CHAPTER 6.

1
The Oscilloscope

The measuring systems discussed so far

Respond to the amplitude of the input
produce a numerical output proportional to the input
Analog on a scale readout; or
Digital on a numeric readout
do not give any time variation information about the input signal
Are limited in the frequency of the input signal to which they can respond
To observe signal variation with time as well as amplitude another type of
instrument is needed:
the cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO)
The CRO displays a voltage vs. time waveform on the screen of a cathode ray
tube (CRT) hence the name CRO.
The CRO has the following main subsystems:
the display sub system - the CRT
the vertical deflection sub system
the horizontal subsystem
the trigger subsystem
the probes
We will examine all of these in detail
The CRT uses a beam of highly focussed electrons to produce an image on the
CRT face
Electrons have no weight and can therefore respond quickly to changes in input
high frequency response
> 1 GHz is available
The CRT has 3 elements
the electron gun
the deflection system
the screen

Refer to Figure 8-2 in handout

Observe the electron gun assembly
The gun consists of
a thermionic cathode; and
The cathode produces electrons when heated
accelerating and control electrodes
There are two controls

EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 1 2001

Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 focus control
intensity control
The intensity control grid surrounds the cathode
A small -ve voltage controls the number of electrons passing through the small
hole
the INTENSITY control regulates this voltage
A set of accelerating and focussing grids (Anodes)
accelerate the beam, ie increase the beam energy
focus the beam

The anodes have voltages of 2 to 12kV

the FOCUS control is connected to one of them
the focus grid
The deflection system consists of 2 sets of deflection plates
the vertical deflection plates
controls the y-axis movement
the horizontal deflection plates
controls the x-axis

It is possible to deflect the beam in 2 ways

electrostatically
using electric charge
electromagnetically
using magnetic fields
The CRO uses electrostatic deflection
smaller deflection angles are needed
note shape of CRT
higher frequency of operation
In contrast TV uses electromagnetic deflection
The deflection yoke

Figure 8-3 shows the screen end of the CRT.

The voltages applied to the plates move the electron beam from the centre of the
screen.
The deflection D in cm from the centre of the CRT is given by:

Ll Vd
D
2 d Va
Vd is the deflection voltage

EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 2 2001

Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 Va is the accelerating voltage
The deflection sensitivity of the CRT is the deflection voltage needed to produce a
particular deflection Vd /D
typical vertical sensitivity 10-20V/cm

Recall from your labs that the vertical inputs can be as low as 20mV
Hence the need for vertical and horizontal amplifiers to create these values of
deflection voltage

SCREEN
The inside of the CRT face (SCREEN) is coated with a PHOSPHOR
The phosphor is a compound which emits light when struck by high energy
electrons
called FLUORESCENCE
When the electron beam is shut off, light is emitted for a short period after
called PHOSPHORESCENCE
The length of time the phosphor glows after being bombarded is called
PERSISTENCE
Manufacturers vary the persistence of the phosphors to achieve certain levels of
performance
shorter persistence is preferred for faster signal displays.
The electron beam creates a TRACE as it moves across the CRT face
The beam is shut off (BLANKING) and returned to the original position
the beam is then RETRACED
If the trace and retrace locations are identical, persistence will cause the display
to appear stationary
HEAT is generated when the beam strikes the phosphor
only 10% electron energy converted to light
If intensity is high the screen could be burnt
Keep INTENSITY control low
The CRT screen has a grid etched on it
the GRATICULE
allows measurements to be taken
there is sometimes a SCALE ILLUMINATION control

EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 3 2001

Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 CHAPTER 6.2
Scope Subsystems

Note: This handout is to be read in conjunction with the handout.

Vertical Subsystem
Measurand is input here
via a PROBE
Can accept AC or DC signals
Contains an attenuator
set by the volts/division control
scales the input signal
analogous to the range selector on voltmeter
2mV/div to 20V/div typical
Has the vertical amplifier
Provides proper signal levels to drive the vertical deflection plates

Has the following controls:

Input coupling control
selects AC or DC coupling
AC coupling
capacitor inserted before attenuator
blocks DC, passes AC
DC coupling
bypasses capacitor
allows both AC and DC to be measured
GND
Disconnects source
grounds input amplifier
used to position trace on graticule
50
Used for impedance matching
puts accurate 50 load to ground
Vertical position
used to position the trace on the screen
applies a DC voltage to the vertical deflection plates

