PicoScope 9400A Series
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PIC-9404A-25
The highest bandwidth SXRTO yet
The PicoScope 9404A-25 SXRTO (Sampler-Extended Real-Time Oscilloscope) extends the bandwidth of the PicoScope 9400 Series with a 25 GHz model. It combines the benefits of real-time and equivalent-time sampling to create a truly incredible oscilloscope capable of capturing signals up to 25 GHz.
Packed with features
The PicoScope 9404A-25's random sampling is ideal for measuring high speed interfaces with repetitive signals or clock streams. It can record high-speed signals such as gigabit digital systems on up to four channels at once. The PicoScope 9404A Series is invaluable for the design, testing, servicing and manufacturing of telecoms equipment. With these applications in mind, the free PicoSample 4 software is packed with useful measurements and features. Draw eye diagrams with ease and analyze them with one of over 175 built-in masks (or create your own). Plot trends in your data such as pulse width or period over time.
Control of the PicoScope 9404A-25 can also be automated, including a remote control option via over USB or LAN using ActiveX control.
Fast setup for fast signals
The PicoScope 9404A-25 has a 25 GHz front-end, an effective sampling rate up to 5 TS/s and a maximum time resolution of 10 ps/div. The external prescaled trigger is able to work up to 20 GHz, direct trigger to 2.5 GHz and clock recovery is also available for up to an impressive 11.3 Gb/s. A direct trigger means there's no need for an external clock or trigger source - simply connect the scope to the circuit you want to measure.
Unlike many real-time oscilloscopes, the PicoScope 9404A-25 maintains its 12-bit resolution throughout its bandwidth, no matter how many channels are enabled.
What is a PicoScope SXRTO?
Real-Time Oscilloscopes (RTOs) - capture any signal
A real-time oscilloscope has a free-running ADC. They use digital triggers to record when the signal exceeds a threshold and therefore align the signals in time. RTOs rely on oversampling - the sample rate must be much higher than the maximum signal frequency. To generate an accurate view of the signal, many scopes will sample at three or even five times their maximum input bandwidth.
Sampling oscilloscopes - see repetitive signals far beyond Nyquist
A sampling oscilloscope relies on repeated signals. They only capture a single sample per trigger event and this sample is at least 40 ns after the trigger event itself. The individual samples from multiple trigger events are then recombined to build up a picture of the overall signal.
A sampling scope cannot trigger directly on the signal itself and instead needs a separate trigger signal from an external source. Sampling scopes rely on accurate triggering to overlay the repeated signals so that even with a sampling rate significantly below the signal frequency, they can display an accurate version of the overall signal.
Sampler-Extended Real-Time Oscilloscopes combine both approaches
A PicoScope SXRTO triggers on the input signal, like an RTO. However, unlike most RTOs it uses an analog triggering circuit separate to the main signal path to determine when the trigger happens. Using this type of analog triggering is much more accurate than the digital trigger of an RTO.
The result is a free-running ADC that is able to capture and store information before and after the trigger point, but with the huge bandwidth capabilities of a sampling oscilloscope.
PicoScope 9404A-25 inputs, outputs and indicators
Front panel
Rear panel
The front panel of the oscilloscope brings together the power indicator, the four 25 GHz 50 Ω channel inputs and the trigger inputs and outputs.
The power/status/trigger LED is green under normal operation but is also used to indicate connection progress and trigger. You can enable any number of the 4 input channels without affecting the 25 GHz sampling rate; only the capture memory (250 kS) is shared between the enabled channels.
The external direct trigger input supports up to 5 GHz and is positioned alongside the 20 GHz prescale trigger input. The trigger output connection can be used to synchronize an external device to the PicoScope 9404A’s rising edge, falling edge and end of holdoff triggers.
Key features of the PicoScope 9400 Series
The PicoScope 9400A Series is a range of Sampler-Extended Real-Time Oscilloscopes (SXRTO) available with up to 25 GHz bandwidth, ideal for capturing step transitions down to 14 ps and impulses down to 28 ps. The maximum sample rate is 5 TS/s using random sampling, which equates to a timing resolution of 0.2 ps. The use of random sampling means an SXRTO can capture pre-trigger information and does not require a separate clock input. As such, the hardware includes a built-in trigger circuit on every channel, up to 5 GHz when using divide mode. An external direct clock input can trigger on signals up to 5 GHz, while the prescaled input accepts signals up to 20 GHz. The jitter from this direct trigger is as low as 1.5 ps. In terms of vertical resolution, the wide ±800 mV full-scale input range is augmented by 10 mV/div to 250 mV/div digital gain ranges on up to four channels. An optional clock recovery circuit can output a recovered clock and data up to 11.3 Gb/s.
