In PicoScope, waveform averaging is a mathematical function that computes the average of a sequence of waveforms. This is useful for removing noise from a repetitive signal. The result of averaging is a cleaner picture with the same frequency resolution as the original capture but with increased vertical resolution.
PicoScope can display the current waveform (without any averaging) alongside the averaged waveform. This allows you to see the effect averaging is having on the signal.
The signal source used in this example was the PicoScope 3206B’s own arbitrary waveform generator. The oscilloscope timebase was adjusted so that one cycle almost filled the scope view. In this real-time view, we can see that the pulse heights vary but there is no way to measure the variability.
The Navigator view can be scrolled to review the stored waveforms. Any waveform can be transferred to the main scope view by clicking its thumbnail picture in the Navigator. This method allows us to make detailed measurements on any waveform we like, but we are still limited to viewing one waveform at a time.
Another way to view multiple waveforms is to enable Color Persistence mode. This is switched on by clicking the Persistence Mode button:
PicoScope now displays new data superimposed on old data, with the more stable parts of the waveform in brighter colors. This gives an indication of the relative frequency of occurrence of the unstable pulses. We can now see that most pulses have clean exponential rising and falling edges (shown in red) but some of them are truncated (as shown in blue). This mode gives a qualitative view of the variability of the waveform, but average pulse height and width can only be estimated.
This example shows that PicoScope can be used for more than just real-time viewing of waveforms. A range of processing techniques, including Persistence Mode and Math Channels, can be employed for easier visual assessment of waveforms and to enable reliable measurements.