Hardware features

• The PicoScope 9400A Series is available with up to 33 GHz bandwidth, plus the following key specifications:

• Capture step transitions down to 14 ps and impulses down to 22 ps wide.

• The maximum sample rate of 5 TS/s equates to a timing resolution of 0.2 ps, using random sampling. 

• Multiple trigger options include direct triggering on the signal or triggering on an external trigger signal, up to 20 GHz (depending on model), with trigger jitter as low as 1.2 ps + 0.1 ppm RMS (typical).

• 12-bit vertical resolution with a wide ±1 V/±800 mV input range (model dependent).

Software features

• Meanwhile, the touchscreen-compatible PicoSample 4 software is packed with features to simplify design and test:

• Over 200 mask tests for common protocols including SONET/SDH, fibre channel and USB. 

• Over 70 automatic measurements across time, frequency and histograms available, over 130 eye diagram measurement parameters, plus over 50 built-in math functions.

• The configurable display with multiple independent zoom regions lets you see every detail in your data - take advantage of high resolution PC monitors instead of being limited by a built-in screen. 

• Every feature in PicoSample 4 is included with the price - no additional hidden costs.

• PicoSample 4 can be run in demo mode: try it out yourself to see how it can accelerate your workflow. 

PicoScope 9400A Series inputs, outputs and indicators

FRONT PANEL

The front panel of the oscilloscope brings together the power indicator, the four high-bandwidth 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 four input channels without affecting the sampling rate; only the capture memory (250 kS) is shared between the enabled channels.

The external direct trigger input supports up to 6 GHz and is positioned alongside a prescale trigger input (up to 20 GHz on 25 and 33 GHz models). The trigger output connection can be used to synchronize an external device to the PicoScope 9400A’s rising edge, falling edge and end of holdoff triggers.

REAR PANEL

The USB 2.0 port connects the oscilloscope to the PC. If no USB host is found, the oscilloscope tries to connect through the LAN port. However, LAN settings must be supplied initially by connecting to the USB port. Once configured, the oscilloscope uses the LAN port if no USB host is connected. Via LAN connections, the PicoSample 4 software can address up to eight PicoScope 9400 units.

The recovered clock and data from the currently selected trigger source and the built-in clock recovery module are optional features. Please see the request form at the bottom of this page to contact our applications engineers about the clock and data recovery option.

Measure fast pulses with an SXRTO

To measure the output of the laser it was connected to a PicoScope 9400A Series oscilloscope via an optical-electrical adaptor. As the scope can trigger directly off the signal input, the laser pulses could be unequally spaced but would be captured in their entirety, both before and after the trigger point.

The PicoScope 9404A Series has a rise time of as little as 11 ps - the customer could be confident that the pulse displayed on the screen is an accurate representation of the laser pulse with minimal influence from the measurement setup. The PicoScope 9400A-33 can also capture pulses down to 22 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 9400A Series uses random equivalent-time sampling to push the bandwidth far beyond Nyquist, neither the timebase nor the number of active channels restricts the resolution.