Horizontal Subsystem
Generates the horizontal/time base signal
EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 4 2001
Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 a sawtooth
This signal goes to the horizontal amplifier
Causes electron beam to sweep horizontally across CRT face
Horizontal position of beam is proportional to elapsed time since start of sweep
Horizontal axis calibrated in units of time
Horizontal amplifier provides proper signal levels to drive the horizontal
deflection plates

Has the following controls

Time Base
Sets the beam sweep rate
units are sec/div
Horizontal Position
Shifts the display along the x-axis
Horizontal Magnifier
Increases the resolution of x-axis

Trigger Subsystem
Recall the CRT is displaying a trace of a vertical input (amplitude) with time
To produce a stable, usable display both vertical and horizontal sweeps must be
synchronised
The Trigger section is responsible for this
It uses either the vertical input or an external signal to develop the trigger pulse
Pulse sent to horizontal section to initialise the sweep.

Trigger controls
The LEVEL control
Used to select a specific point on either the rising or falling edge of the input
signal that will be used for generating a trigger.
Useful in applications where the input signal may be corrupted by noise.
The LEVEL control selects a portion of the input signal that is not corrupted by
noise for use as the trigger input.
The SLOPE control
determines which edge: rising or falling, of the input signal will be used for
generating the trigger.
The MODE is a multiple position selector
AUTO
Selects an internal oscillator that will trigger a sweep in the absence of an
external signal.
EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 5 2001
Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 Allows a baseline trace to be established before applying an input.
Without the AUTO trigger a trace would not be produced on the screen.
NORMAL ( or TRIGGERED)
In this position the trigger is generated from one of 3 sources set by the
SOURCE control
INTERNAL - based on the input signal
EXTERNAL - supplied by an external system for example a clock circuit
Used extensively in digital systems
AC LINE - derived from the AC power line frequency (60Hz locally)

CHAPTER 6.3
Scope Probes

The probe performs the following functions:

sensing the input signal;
transferring the value to the inputs
The CRO probe may be modelled as follows:

PROBE HEAD COAXIAL CABLE TERMINATION

Contains sensing circuitry

Passive Probes An impedance,
resistors, capacitors typical value 50
Active Probes Inexpensive probes
powered devices: not terminated
op-amps, FETs ,
transistors

Probe head
Contains sensing circuitry
Passive
resistors, capacitors
Active
powered devices: op-amps, FETs , transistors
Coaxial cable
A conductor with an external shield
Prevents noise pickup
EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 6 2001
Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 Termination
An impedance that may or may not be present
Transmission lines have a characteristic impedance
Maximum power transfer occurs when line is terminated by this impedance
Typical value 50
Inexpensive probes not terminated

CRO LOADING
The CRO is basically a voltmeter
It can therefore load a circuit like the typical voltmeter
We can model the input of the CRO as a resistance in parallel with a
capacitance
Rin is typically 1M
Cin is typically 30 - 50 pF
Typical scope input

Vin Rin Cin

At DC to low frequencies, the input sees mostly Rin

As frequency increases the impedance of the Rin||Cin combination decreases
The loading effect thus increases with increasing frequency
We can minimise the loading by using a compensated attenuating probe
Consider the following:

EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 7 2001

Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 9Rin

PROBE
Rin Cin

SCOPE

Here a probe of input resistance 9Rin has been connected to the CRO
Therefore as far as a DC signal is concerned the Zin is 10Rin
V is however Vin/10
it has been attenuated by a factor of 10
The degradation due to Cin still exists
If the probe had an input capacitance as shown in the following modification:
Cin/9

9Rin
Rin Cin Figure 1

C1

Figure 2 Vin C2 V2

The capacitors in Figure 1 are arranged as shown in Figure 2

Therefore:
V2 C1

V1 C1 C2
C2
If C1 ; then
9
V2 1

V1 10
EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 8 2001
Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 Note that this result is independent of f
For an AC signal, V is again scaled by a factor of 10
Total probe impedance 10Rin||Cin/10
This probe is called a 10:1 compensated attenuating probe
Compensated because it has adjusted for Rin and Cin
Attenuating because it scales the input signal down by a factor (of 10 in this
case)
The final commercial model has one final modification:
Cin/9

9Rin
Rin Cin
CC

The probe capacitance is adjustable.

