and start to reset the sweep
circuit each time the beam reaches the extreme right side of the screen. For a period of
time, called holdoff, (extendable by a front-panel control on some better 'scopes), the
sweep circuit resets completely and ignores triggers. Once holdoff expires, the next
trigger starts a sweep. The trigger event is usually the input waveform reaching some
user-specified threshold voltage (trigger level) in the specified direction (going
.(positive or going negative -- trigger polarity
In some cases, variable holdoff time can be really useful to make the sweep ignore
interfering triggers that occur before the events one wants to observe. In the case of
repetitive, but quite-complex waveforms, variable holdoff can create a stable display
.that can't otherwise practically be obtained
Automatic sweep mode
Triggered sweeps can offer a blank screen if there are no triggers. To avoid this, these
sweeps include a timing circuit (millisecond range) that generates free-running
triggers to provide a trace. Once triggers arrive, this timer stops providing pseudo-
.triggers. For observing low repetition rates, this mode can be de-selected

Recurrent sweeps
If the input signal is periodic, the sweep repetition rate can be adjusted to display a
few cycles of the waveform. Early (tube) 'scopes and lowest-cost 'scopes have sweep
oscillators that run continuously, and are uncalibrated. Such oscilloscopes are very
simple, comparatively inexpensive, and were useful in radio servicing and some TV
servicing. Measuring voltage or time is possible, but only with extra equipment, and is
.quite inconvenient. They are primarily qualitative instruments
They have a few (widely spaced) frequency ranges, and relatively wide-range
continuous frequency control within a given range. In use, the sweep frequency is set
to slightly lower than some submultiple of the input frequency, to display typically at
least two cycles of the input signal (so all details are visible). A very simple control
feeds an adjustable amount of the vertical signal (or possibly, a related external
signal) to the sweep oscillator. The signal triggers beam blanking and a sweep retrace
.sooner than it would occur free-running, and the display becomes stable
Single sweeps
Some 'scopes offer these -- the sweep circuit is manually armed (typically by a
pushbutton or equivalent) "Armed" means it's ready to respond to a trigger. Once the
sweep is complete, it resets, and will not sweep until re-armed. This mode, combined
.with a 'scope camera, captures single-shot events
:Types of trigger include
external trigger, a pulse from an external source connected to a dedicated•
.input on the scope
edge trigger, an edge-detector that generates a pulse when the input signal•
crosses a specified threshold voltage in a specified direction. These are the
most-common types of triggers; the level control sets the threshold voltage,
and the slope control selects the direction (negative or positive-going). (The
first sentence of the description also applies to the inputs to some digital logic
(.circuits; those inputs have fixed threshold and polarity response
 video trigger, a circuit that extracts synchronizing pulses from video formats•
such as PAL and NTSC and triggers the timebase on every line, a specified
line, every field, or every frame. This circuit is typically found in a waveform
.monitor device, although some better 'scopes include this function
delayed trigger, which waits a specified time after an edge trigger before•
starting the sweep. As described under delayed sweeps, a trigger delay circuit
(typically the main sweep) extends this delay to a known and adjustable
interval. In this way, the operator can examine a particular pulse in a long train
.of pulses
Some recent designs of 'scopes include more sophisticated triggering schemes; these
.are described toward the end of this article
Delayed sweeps
These are found on more-sophisticated 'scopes, which contain a second set of
timebase circuits for a delayed sweep. A delayed sweep provides a very-detailed look
at some small selected portion of the main timebase. The main timebase serves as a
controllable delay, after which the delayed timebase starts. This can start when the
delay expires, or can be triggered (only) after the delay expires. Ordinarily, the
delayed timebase is set for a faster sweep, sometimes much faster, such as 1000:1. At
extreme ratios, jitter in the delays on consecutive main sweeps degrades the display,
.but delayed-sweep triggers can overcome that
The display shows the vertical signal in one of several modes -- the main timebase, or
the delayed timebase only, or a combination. When the delayed sweep is active, the
main sweep trace brightens while the delayed sweep is advancing. In one combination
mode, provided only on some 'scopes, the trace changes from the main sweep to the
delayed sweep once the delayed sweep starts, although less of the delayed fast sweep
is visible for longer delays. Another combination mode multiplexes (alternates) the
main and delayed sweeps so that both appear at once; a trace separation control
.displaces them
Dual and multiple-trace oscilloscopes
Oscilloscopes with two vertical inputs, referred to as dual-trace 'scopes, are extremely
useful and commonplace. Using a single-beam CRT, they time-multiplex the inputs,
usually switching between them fast enough to display two traces apparently at once.
