Improved bandwidth capability reinforces the importance of the oscilloscope as a lab tool.
Accurate signal data is the backbone for research and product development for industries as diverse as electronics, computing, automotive, and aerospace. These instruments have had many face lifts, including the obvious move from analog to digital technology, and a shift from cathode ray tubes to LED-enabled display screens. A software-backed analyzer platform is another advance.
The most notable metric for advancement of the oscilloscope is bandwidth. High bandwidth oscilloscopes are useful for testing signals with a high frequency range, but obviously cost more.
This specifications guide lists provides a sampling of models with bandwidths from 5 MHz to 32 GHz.
Although many prior changes produced more sophisticated math and measurements, oscilloscopes are still being improved in the areas of isolation, signal conditioning, channel count, and analog characteristics for electromechanical measurements, and increased processing speeds. Even in a recessionary period, both market researchers and industry vendors agree that the oscilloscope market has remained stable, even showing a slight increase in market profit. A globally strengthening consumer electronics and wireless communications market, along with an expansion in R&D among industrialized countries, should guarantee the oscilloscope favored status among a laboratory’s must-have items.
Companies in R&D Magazine's Oscilloscope Specifications Guide include:
To see a .pfd version of the Oscilloscope Specification Guide please click here.
Published in R & D magazine: Vol. 52, No. 4, August, 2010, p. 18.
