Digital persistence mode

Persistence mode superimposes multiple waveforms on the same view, with more frequent data or newer waveforms emphasised with deeper saturation or hotter colors.  This is useful for viewing complex or changing waveforms and can help to make glitches visible even if many subsequent triggers overwrite them

There are three different Digital Persistence modes:

Digital color

In this mode all active channels employ the same color scheme.  Areas of the waveform that have the highest population density are displayed red (hot), while the areas with lower population density vary through yellow to blue (cold).  Digital color gives visual frequency-of-occurrence information that helps to characterize the device under test.

Analog intensity

With analog intensity each channel is identified with its individual color (A = Blue, B = Red, C = Green and so on).  Intensity grading is used to indicate the age or frequency of waveform data with the latest waveforms drawn at full intensity and older data being represented by successively paler shades of the same color.  This mode emulates the phosphor display of a conventional analog scope and is useful for displaying complex analog signals such as video waveforms and analog modulation signals.

Fast mode

PicoScope uses the oscilloscope's rapid triggering hardware to capture waveforms at very high repetition rates, over 100,000 waveforms per second on the faster scope devices. PicoScope draws this data on the screen using color-coding to indicate the densest parts of the waveform, giving you the best possible chance of spotting infrequent glitches.

Finding a glitch using digital persistence Fast mode

Fast mode is designed to help you find rare events hidden in otherwise repetitive waveforms.  In normal scope mode, such an event may appear on the display for a fraction of a second, too quickly for you to press the “Stop” button to freeze it on the screen.  Fast Mode keeps the event on the display for a predetermined time, allowing you to set up the trigger options to capture it more reliably.  This example shows a glitch that has been captured using Digital Persistence Fast Mode.