Less common are 'scopes with more traces; four inputs are common among these, but
a few (Kikusui, for one) offered a display of the sweep trigger signal if desired. Some
multi-trace 'scopes use the external trigger input as an optional vertical input, and
some have third and fourth channels with only minimal controls. In all cases, the
inputs, when independently displayed, are time-multiplexed, but dual-trace 'scopes
often can add their inputs to display a real-time analog sum. (Inverting one channel
provides a difference, provided that neither channel is overloaded. This difference
(.mode can provide a moderate-performance differential input
Switching channels can be asynchronous, that is, free-running, with trace blanking
while switching, or after each horizontal sweep is complete. Asynchronous switching
is usually designated "Chopped", while sweep-synchronized is designated
"Alt[ernate]". A given channel is alternately connected and disconnected, leading to
the term "chopped". Multi-trace 'scopes also switch channels either in Chopped or Alt
.modes
In general, Chopped mode is better for slower sweeps. It's possible for the internal
chopping rate to be a multiple of the sweep repetition rate, creating blanks in the
traces, but in practice this is rarely a problem; the gaps in one trace are overwritten by
traces of the following sweep. A few 'scopes had a modulated chopping rate to avoid
.this occasional problem. Alternate mode, however, is better for faster sweeps
 True dual-beam CRT 'scopes did exist, but were not common. One type (Cossor,
U.K.) had a beam-splitter plate in its CRT, and single-ended deflection following the
splitter. (More details are near the end of this article; see "CRT Invention". Others had
two complete electron guns, requiring tight control of axial (rotational) mechanical
alignment in manufacturing the CRT. Beam-splitter types had horizontal deflection
common to both vertical channels, but dual-gun 'scopes could have separate time
bases, or use one time base for both channels. Multiple-gun CRTs (up to ten guns!)
were made in past decades. With ten guns, the envelope (bulb) was cylindrical
.throughout its length
The vertical amplifier
In an analog 'scope, the vertical amplifier acquires the signal[s] to be displayed. In
better 'scopes, it delays them by a fraction of a microsecond, and provides a signal
large enough to deflect the CRT's beam. That deflection is at least somewhat beyond
the edges of the graticule, and more typically some distance off-screen. The amplifier
has to have low distortion to display its input accurately (it must be linear), and it has
to recover quickly from overloads. As well, its time-domain response has to represent
.transients accurately -- minimal overshoot, rounding, and tilt of a flat pulse top
A vertical input goes to a frequency-compensated step attenuator to reduce large
signals to prevent overload. The attenuator feeds a low-level stage (or a few), which
in turn feed gain stages (and a delay-line driver if there is a delay). Following are
more gain stages, up to the final output stage which develops a large signal swing
.(tens of volts, sometimes over 100 volts) for CRT electrostatic deflection
In dual and multiple-trace 'scopes, an internal electronic switch selects the relatively
low-level output of one channel's amplifiers and sends it to the following stages of the
.vertical amplifier, which is only a single channel, so to speak, from that point on
In free-running ("chopped") mode, the oscillator (which may be simply a different
operating mode of the switch driver) blanks the beam before switching, and unblanks
.it only after the switching transients have settled
Part way through the amplifier is a feed to the sweep trigger circuits, for internal
triggering from the signal. This feed would be from an individual channel's amplifier
in a dual or multi-trace 'scope, the channel depending upon the setting of the trigger
.source selector
This feed precedes the delay (if there is one), which allows the sweep circuit to
unblank the CRT and start the forward sweep, so the CRT can show the triggering
event. High-quality analog delays add a modest cost to a 'scope, and are omitted in
.'scopes that are cost-sensitive
The delay, itself, comes from a special cable with a pair of conductors wound around
a flexible magnetically-soft core. The coiling provides distributed inductance, while a
conductive layer close to the wires provides distributed capacitance. The combination
is a wideband transmission line with considerable delay per unit length. Both ends of
.the delay cable require matched impedances to avoid reflections
X-Y mode
Most modern oscilloscopes have several inputs for voltages, and thus can be used to
plot one varying voltage versus another. This is especially useful for graphing I-V
curves (current versus voltage characteristics) for components such as diodes, as well
as Lissajous patterns. Lissajous figures are an example of how an oscilloscope can be
used to track phase differences between multiple input signals. This is very frequently
used in broadcast engineering to plot the left and right stereophonic channels, to
ensure that the stereo generator is calibrated properly. Historically, stable Lissajous
figures were used to show that two sine waves had a relatively simple frequency
 relationship, a numerically-small ratio. They also indicated phase difference between
.two sine waves of the same frequency
Complete loss of signal in an X-Y display means that the CRT's beam strikes a small
spot, which risks burning the phosphor. Older phosphors burned more easily. Some
dedicated X-Y displays reduce beam current greatly, or blank the display entirely, if
.there are no inputs present
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is a measure of the range of frequencies that can be displayed; it refers
primarily to the vertical amplifier, although the horizontal deflection amplifier has to
be fast enough to handle the fastest sweeps. The bandwidth of the 'scope is limited by
the vertical amplifiers and the CRT (in analog instruments) or by the sampling rate of
the analog to digital converter in digital instruments. The bandwidth is defined as the
