Pico Technology unveils additions to its PicoScope 9300 sampling oscilloscopes series

Nov. 28, 2017

Pico Technology has unveiled additions to its PicoScope 9300 sampling oscilloscopes series, including the three 15-GHz models and a 25-GHz model. The 15-GHz models replace the 9200 series 12-GHz models to offer lower-cost units with upgraded specifications, including enabling the ability of all Pico sampling oscilloscopes to operate under the PicoSample 3 software. These instruments integrate Pico's sampling technology with USB and LAN control ports.

Pico Technology has unveiled additions to its PicoScope 9300 sampling oscilloscopes series, including the three 15-GHzmodels and a 25-GHz model. The 15-GHz models replace the 9200 series 12-GHz models to offer lower-cost units with upgraded specifications, including enabling the ability of all Pico sampling oscilloscopes to operate under the PicoSample 3 software. These instruments integrate Pico's sampling technology with USB and LAN control ports.

The 9301-15 features two channels at 15-GHz bandwidth and prescaled trigger to 14 GHz, at a price under $11,000. It offers a 16-bit sampling rate of 1 ms to support fast-update eye diagrams, persisted traces, histogramming, and statistical analysis. Equivalent sampling rate peaks at 15 TSps, which is a time resolution of 64 fs, and a maximum trace length of up to 32 kilosamples.

The 15-GHz bandwidth will support third harmonic characterization of serial data out to 10 Gbps and fifth harmonic out to 6 Gbps. According to Pico, its entry-level sampling oscilloscope aligns with modern gigabit data rates at this bandwidth as well. Pico says that features such as full touchscreen control, menus that configure to the application at hand, complete PRBS pattern lock, and eye-line step and scan, make the 15-GHz model a capable, low-cost instrument for visualization, measurement, and characterization of high-speed serial data.

For the addition of clock recovery trigger out to 11.3 Gbps and RMS jitter typically down to 1.0 ps + 1% of data interval, Pico proposes moving up to the 9302‑15, the second of the three new 15-GHz units.

The 9311-15 is the third of the latest 15-GHz models, is priced under $15,000, and addresses single-ended time domain transmission (TDT) and time domain reflection (TDR) measurements. Pico says the 9311-15 is an upgrade to its 9211 in cable, component, backplane and PCB impedance, and transmission characterizations and network analysis. System transition time (65 ps) halves distance resolution and adjustable pulse widthincreases the reflected fault detection range from around 4 mm typically out to 1350 feet in the 9311-15 model. Pico has created the model 9302-25 at 25 GHz, adding 11.3-Gbps clock recovery to the higher bandwidth models to support fifth harmonic assessments at data rates to 10 Gbps, and 16 Gbps at third harmonic where a clock or sub-clock is available.

The 9300 family pairs with Pico's low-invasive PicoConnect 900 passive probes, capable of browse probing out to 9 GHz or 18 Gbps, typically without downstream function interruption, the company says.

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