RIGOL Newest MSO8000 Oscilloscope Offers 2 GHz Bandwidth
The latest member of the RIGOL Ultravision II portfolio includes a jitter and real-time eye analysis package.
The latest member of the RIGOL Ultravision II portfolio includes a jitter and real-time eye analysis package.
The MSO8000 series from RIGOL provides a maximum of ten gigasamples per second. It comes in versions sporting 600 MHz, 1 GHz, and 2 GHz bandwidths, which can be upgraded at any time. All versions offer four separate analog channels.
With its Jitter and Real-Time Eye Analysis package, the MSO8000 series extends the capabilities of the UltraVision II family into serial data analysis and signal integrity applications.
Like other members of the family, the MSO8000 is touted as being “7 instruments in one.”
The RIGOL MSO8000. Image from RIGOL
The capabilities include:
- Oscilloscope
- Logic analysis
- Protocol analysis
- Spectrum analysis
- Waveform generation
- Digital voltmeter
- Counter/totalizer
The MSO8000’s analytical capabilities—including zone triggering, histogram, enhanced FFT, precision measurements and power analysis—enable it to help engineers tackle complex IoT issues.
All in the Family
The MSO8000 follows the basic architectural pattern utilized by the other members of the UltraVision II family and utilizes the same Phoenix chip-set.
Like its siblings, the device’s analog front-end signal processing prowess is underwritten by two custom ASICs.
Other hardware highlights include:
- Xilinx Zync-7000 SoC
- Dual-core Arm-9 processors
- High-speed DDR system memory
- QDRII display memory
Internal software runs under the Linux +Qt operating system.
Serial Data Analysis
The jitter and real-time eye analysis option enables the analysis of serial transmissions for those failures caused by timing, noise, bandwidth, and interference issues. Jitter and eye diagram analysis teams up with the histogram and precision measurement capabilities for real-time characterization of signal quality.
The instrument measures the eye diagram’s width, height, amplitude, crossing percentage, and Q factor.
Image from RIGOL YouTube
The MSO8000 in Action
The eye diagram is called as such simply because, as illustrated in the “eye diagram” illustration below, it actually looks like an eye.
Eye diagram. Image from RIGOL YouTube
The white spaces, above and below the eye, indicate the presence of noise. The rise time of the eye, at about 45°, indicates to the user of the MSO8000, that the signal has a bandwidth issue that won’t allow it to change quickly enough.
Frequency noise is indicated by the distribution, illustrated in purple. The histogram, on the right, further quantifies the distribution.
Now that the MSO8000 has enabled the engineering team to pinpoint the issues, they are in a position to tackle the issues. Here’s what the corrected issue looks like, illustrated further along in the same video from RIGOL.
Improved eye diagram. Image from RIGOL YouTube
Most of the white space above the eye has been removed, indicating that much of the noise is eliminated. The rise time of the eye is much steeper, indicating that the bandwidth issue has been ameliorated. Also note that these improvements have limited the frequency and jitter noise, as well.
The “improved eye diagram" above can be described as an “open eye”—this allows a team to push their design by actually increasing the data rate of the device under test where that may help their overall engineering objectives.
Michael Rizzo, General Manager of RIGOL North America points out that the MSO8000’s 2 GHZ bandwidth combined with jitter and eye analysis packages is a heady combination. He notes that these packages "have historically been limited to significantly more expensive units, leaving engineers in these markets to do without or roll their own. Now engineers trying to maximize performance and signal integrity will have a powerful and affordable new tool to complete their designs."
Have you worked with the MSO8000 series before? Share your experiences in the comments below.