frequency at which the sensitivity is 0.707 of the sensitivity at lower frequency (a
drop of 3 dB). The rise time of the fastest pulse that can be resolved by the scope is
:related to its bandwidth approximately
[
Bandwidth in Hz x rise time in seconds = 0.35 [2
For example, a 'scope intended to resolve pulses with a rise time of 1 nanosecond
.would have a bandwidth of 350 MHz
For a digital oscilloscope, a rule of thumb is that the continuous sampling rate should
be ten times the highest frequency desired to resolve; for example a 20
megasample/second rate would be applicable for measuring signals up to about 2
.megahertz
Other features
Some oscilloscopes have cursors, which are lines that can be moved about the screen
to measure the time interval between two points, or the difference between two
voltages. A few older 'scopes simply brightened the trace at movable locations. These
.cursors are more accurate than visual estimates referring to graticule lines
Better quality general purpose oscilloscopes include a calibration signal for setting up
the compensation of test probes; this is (often) a 1 kHz square-wave signal of a
definite peak-to-peak voltage available at a test terminal on the front panel. Some
.better 'scopes also have a squared-off loop for checking and adjusting current probes
Sometimes the event that the user wants to see may only happen occasionally. To
catch these events, some oscilloscopes, known as "storage scopes", preserve the most
recent sweep on the screen. This was originally achieved by using a special CRT, a
"storage tube", which would retain the image of even a very brief event for a long
.time
Some digital oscilloscopes can sweep at speeds as slow as once per hour, emulating a
strip chart recorder. That is, the signal scrolls across the screen from right to left. Most
oscilloscopes with this facility switch from a sweep to a strip-chart mode at about one
sweep per ten seconds. This is because otherwise, the scope looks broken: it's
.collecting data, but the dot cannot be seen
In current 'scopes, digital signal sampling is more often used for all but the simplest
models. Samples feed fast analog-to-digital converters, following which all signal
.processing (and storage) is digital
Many oscilloscopes have different plug-in modules for different purposes, e.g., high-
sensitivity amplifiers of relatively narrow bandwidth, differential amplifiers,
amplifiers with four or more channels, sampling plugins for repetitive signals of very
high frequency, and special-purpose plugins, including audio/ultrasonic spectrum
.analyzers, and stable-offset-voltage direct-coupled channels with relatively high gain
 Selection
Oscilloscopes generally have a checklist of some set of the above features. The basic
measure of virtue is the bandwidth of its vertical amplifiers. Typical scopes for
general purpose use should have a bandwidth of at least 100 MHz, although much
lower bandwidths are acceptable for audio-frequency applications. A useful sweep
.range is from one second to 100 nanoseconds, with triggering and delayed sweep
The chief benefit of a quality oscilloscope is the quality of the trigger circuit. If the
trigger is unstable, the display will always be fuzzy. The quality improves roughly as
.the frequency response and voltage stability of the trigger increase
Analog oscilloscopes have been almost totally displaced by digital storage scopes
except for the low bandwidth (< 60 MHz) segment of the market. Greatly increased
sample rates have eliminated the display of incorrect signals, known as "aliasing", that
was sometimes present in the first generation of digital scopes. The used test
equipment market, particularly on-line auction venues, typically have a wide selection
of older analog scopes available. However it is becoming more difficult to obtain
replacement parts for these instruments and repair services are generally unavailable
.from the original manufacturer
As of 2007[update], a 350 MHz bandwidth (BW), 2.5 giga-samples per second (GS/s),
dual-channel digital storage scope costs about US$7000 new. The current real-time
analog bandwidth record, as of July 2009[update], is held by the LeCroy WM830Zi and
SDA830Zi oscilloscopes with a 30 GHz BW (non-interleaved) and a sample rate of
80 GHz. The current equivalent time sampling bandwidth record for sampling digital
storage oscilloscopes, as of June 2006[update], is held by the LeCroy WaveExpert series
.with a 100 GHz bandwidth
How it works
(Cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO
The earliest and simplest type of oscilloscope consisted of a cathode ray tube, a
vertical amplifier, a timebase, a horizontal amplifier and a power supply. These are
now called 'analog' scopes to distinguish them from the 'digital' scopes that became
.common in the 1990s and 2000s
Before the introduction of the CRO in its current form, the cathode ray tube had
already been in use as a measuring device. The cathode ray tube is an evacuated glass
envelope, similar to that in a black-and-white television set, with its flat face covered
in a fluorescent material (the phosphor). The screen is typically less than 20 cm in
diameter, much smaller than the one in a television set. Older CROs had round
.screens or faceplates, while newer CRTs in better CROs have rectangular faceplates
In the neck of the tube is an electron gun, which is a small heated metal cylinder with
a flat end coated with electron-emitting oxides. Close to it is a much-larger-diameter
cylinder carrying a disc at its cathode end with a round hole in it; it's called a "grid"
(G1), by historic analogy with amplifier vacuum-tube grids. A small negative grid
potential (referred to the cathode) is used to block electrons from passing through the
hole when the electron beam needs to be turned off, as during sweep retrace or when
.no trigger events occur
However, when G1 becomes less negative with respect to the cathode, another
cylindrical electrode designated G2, which is hundreds of volts positive referred to the
cathode, attracts electrons through the hole. Their trajectories converge as they pass
through the hole, creating quite-small diameter "pinch" called the crossover.