The coaxial cable used for the probe lead has some capacitance Cc we calculate
CT the total capacitance as:
We adjust the probe C1 to be CT/9
Again the total input capacitance is CT/10

CHAPTER 6.4
DUAL CHANNEL SCOPES
NOTE: This handout is to be read in conjunction with the handout on oscilloscopes

The majority of lab scopes are dual channel

occasionally even more channels are provided
This is accomplished in 2 ways
Using dual beams; or
Using dual traces
We will examine both approaches

DUAL BEAM CRO

Dual beam systems
EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 9 2001
Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 uses 2 separate beams in CRT
separate vertical systems
one for each beam
may have separate or common time base systems
High performance
Very high cost

DUAL TRACE CRO

Single beam system
Uses electronic switching to create the dual display
Has 2 additional controls
CHOP
ALT(ernate)

A block diagram of the switching operation is as follows:

Vert 1

Mux Vert Amp

Vert 2

CHOP
Rapidly switches between both channels
both channels appear to occur together
Preferred for slow signals
CHOP rate must be faster than the highest signal frequency
ALT mode
Short for ALTERNATE
Shows one complete sweep for 1st channel
Switches to show one complete sweep for other channel
Preferred for viewing high frequency signal
If CHOP were used for a high frequency signal a series of dots would be seen
analogous to a sampled signal
Dual trace CROs can
add signals
subtract signals
display an x-y plot
X-Y plots
EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 10 2001
Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 Time base is set to off
One signal channel is mapped to the x-axis
Other signal is mapped to the y-axis
A common application of this is the Lissajous figure
Formed when sinusoidal signals drive both channels
Used for measuring phase differences in signals

EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 11 2001

Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 CHAPTER 6.5
STORAGE OSCILLOSCOPES

A storage scope captures a waveform for later retrieval and analysis

One off events like clock or logic glitches
very slow moving signals
Two types (like with meters)
Analog
Digital

Analog Types
Variable persistence
Bistable storage
Both types of scope store the waveform in the CRT
An image of the waveform is created on the screen ( as normal)
The image is retained for a period of time depending on the mechanism used
Both storage types require a CRT with 2 sets of electron guns:
The WRITE gun
the standard electron gun discussed before
The FLOOD guns
A set of low energy electron guns
produce collimated (parallel) low energy electrons
used to read the stored image
Analog storage relies on secondary emission of electrons

Variable Persistence Storage

Write gun and screen similar to conventional CRO
The CRT is constructed with
a collector mesh
a storage mesh coated with a dielectric material.
both being located behind the phosphor screen
See figure 8-26 in handout
Storage mesh is slightly -ve (-10V)
Collector mesh at +100V
High energy electrons from WRITE gun passes through collector and storage
meshes
Secondary emission of electrons occurs on storage mesh
Small +ve charges therefore remain on the mesh where beam passed
EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 12 2001
Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen
 The +ve region marks where the beam passed
an image of the original beam is retained
The collector mesh collects the secondary electrons.

Recalling Waveform
Flood gun produces electrons
low energy
wide parallel beam
Collector mesh attracts the electrons
provides slight acceleration to storage mesh
-ve voltage on storage mesh repels electrons except where +ve charges remain.
recall that these were created during the write cycle
Electrons pass through these points
High +ve potential of screen (20kV) accelerates these electrons
high energy electrons impact phosphor
Fluorescence and Phosphorescence occur
stored image is displayed
Image slowly fades as +ve regions in storage mesh are neutralized
Variable Persistence Scopes are useful for observing slow periodic signals

Bistable Storage
See Figure 8-27 in handout
Does not use a storage mesh
Uses a special phosphor that has 2 stable states
Recall that phosphor glows when impacted by high energy electrons
During the write stage
energetic electrons pass through phosphor
image seen as before
After Phosphorescence stage phosphor does not return to original energy state
Returns to an intermediate second state
Secondary emission leaves a small +ve charge in Phosphor
Flood guns create a low energy collimated beam as before
electron energy is too low to cause primary emission, but high enough to cause
phosphor to glow when they pass through the small +ve regions.
These electrons are collected by metallic film

EE11A Handouts Chapter 6 13 2001

Prepared by: Mr. Fasil Muddeen