In this short video, I'll be showing some measurement comparisons of Agilent's DSO 2000
X-Series oscilloscope versus Danaher Tektronix's DPO2000B.
Both of these scopes come in bandwidth models ranging from 70 MHz up to 200 MHz.
The Agilent scope can sample at up to 2 GSa/s, whereas the Tektronix scope is limited to
1 GSa/s.
Most people would consider these scopes to be classified as "entry-level" scopes,
but even entry-level scopes these days come with very powerful features.
The primary characteristic that scope users are looking for is what we call "signal visualization."
In other words, which scope shows me my signals in their truest form?
As you can see here, the display on the Agilent scope has almost 50% more viewing area with
more than 3X the display resolution.
Display size, display resolution, and waveform update rate are very important.
On the Agilent oscilloscope, we are now showing an example of a digital waveform with jitter,
as well as two infrequent glitches.
This waveform looks very different on the Tektronix scope primarily because of this
scope's much slower waveform update rate,
which maxes out at 5,000 waveforms per second.
This means that the Tektronix scope can't capture the range of jitter and rarely catches
the infrequent glitches,
which is actually a metastable state.
The Tek scope is basically hiding what is really there.
The reason the Agilent scope shows this waveform so much more clearly...
is because of a much faster waveform update rate of 50,000 waveforms per second.
The Agilent scope shows what's really there.
Here we are showing an amplitude modulated waveform on the Agilent scope.
As you can see, the display quality on the Tektronix scope is much more grainy.
This is caused by the lower resolution of the Tektronix scope.
The display quality on the Agilent scope is clearly superior and takes advantage of the
higher resolution.
Let's now look at memory depth between these two scopes.
Both scopes have up to 1M of memory,
but the Tektronix scope defaults to 100K to keep the scope responsive and allow it to
achieve that banner spec of 5,000 waveforms per second.
The Agilent scope will automatically add memory up to 1M...
to keep the sample rate maximized without any intervention from the user.
We can do this because of our MegaZoom architecture that allows us to not only get up to 50,000
wavefoms per second update rate,
but also keep the scope very fast and responsive.
In addition, the Agilent scope has a key advantage in the area of memory depth,
and that is the Segmented Memory option, which can often be a more powerful tool than just
deep memory.
Let's now show another measurement that requires either very deep memory or Segmented Memory.
Here we show a low duty-cycle burst.
If we need to capture multiple occurrences of this burst, say 250 occurrences,
we can set the timebase on each scope to 100 ms/div.
But at this setting, neither scope has sufficient memory to capture these burst with high resolution.
Even looking at a handful of bursts causes the scopes to undersample.
But on the Agilent scope, we can use Segmented Memory acquisition to capture all 250 occurrences
of the burst with high sample rate...
and review each burst with precision time tagging.
In this measurement example, the Agilent scope captures a total timespan of almost 1 second.
Capturing this much data using conventional deep memory technology would have required
2 Gpts of memory.
One of the new features with the 2000 X-Series is the ability to handle low speed serial
buses...
like I²C, SPI, UART, RS232, CAN and LIN.
While the Tektronix DPO2000B can also support these buses,
one of the key differences is the fact that the 2000 X-Series does its decode in hardware,
which allows us to maintain an uncompromised update rate of over 50,000 waveforms per second...
while the Tektronix DPO2000B does its decoding in software.
And finally, there is one additional key benefit to the 2000 X-Series from Agilent.
The 2000X offers an optional built-in 20 MHz function generator,
which is ideal for education accounts and engineers who are looking to save bench space...
and have an integrated function generator for labs and daily work.
The 2000 X-Series' WaveGen provides sine, square, ramp, pulse and noise signals...
along with AM, FM and FSK modulation.
In addition to the built-in function generator that's very popular for education,
the Agilent 2000 X-Series scopes also have an optional education training kit,
which includes 11 built-in training signals and a comprehensive student oscilloscope training guide.
As you can see, the InfiniiVision 2000 X-Series from Agilent is a very powerful scope with
a very attractive price point.
With upgradable bandwidth, a large, high resolution display, over 50,000 waveforms per second
update rate,
deep memory with segmented capability, serial decode and an integrated function generator...
it allows you to truly see more, do more and get more.
For more information, please visit your local distributor or go to Agilent.com at the website
above. Thank you.