Datasheet

Digital triggering also reduces re-arm delay and this, combined with the
segmented memory, allows the triggering and capture of events that
happen in rapid sequence. At the fastest timebase you can use rapid
triggering to collect 10,000 waveforms in under 20 milliseconds. Our
mask limit testing function can then scan through these waveforms to
highlight any failed waveforms for viewing in the waveform buffer.
Huge buffer memory
The PicoScope 5000 Series offers memory depths up to 512 million
samples, more than any other oscilloscope in this price range.
Other oscilloscopes have high maximum sampling rates, but without deep
memory they cannot sustain these rates on long timebases. Using its
512 MS buffer, the PicoScope
5444B can sample at 1 GS/s
all the way down to 50 ms/
div (500 ms total capture
time).
Managing all this data calls
for some powerful tools.
There’s a set of zoom buttons, plus an overview window that lets you
zoom and reposition the display by simply dragging with the mouse. Zoom
factors of several million are possible.
Each captured waveform is stored in a segmented buffer so you can rewind
and review up to 10,000 previous waveforms. No longer will you see a
glitch on the screen only for it to vanish before you stop the scope. A mask
can be applied to hide waveforms that are not of interest.
Advanced triggers
As well as the standard range of triggers
found on all oscilloscopes, the PicoScope
5000 Series offers an industry-leading set
of advanced triggers including pulse width,
windowed and dropout triggers to help
you capture the data you need.
Arbitrary waveform and function generator
All units have a built-in function generator (sine, square, triangle, DC level).
As well as basic controls to set level, offset and frequency, more advanced
controls allow you to sweep over a range of frequencies. Combined with
the spectrum peak hold option this
makes a powerful tool for testing
amplifier and filter responses.
The PicoScope 5000 Series B
models include additional built-in
waveforms as well as an arbitrary waveform generator. Waveforms
can be created or edited using the built-in AWG editor, imported from
oscilloscope traces, or loaded from a spreadsheet.
High signal integrity
Most oscilloscopes are built down to a price; ours are built up to a
specification.
Careful front-end design and
shielding reduces noise, crosstalk
and harmonic distortion. Years of
oscilloscope experience leads to
improved pulse response and
bandwidth flatness.
We are proud of the dynamic performance of our products and publish
these specifications in detail. The result is simple: when you probe a circuit,
you can trust in the waveform you see on the screen.
PicoScope: power, portability and versatility
Pico Technology continues to push the limits of PC oscilloscope design. For
the first time in an oscilloscope, Pico Technology have used reconfigurable
ADCs to offer a choice of 8-bit to 16-bit resolutions in a single product.
Flexible resolution
Most digital oscilloscopes gain their high sampling rates by interleaving
multiple 8-bit ADCs. Despite careful design, the interleaving process
introduces errors that always make the dynamic performance worse than
the performance of the individual ADC cores.
The PicoScope 5000 scopes have a significantly different architecture in
which multiple high-resolution ADCs can be applied to the input channels
in different series and parallel combinations to boost either the sampling
rate or the resolution. In series mode, the ADCs are interleaved to provide
1 GS/s at 8 bits (see diagram).
Interleaving reduces the performance of the ADCs, but the result (60 dB
SFDR) is still much better than oscilloscopes that interleave 8-bit ADCs.
This mode can also provide 500 MS/s at 12 bits resolution.
In parallel mode, multiple ADCs are sampled in phase on each channel
increasing the resolution to 14 bits (see diagram) at 125 MS/s per channel
(70 dB SFDR). If only two channels are required then resolution can be
increased to 15 bits, and in single-channel mode all the ADCs are combined
to give a 16-bit mode at 62.5 MS/s.
Portability
Pico Technology oscilloscopes are small, light and portable. In 2-channel
mode the 5000 Series scopes can be powered from USB only, making
them ideal for the engineer on the move. The external power supply is
only needed when operating more than 2 channels. The 5000 Series
oscilloscopes are suitable for field use in many applications, such as design,
research, test, education, service and repair.
High bandwidth, high sampling rate
Most USB-powered oscilloscopes have real-time sampling rates of only
100 or 200 MS/s, but the PicoScope 5000 Series offers up to 1 GS/s, and
a maximum bandwidth of 200 MHz. Equivalent time sampling (ETS) mode
can be used to further boost the sampling rate to 10 GS/s for a more
detailed view of repetitive signals.
Digital triggering
Most digital oscilloscopes sold today still use an analog trigger architecture
based on comparators. This can cause time and amplitude errors that
cannot always be calibrated out. The use of comparators often limits the
trigger sensitivity at high bandwidths.
In 1991 we pioneered the use of fully digital triggering using the actual
digitized data. This technique reduces trigger errors and allows our
oscilloscopes to trigger on the smallest signals, even at the full bandwidth.
Trigger levels and hysteresis can be set with high precision and resolution.
PicoScope 5000 Series PC Oscilloscopes
x1
x256
x32
x6500