Following electrodes ("grids"), electrostatic lenses, focus this crossover onto the
.screen; the spot is an image of the crossover
 Typically, the CRT runs at roughly -2 kV or so, and various methods are used to
correspondingly offset the G1 voltage. Proceeding along the electron gun, the beam
passes through the imaging lenses and first anode, emerging with an energy in
electron-volts equal to that of the cathode. The beam passes through one set of
deflection plates , then the other, where it is deflected as required to the phosphor
.screen
The average voltage of the deflection plates is relatively close to ground, because they
.have to be directly connected to the vertical output stage
By itself, once the beam leaves the deflection region, it can produce a usefully-bright
trace. However, for higher bandwidth CROs where the trace may move more rapidly
across the phosphor screen, a positive post-deflection acceleration ("PDA") voltage of
over 10,000 volts is often used, increasing the energy (speed) of the electrons that
strike the phosphor. The kinetic energy of the electrons is converted by the phosphor
.into visible light at the point of impact
When switched on, a CRT normally displays a single bright dot in the center of the
screen, but the dot can be moved about electrostatically or magnetically. The CRT in
an oscilloscope always uses electrostatic deflection. Ordinary electrostatic deflection
plates can typically move the beam roughly only 15 degrees or so off-axis, which
means that 'scope CRTs have long, narrow funnels, and for their screen size, are
usually quite long. It's the CRT length that makes CROs "deep", from front to back.
Modern flat-panel oscilloscopes have no need for such rather-extreme dimensions;
.their shapes tend to be more like one kind of rectangular lunchbox
Between the electron gun and the screen are two opposed pairs of metal plates called
the deflection plates. The vertical amplifier generates a potential difference across one
pair of plates, giving rise to a vertical electric field through which the electron beam
.passes. When the plate potentials are the same, the beam is not deflected
When the top plate is positive with respect to the bottom plate, the beam is deflected
upwards; when the field is reversed, the beam is deflected downwards. The horizontal
amplifier does a similar job with the other pair of deflection plates, causing the beam
to move left or right. This deflection system is called electrostatic deflection, and is
different from the electromagnetic deflection system used in television tubes. In
comparison to magnetic deflection, electrostatic deflection can more readily follow
.random and fast changes in potential, but is limited to small deflection angles
Common representations of deflection plates are misleading. For one, the plates for
one deflection axis are closer to the screen than the plates for the other. Plates that are
closer together provide better sensitivity, but they also need to be extend far enough
along the CRT's axis to obtain adequate sensitivity. (The longer the time a given
electron spends in the field, the farther it's deflected.) However, closely-spaced long
plates would cause the beam to contact them before full amplitude deflection occurs,
so the compromise shape has them relatively close together toward the cathode, and
flared apart in a shallow vee toward the screen. They are not flat in any but quite-old
!CRTs
The timebase is an electronic circuit that generates a ramp voltage.
This is a voltage that changes continuously and linearly with time.
When it reaches a predefined value the ramp is reset and settles to
its starting value. When a trigger event is recognized, provided the
reset process (holdoff) is complete, the ramp starts again. The
timebase voltage usually drives the horizontal amplifier. Its effect
is to sweep the screen end of the electron beam at a constant speed
from left to right across the screen, then blank the beam and return
its deflection voltages to the left, so to speak, in time to begin the
 next sweep. Typical sweep circuits can take significant time to reset; in some CROs,
.fast sweeps required more time to retrace than to sweep
Meanwhile, the vertical amplifier is driven by an external voltage (the vertical input)
that is taken from the circuit or experiment that is being measured. The amplifier has a
very high input impedance, typically one megohm, so that it draws only a tiny current
from the signal source. Attenuator probes reduce the current drawn even more. The
amplifier drives the vertical deflection plates with a voltage that is proportional to the
vertical input. Because the electrons have already been accelerated by typically 2kV
(roughly), this amplifier also has to deliver almost a hundred volts, and this with a
very wide bandwidth. The gain of the vertical amplifier can be adjusted to suit the
amplitude of the input voltage. A positive input voltage bends the electron beam
upwards, and a negative voltage bends it downwards, so that the vertical deflection at
.any part of the trace shows the value of the input at that time
The response of any oscilloscope is much faster than that of mechanical measuring
devices such as the multimeter, where the inertia of the pointer (and perhaps damping)
.slows down its response to the input
Observing high speed signals, especially non-repetitive signals, with a conventional
CRO is difficult, due to non-stable or changing triggering threshold which makes it
hard to "freeze" the waveform on the screen. This often requires the room to be
darkened or a special viewing hood to be placed over the face of the display tube. To
aid in viewing such signals, special oscilloscopes have borrowed from night vision
technology, employing a microchannel plate electron multiplier behind the tube face
.to amplify faint beam currents
.Tektronix Model C-5A Oscilloscope Camera with Polaroid instant film pack back
Although a CRO allows one to view a signal, in its basic form it has no means of
recording that signal on paper for the purpose of documentation. Therefore, special
oscilloscope cameras were developed to photograph the screen directly. Early
cameras used roll or plate film, while in the 1970s Polaroid instant cameras became
popular. A P11 CRT phosphor (visually blue) was especially effective in exposing
.film. Cameras (sometimes using single sweeps) were used to capture faint traces
