User`s guide

6
Why does deep memory matter?
See more time
This is the most easily understood
use of deep memory. The more
samples that you acquire, the more
time that you can see at a particular
sample rate.
Long capture times give you better
visibility into cause-effect relationships
in your design, which greatly simplifies
root-cause debugging. It also allows
you to capture start-up events (like the
start-up sequence below) in a single
acquisition.
You don’t have to stitch together
multiple acquisitions or set precise
triggering conditions. Spend less
time finding events, and more time
analyzing them.
See more details
The relationship between memory
depth and acquisition rate isn’t as
obvious. All scopes have a “banner”
maximum sample rate specification,
but many can only sustain these rates
at a few timebase settings.
In the case of an oscilloscope with a
5 GSa/s acquisition sample rate and
10,000 points of memory, those 10,000
points can only fill 2 µs of time. Since
scopes have 10 time divisions, the
sample rate drops at any time setting
below 200 ns/div.
As a result, if you look at “slow/fast”
events like a modulated signal, you
run the risk of aliasing your signal. Or
you may simply miss out on important
signal details when you zoom in on it.
Deep memory oscilloscopes let you
sustain a high sample rate over longer
periods of time.
Always fast, always on
MegaZoom III is the third generation of
the fast and deep memory architecture
that Agilent introduced in 1996. It’s
not a special mode, unlike other
deep-memory oscilloscopes. You have
access to your MegaZoom memory at
all times. And the display will respond
instantly to your commands as you
scale the time/div settings or pan
and zoom in the Delayed (or “zoom”)
window.
You can learn more about
MegaZoom III deep memory in
Application Note 1446 - Deep Memory
Oscilloscopes: The New Tools
of Choice.
There is no better way to
experience the superiority
of the new Agilent 6000
Series scopes than seeing
one in action on your bench
to measure your signals
yourself. We can arrange
for you to try out a new
MSO6000A MSO. Contact
your nearest Agilent sales
office or visit the MSO6000A
home page at www.agilent.
com/find/MSO6000.
Contact Agilent today to
request an evaluation.
At the heart of MegaZoom technology
is a custom ASIC that performs data
acceleration from the ADC to display.