The touchscreen-compatible PicoSample 4 software is packed with features to assist with the characterizing of everything from signals (eye diagrams, pulse/impulse characterization) to digital systems and even semiconductors. It comes pre-loaded with over 175 mask tests for common protocols including Ethernet, HDMI 1, PCIe, SATA and USB 2.0. The scope can store traces up to 250 kS long, shared between all active channels. The buffer memory is available on any of the three acquisition modes - real-time, random and roll. Four independent zoom channels let you closely inspect your data, with resolution down to 0.4 ps. Using your PC's monitor rather than a built in screen means those zoom views can be enlarged as much as you need to see all the detail. You can also personalize the display by hiding menus and controls and adjusting the colors to suit your needs. All of the PicoSample features are included in the price, with no additional hidden costs.
Measure fast pulses with an SXRTO
A customer wanted to measure a fast laser pulse with a rise time of less than 50 ps and a pulse width of less than 200 ps. They used a PicoScope SXRTO to see exactly what they needed.
To measure the output of the laser it was connected to a PicoScope 9400 Series oscilloscope via an optical-electrical adaptor. As the scope can trigger directly off the signal input the customer didn't need to use any extra external components.
The PicoScope 9404A-25 has a rise time of 14 ps and so the shape seen on the screen is due to the laser pulse and is not influenced by the measurement setup. The PicoScope 9404A-25 can also capture pulses down to 28 ps so even shorter pulses could be measured accurately.
Every detail in the laser's pulse response is easy to see because the vertical resolution is 12 bits, even at the highest frequencies. Some real-time oscilloscopes will limit their resolution at higher frequencies. This might be because of limitations of the analog-to-digital hardware or because of data bandwidth limitations. Because the PicoScope 9404A samples at a maximum of 500 MS/s neither the timebase nor the number of active channels restricts the resolution.
Why should you choose an SXRTO?
Digital system design
With over 175 built-in masks covering protocols such as Ethernet, HDMI and USB, you can make sure your system design is correct from the start.
Timing and phase analysis
Locate the source of timing errors with confidence: the PicoScope 9400A has jitter less than 1.5 ps. Use histograms to precisely characterize jitter.
Telecom and radar testing
Check signal, pulse and impulse integrity of RF systems up to 25 GHz. Be confident your system meets standards before expensive compliance testing.
Service and manufacturing
With quicker and simpler setup than a standard sampling oscilloscope, an SXRTO is perfectly suited to a service environment. Save and recall setup files for common tests and reduce the time taken to repair equipment.
Clock and data recovery
Clock and data recovery (CDR) is available as a factory-fit optional trigger feature on the PicoScope 9404A-25.
Associated with high-speed serial data applications, clock and data recovery will already be familiar to PicoScope 9300 users. While low-speed serial data can often be accompanied by its clock as a separate signal, at high speed this approach would accumulate timing skew and jitter between the clock and the data that could prevent accurate data decode. Thus high-speed data receivers will generate a new clock, and using a phase-locked loop (PLL) technique they will lock and align that new clock to the incoming data stream. This is the recovered clock and it can be used to decode and thus recover data accurately. We have also saved the cost of an entire clock signal path by now needing only the serial data signal.
When fitted, the PicoScope 9400 CDR option can be selected as the trigger source from any input channel. Additionally, for use by other instruments or by downstream system elements, two SMA(f) outputs present recovered clock and recovered data on the rear panel.
In many applications where our oscilloscopes are used to view data, the data generator and its clock are typically nearby, allowing us to trigger directly from that clock. However, if only the data is accessible—such as at the far end of an optical fiber—we will need the CDR option to recover the clock and use it as the trigger source instead. The CDR option may also be necessary for demanding eye and jitter measurements to ensure our instrument assesses signal quality as accurately as a recovered clock and data receiver would.
Request for clock recovery
What's in the box