The power supply is an important component of the scope. It provides low voltages to
power the cathode heater in the tube (isolated for high voltage!), and the vertical and
horizontal amplifiers as well as the trigger and sweep circuits. Higher voltages are
needed to drive the electrostatic deflection plates, which means that the output stage
of the vertical deflection amplifier has to develop large signal swings. These voltages
must be very stable, and amplifier gain must be correspondingly stable. Any
significant variations will cause errors in the size of the trace, making the 'scope
.inaccurate
Later analog oscilloscopes added digital processing to the standard design. The same
basic architecture - cathode ray tube, vertical and horizontal amplifiers - was retained,
but the electron beam was controlled by digital circuitry that could display graphics
and text mixed with the analog waveforms. Display time for those was interleaved --
multiplexed -- with waveform display in basically much the same way that a
dual/multitrace 'scope displays its channels. The extra features that this system
:provides include
;on-screen display of amplifier and time base settings•
;voltage cursors - adjustable horizontal lines with voltage display•
;time cursors - adjustable vertical lines with time display•
.on-screen menus for trigger settings and other functions•
Dual-beam oscilloscope
A dual-beam oscilloscope was a type of oscilloscope once used to compare one signal
.with another. There were two beams produced in a special type of CRT
Unlike an ordinary "dual-trace" oscilloscope (which time-shared a single electron
beam, thus losing about 50% of each signal), a dual-beam oscilloscope
simultaneously produced two separate electron beams, capturing the entirety of both
signals. One type (Cossor, UK) had a beam-splitter plate in its CRT, and single-ended
vertical deflection following the splitter. (There is more about this type of 'scope near
(.the end of the this article
Other dual-beam 'scopes had two complete electron guns, requiring tight control of
axial (rotational) mechanical alignment in manufacturing the CRT. In the latter type,
two independent pairs of vertical plates deflect the beams. Vertical plates for channel
A had no effect on channel B's beam. Similarly for channel B, separate vertical plates
.existed which deflected the B beam only
On some dual-beam scopes the time base, horizontal plates and horizontal amplifier
were common to both beams (the beam-splitter CRT worked this way). On more
elaborate scopes like the Tektronix 556 there were two independent time bases and
two sets of horizontal plates and horizontal amplifiers. Thus one could look at a very
.fast signal on one beam and a slow signal on another beam
Most multichannel 'scopes do not have multiple electron beams. Instead, they display
only one trace at a time, but switch the later stages of the vertical amplifier between
one channel and the other either on alternate sweeps (ALT mode) or many times per
.sweep (CHOP mode). Very few true dual-beam oscilloscopes were built
With the advent of digital signal capture, true dual-beam oscilloscopes became
obsolete, as it was then possible to display two truly simultaneous signals from
memory using either the ALT or CHOP display technique, or even possibly a raster
.display mode
Analog storage oscilloscope
Trace storage is an extra feature available on some analog scopes; they used direct-
view storage CRTs. Storage allows the trace pattern that normally decays in a fraction
of a second to remain on the screen for several minutes or longer. An electrical circuit
.can then be deliberately activated to store and erase the trace on the screen
The storage is accomplished using the principle of secondary emission. When the
ordinary writing electron beam passes a point on the phosphor surface, not only does
it momentarily cause the phosphor to illuminate, but the kinetic energy of the electron
beam knocks other electrons loose from the phosphor surface. This can leave a net
positive charge. Storage oscilloscopes then provide one or more secondary electron
guns (called the "flood guns") that provide a steady flood of low-energy electrons
traveling towards the phosphor screen. Flood guns cover the entire screen, ideally
uniformly. The electrons from the flood guns are more strongly drawn to the areas of
the phosphor screen where the writing gun has left a net positive charge; in this way,
the electrons from the flood guns re-illuminate the phosphor in these positively-
.charged areas of the phosphor screen
If the energy of the flood gun electrons is properly balanced, each impinging flood
gun electron knocks out one secondary electron from the phosphor screen, thus
preserving the net positive charge in the illuminated areas of the phosphor screen. In
this way, the image originally written by the writing gun can be maintained for a long
time -- many seconds to a few minutes. Eventually, small imbalances in the secondary
emission ratio cause the entire screen to "fade positive" (light up) or cause the
originally-written trace to "fade negative" (extinguish). It is these imbalances that
.limit the ultimate storage time possible
 Storage oscilloscopes (and large-screen storage CRT displays) of this type, with
storage at the phosphor, were made by Tektronix. Other companies, notably Hughes,
earlier made storage 'scopes with a more-elaborate and costly internal storage
.structure
Some oscilloscopes used a strictly binary (on/off) form of storage known as "bistable
storage". Others permitted a constant series of short, incomplete erasure cycles which
created the impression of a phosphor with "variable persistence". Certain
oscilloscopes also allowed the partial or complete shutdown of the flood guns,
allowing the preservation (albeit invisibly) of the latent stored image for later
viewing. (Fading positive or fading negative only occurs when the flood guns are
"on"; with the flood guns off, only leakage of the charges on the phosphor screen
.degrades the stored image
Analogue Sampling Oscilloscope
The principle of sampling was developed during the 1930s in Bell Laboratories by
Nyquist, after whom the sampling theorem is named. The first sampling oscilloscope
was, however, developed in the late 1950s at the Atomic Energy Research
Establishment at Harwell in England by G.B.B. Chaplin, A.R. Owens and A.J. Cole.
