Specifications

10
Additional capabilities
Built-in information system
The 86100C has a context-sensitive on-line manual
providing immediate answers to your questions about
using the instrument. Links on the measurement screen take
you directly to the information you need including algorithms for
all of the measurements. The on-line manual includes technical
specifications of the mainframe and plug-in modules. It also
provides useful information such as the mainframe serial number,
module serial numbers, firmware revision and date, and hard disk
free space. There is no need for a large paper manual consuming
your shelf space.
File sharing and storage
Use the internal 40 GB hard drive to store instrument setups,
waveforms, or screen images. A 256 MB USB memory stick is
included with the mainframe. Combined with the USB port on the
front panel this provides for quick and easy file transfer. Images
can be stored in formats easily imported into various programs for
documentation and further analysis. LAN interface is also avail-
able for network file management and printing.
File security
For users requiring security of their data, 86100C Option 090
offers a removable hard drive. This also enables removal of the
mainframe from secure environments for calibration and repair.
Powerful display modes
Use gray scale and color graded trace displays to gain insight
into device behavior. Waveform densities are mapped to color
or easy-to-interpret gray shades. These are infinite persistence
modes where shading differentiates the number of times data in
any individual screen pixel has been acquired.
Direct triggering through clock recovery
Typically an external timing reference is used to synchronize the
oscilloscope to the test signal. In cases where a trigger signal
is not available, clock recovery modules are available to derive a
timing reference directly from the waveform to be measured. The
Agilent 83496A/B series of clock recovery modules are available
for electrical, multimode optical, and single-mode optical input
signals. 83496A/B modules have excellent jitter performance to
ensure accurate measurements. Each clock recovery module is
designed to synchronize to a variety of common transmission
rates. The 83496A/B can derive triggering from optical and
electrical signals at any rate from 50 Mb/s to 14.2 Gb/s.
The 86108A module incorporates the clock recovery capabilities
of the 83496B into a module that also has sampling channels.
Since the clock recovery system is integrated with the samplers,
measurements are achieved with a single instrument connection.
Clock recovery loop bandwidth
The Agilent clock recovery modules have adjustable loop band-
width settings. Loop bandwidth is very important in determining
the accuracy of your waveform when measuring jitter, as well as
testing for compliance. When using recovered clocks for trigger-
ing, the amount of jitter observed will depend on the loop band-
width. As the loop bandwidth increases, more jitter is “tracked
out” by the clock recovery resulting in less observed jitter.
• Narrow loop bandwidth provides a “jitter free” system
clock to observe a wide jitter spectrum
• Wide loop bandwidth in some applications is specified by
standards for compliance testing. Wide loop bandwidth
settings mimic the performance of communications system
receivers
The 83496A/B and 86108A have a continuously adjustable loop
bandwidth from as low as 15 kHz to as high as 10 MHz, and can
be configured as a golden PLL for standards compliance testing.