High-performance oscilloscopes offer 16-bit vertical resolution

Now available from Link Microtek are the latest Rohde & Schwarz RTO-series high-performance digital oscilloscopes, which offer high-definition signal analysis with a vertical resolution of up to 16 bits, clear and simple touchscreen operation, and the world's first real-time digital trigger system, says the company.

As part of the Rohde & Schwarz general-purpose 'Value Instruments' range, the oscilloscopes are designed to provide a precise, reliable and affordable solution for a wide variety of test-and-measurement applications.

The RTO series includes 2- and 4-channel versions with bandwidths ranging from 600MHz to 4GHz. The oscilloscopes combine a high acquisition rate of one million waveforms per second with a very low inherent noise level of 1% of full scale at 1mV/div and 1GHz, enabling precise measurements to be made even at low signal amplitudes.

For applications involving large voltage variations within the same acquisition, e.g. characterisation of a switch-mode power supply, the oscilloscopes' optional high-definition mode ensures that measurement precision is maintained for the low-voltage components of the signal. This mode uses a low-pass filter to increase the vertical resolution to a maximum of 16 bits - a 256-fold improvement over 8-bit resolution - with the user adjusting the filter bandwidth to match the characteristics of the applied signal.

The oscilloscopes are equipped with over 90 measurement functions for debugging complex designs, including tools such as mask test, FFT-based spectrum analysis, history function and QuickMeas, which provides key measurement results at the push of a button. Employing the world's first real-time digital trigger system, the oscilloscopes validate every acquired sample against the trigger definition and can therefore trigger on even the smallest signal details.

In addition to their powerful functionality, the RTO oscilloscopes are optimised for touchscreen operation, making them extremely easy to use. With features such as drag-and-drop measurement windows, configurable toolbar, fingertip zoom and undo/redo, the touchscreen user interface enables even complex measurement tasks to be accomplished quickly and intuitively.