["A Sensitive Transistor Oscillograph With DC to 300 Mc/s Response", Proc I.E.E.
(London) Vol.106, Part B. Suppl., No. 16,
.[1959
The first sampling oscilloscope was an analog
instrument, originally developed as a front-end
unit for a conventional oscilloscope. The need
for this instrument grew out of the requirement
of nuclear scientists at Harwell to capture the
waveform of very fast repetitive pulses. The
current state-of-the-art oscilloscopes -- with
bandwidths of typically 20 MHz -- were not able
to do this and the 300 MHz effective bandwidth
of their analog sampling oscilloscope
.represented a considerable advance
A short series of these 'front-ends' was made at
Harwell and found much use and Chaplin et al.
patented the invention. Commercial exploitation
of this patent was ultimately done by the Hewlett-Packard Company (later Agilent
.(Technologies
Sampling oscilloscopes achieve their large bandwidths by not taking the entire signal
at a time. Instead, only a sample of the signal is taken. The samples are then
assembled to create the waveform. This method can only work for repetitive signals,
not transient events. The idea of sampling can be thought of as a stroboscopic
technique. When using a strobe light, only pieces of the motion are seen, but when
enough of these images are taken, the overall motion can be captured

Digital oscilloscopes
While analog devices make use of continually varying voltages, digital devices
employ binary numbers which correspond to samples of the voltage. In the case of
digital oscilloscopes, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is used to change the
measured voltages into digital information. Waveforms are taken as a series of
samples. The samples are stored, accumulating until enough are taken in order to
describe the waveform, which are then reassembled for display. Digital technology
 allows the information to be displayed with brightness, clarity, and stability. There
are, however, limitations as with the performance of any oscilloscope. The highest
frequency at which the oscilloscope can operate is determined by the analog
.bandwidth of the front-end components of the instrument and the sampling rate
Digital oscilloscopes can be classified into three primary categories: digital storage
.oscilloscopes, digital phosphor oscilloscopes, and digital sampling oscilloscopes
Digital storage oscilloscope
A digital storage oscilloscope manufactured by Agilent Technologies
The digital storage oscilloscope, or DSO for short, is now the preferred type for most
industrial applications, although simple analog CROs are still used by hobbyists. It
replaces the unreliable storage method used in analog storage scopes with digital
memory, which can store data as long as required without degradation. It also allows
.complex processing of the signal by high-speed digital signal processing circuits
The vertical input, instead of driving the vertical amplifier, is digitised by an analog to
digital converter to create a data set that is stored in the memory of a microprocessor.
The data set is processed and then sent to the display, which in early DSOs was a
cathode ray tube, but is now more likely to be an LCD flat panel. DSOs with color
LCD displays are common. The data set can be sent over a LAN or a WAN for
processing or archiving. The screen image can be directly recorded on paper by means
of an attached printer or plotter, without the need for an oscilloscope camera. The
scope's own signal analysis software can extract many useful time-domain features
(e.g. rise time, pulse width, amplitude), frequency spectra, histograms and statistics,
persistence maps, and a large number of parameters meaningful to engineers in
specialized fields such as telecommunications, disk drive analysis and power
.electronics
Digital oscilloscopes are limited principally by the performance of the analog input
circuitry and the sampling frequency. In general, the sampling frequency should be at
least the Nyquist rate, double the frequency of the highest-frequency component of
.the observed signal, otherwise aliasing may occur
Digital storage also makes possible another unique type of oscilloscope, the
equivalent-time sample scope. Instead of taking consecutive samples after the trigger
event, only one sample is taken. However, the oscilloscope is able to vary its timebase
to precisely time its sample, thus building up the picture of the signal over the
subsequent repeats of the signal. This requires that either a clock or repeating pattern
be provided. This type of scope is frequently used for very high speed communication
because it allows for a very high "sample rate" and low amplitude noise compared to
.traditional real-time scopes
:To sum this up: Advantages over the analog oscilloscope
Brighter and bigger display with color to distinguish multiple traces•
Equivalent time sampling and Average across consecutive samples or scans•
lead to higher resolution down to µV
Peak detection•
(Pre-trigger (events before the trigger occurs can be displayed•
Easy pan and zoom across multiple stored traces allows beginners to work•
without a trigger
(This needs a fast reaction of the display (some scopes have 1 ms delay○
The knobs have to be large and turn smoothly○
Also slow traces like the temperature variation across a day can be recorded•
 The memory of the oscilloscope can be arranged not only as a one-•
dimensional list but also as a two-dimensional array to simulate a phosphor
(screen. The digital technique allows a quantitative analysis (E.g. Eye diagram
Allows for automation, though most models lock the access to their software•
A disadvantage of digital oscilloscopes is the limited refresh rate of the screen. On an
analog oscilloscope, the user can get an intuitive sense of the trigger rate simply by
looking at the steadiness of the CRT trace. For a digital oscilloscope, the screen looks
exactly the same for any signal rate which exceeds the screen's refresh rate.
Additionally, it is sometimes hard to spot "glitches" or other rare phenomena on the
black-and-white screens of standard digital oscilloscopes; the slight persistence of
CRT phosphors on analog scopes makes glitches visible even if many subsequent
triggers overwrite them. Both of these difficulties have been overcome recently by
"digital phosphor oscilloscopes," which store data at a very high refresh rate and
.display it with variable intensity, to simulate the trace persistence of a CRT scope
A related type of analog sampling 'scope for displaying very fast, repetitive
waveforms sampled very quickly (fractional nanoseconds) and held the samples long
enough to be displayed by a narrow-band vertical amplifier and a modest-
performance CRT. A comparatively slow sweep on the CRT corresponded with
progressive tiny advancing sample times, so that many samples created a waveform of
.the fast signal
Later designs sampled at random times within the time span represented by one
sweep; the samples were displayed at horizontal positions corresponding to the delay
.from sweep start
.Triggering used tunnel diodes and frequency dividers
Digital sampling oscilloscopes
Digital sampling oscilloscopes operate on the same principle as analog sampling
oscilloscopes and like their analog partners, are of great use when analyzing high
frequency signals. That is, signals whose frequencies are higher than the
oscilloscope's sampling rate. These scopes can measure signals an order of magnitude
larger than any other scope. For measuring repetitive signals, this type can have
.bandwidth and high-speed timing up to ten times higher than any other scope
In order to achieve these abilities, the architecture of the digital sampling oscilloscope
is different from other scopes. In this case, the sample is taken from the input signal
before it is amplified or attenuated. Since the sampling bridge converts the signal to a
lower frequency, a low-bandwidth amplifier is used. This configuration allows for the
maximum bandwidth to be attained. The high bandwidth, however, induces
limitations on the dynamic range of the oscilloscope. No amplifier or attenuator is
present before the sampling bridge, thus the signal cannot be scaled and the sampling
bridge must be able to handle the full signal. The maximum input voltage for digital
[sampling scopes is only about 3 V, while other types can handle 500 V or more.[5][6
Digital phosphor oscilloscopes
Digital phosphor oscilloscopes (DPOs) are the most recently developed type of digital
scope. These were introduced by Tektronix in June 1998. DPOs continue to grow in
.popularity due to their unequaled abilities
DPOs employ a unique processing architecture in order to overcome the limitations of
DSOs and digital sampling oscilloscopes. This unique architecture is a parallel
processing setup rather than the serial processing setups of the other two types of
digital scopes. This allows the ability to capture transient events while maintaining a
large bandwidth. Also, unlike other digital scopes, the use of parallel processing
allows the display to resemble that of analog scopes, permitting intensity information
.to be seen in real time
The first stage of the parallel-processing unit is a vertical amplifier, like that of digital
storage oscilloscopes. The second stage, continues to mimic that of a DSO in that the
signal is sent to an ADC. After the ADC however, the processing architecture varies
greatly from that of a DSO. A DSO captures waveforms in a serial manner, which
gives a sizable holdoff time in which the scope cannot record any activity. In this
case, the speed of the microprocessor limits the rate at which waveforms can be
captured. A DPO operates differently in that the digitized waveform is rasterized into
a digital phosphor database. Then about every 1/30th of a second, an image of the
signal is sent to the display. By directly rasterizing the data and copying it to display
memory from the digital phosphor database, the rate determining step is no longer the
.speed of the microprocessor
Though the name may lead one to believe that the DPO relies on a chemical phosphor
as does the analog oscilloscope, the phosphor is purely electronic. A continually
updated database is composed of many cells which correspond to single pixels within
the display. This way, each time the cell is touched by the waveform intensity
information is allowed to build up. Also, the DPO can display this information in
.terms of contrasting colors, unlike its analog counterpart
The DPO allows the same information to be gained as an analog scope with the
advantage of having the data in a digital form. These scopes are finding many
[applications in which they are now preferred.[5][6
Mixed signal oscilloscopes
A mixed signal oscilloscope (or MSO) has two kinds of inputs, a small number
(typically two or four) of analog channels, and a larger number (typically sixteen) of
digital channels. These measurements are acquired with a single time base, they are
viewed on a single display, and any combination of these signals can be used to
.trigger the oscilloscope
An MSO combines all the measurement capabilities and the use model of a Digital
Storage Oscilloscope (DSO) with some of the measurement capabilities of a logic
analyzer. MSOs typically lack the advanced digital measurement capabilities and the
large number of digital acquisition channels of full-fledged logic analyzers, but they
are also much less complex to use. Typical mixed-signal measurement uses include
the characterization and debugging of hybrid analog/digital circuits like: embedded
systems, Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), Digital-to-analog converters (DACs),
.and control systems
Hand held oscilloscopes
Hand held oscilloscope are useful for many test and field service applications. Today,
a hand held oscilloscope is usually a digital sampling oscilloscope, using a liquid
crystal display. Typically, a hand held oscilloscope has two analog input channels, but
four input channel versions are also available. Some instruments combine the
functions of a digital multimeter with the oscilloscope. Usually lightweight with good
.accuracy
(PC-based oscilloscopes (PCO
 Oscilloscope software running in Windows that uses the computer's sound card as a
cheap ADC
Although most people think of an oscilloscope as a self-contained instrument in a box,
a new type of "oscilloscope" is emerging that consists of a specialized signal
acquisition board (which can be an external USB or Parallel port device, or an internal
add-on PCI or ISA card). The hardware itself usually consists of an electrical interface
providing isolation and automatic gain controls, several high-speed analog-to-digital
converters and some buffer memory, or even on-board DSPs. Depending on the exact
hardware configuration, the hardware could be best described as a digitizer, a data
.logger or as a part of a specialized automatic control system
The PC provides the display, control interface, disc storage, networking and often the
electrical power for the acquisition hardware. The viability of PC-based
oscilloscopes depends on the current widespread use and low cost of standardized
PCs. Since prices can range from as little as $100 to as much as $3000 depending on
their capabilities, such instruments are particularly suitable for the educational market,
.where PCs are commonplace but equipment budgets are often low
PCO acquisition hardware, in certain cases, may only consist of a standard sound card
or even a game port, if only audio and low-frequency signals are involved, though in
many cases it will be considerably more robust. The PCO can transfer data to the
computer in two main ways - streaming, and block mode. In streaming mode the data
is transferred to the PC in a continuous flow without any loss of data. The way in
which the PCO is connected to the PC (e.g. IEEE1394, Ethernet, USB etc) will dictate
the maximum achievable speed and thereby frequency and resolution using this
method. Block mode utilizes the on-board memory of the PCO to collect a block of
data which is then transferred to the PC after the block has been recorded. The PCO
hardware then resets and records another block of data. This process happens very
quickly, but the time taken will vary according to the size of the block of data and the
speed at which it can be transferred. This method enables a much higher sampling
speed, but in many cases the hardware will not record data whilst it is transferring the
.existing block, meaning that some data loss will occur
:The advantages of PC-based oscilloscopes include
Lower cost than a stand-alone oscilloscope, assuming the user already owns a•
PC. Professional-grade PCO hardware (e.g. with bandwidth in the MHz rather
than in the kHz range) tends to be more expensive than e.g. a typical PCI
.(sound card, and some can even cost more than a new PC (pco-chart
Easy exporting of data to standard PC software such as spreadsheets and word•
processors. Or power tools like numerical analysis software and tailored
.software
Ability to control the instrument by running a custom program on the PC and•
.thereby automate tests etc. Or simple control the setup from a remote location
Use of the PC's networking and disc storage functions, which cost a lot extra•
.when added to a self-contained oscilloscope
PCs typically have large high-resolution color displays which can be easier to•
read than the smaller displays found on conventional scopes. Color can be
utilized to differentiate waveforms. It can also show increased information
including more of the waveform or extras like automatic waveform
.measurements and simultaneous alternative views
.Portability when used with a laptop PC•
.Some are much smaller physically than even handheld oscilloscopes•
:There are also some disadvantages, which include
Power-supply and electromagnetic noise from PC circuits, which requires•
.careful and extensive shielding to obtain good low-level signal resolution
Data transfer rates to the PC, which are dependent upon the connection•
method. This affects the maximum sampling speed and resolution achievable
.by the PCO when streaming
Need for the owner to install oscilloscope software on the PC, which may not•
.be compatible with the current release of the PC operating system
Time for the PC to boot, compared with the almost instant start-up of a self-•
contained oscilloscope (although, as some modern oscilloscopes are actually
.(PCs or similar machines in disguise, this distinction is narrowing
As more processing power and data storage is included in oscilloscopes, the
distinction is becoming blurred. Mainstream oscilloscope vendors manufacture large-
screen, PC-based oscilloscopes, with very fast (multi-GHz) input digitizers and
.highly-customized user interfaces
Software for a PC may use the sound card or game port to acquire analog signals,
instead of dedicated signal acquisition hardware. However, these devices have very
restricted input voltage ranges, limited precision/resolution, and very restricted
frequency ranges. The ground reference for these inputs is the same as the ground for
the PC logic and power supply; this may inject unacceptable amounts of noise into the
circuit under test. However, these devices can be useful for demonstration or hobby
use. Or specific setups where these factors won't interfere. Ground reference can be
.eliminated with capacitor AC coupling or signal transformer
If a sound card is used, frequency response is usually limited to the audio range, and
DC signals cannot be measured without hardware modification. The number of inputs
is limited by the number of recording channels and the inputs can handle only audio
.line-level voltages (usually ~1 Vpp) without the risk of damage
If the game port is used as the acquisition hardware, the possible sampling frequency
is very low, typically below 1 kHz, and the input voltages can only vary over a range
of a couple of volts. In addition, the game port cannot easily be programmed for a
specific sampling rate, nor can it be easily assigned a precise quantization step. The
analog to digital conversion is accomplished by triggering discharging of an capacitor
and then measure how long it takes to charge it to a fixed threshold that is seen as a
"0" to "1" transition on the PC ISA bus. This means a huge resistance at the input
takes longer to measure than a low resistance. Which gives asymmetrical sampling
intervals.[8] These limitations only make it suitable for low-precision visualization of
.low frequency signals