Flexible Resolution USB Oscilloscope

• FlexRes 8 to 16-bit hardware resolution
• Up to 200 MHz analog bandwidth
• 1 GS/s sampling at 8-bit resolution
• 62.5 MS/s sampling at 16-bit resolution
• Up to 512 MS capture memory
• 16 digital channels on MSO models
• 130 000 waveforms per second
• Built-in arbitrary waveform generator
• 40 serial decoding protocols as standard
• Up to 200 MHz spectrum analyzer

Today’s electronic designs employ a wide range of signal types: analog, digital, serial (both high- and low-speed), parallel, audio, video, power distribution and so on. All need to be debugged, measured and validated to ensure that the device under test is functioning correctly and within specification.

To handle this variety of signal types, PicoScope 5000D FlexRes hardware employs multiple high-resolution ADCs at the input channels in different time-interleaved and parallel combinations to optimize either the sampling rate to 1 GS/s at 8 bits, the resolution to 16 bits at 62.5 MS/s, or other combinations in between – you select the most appropriate hardware resolution for the requirements of each measurement.

2 and 4 channel models are available, all featuring a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connection, providing lightning-fast saving of waveforms while retaining compatibility with older USB standards. The PicoSDK^® software development kit supports continuous streaming to the host computer at rates up to 125 MS/s. The product is small and light, and operates silently thanks to its low-power fanless design.

Supported by the free-of-charge and regularly updated PicoScope software, the PicoScope 5000D Series offers an ideal, cost-effective package for many applications, including design, research, test, education, service and repair. 

What is FlexRes?

Pico FlexRes flexible resolution oscilloscopes allow you to reconfigure the scope hardware to increase either the sampling rate or the resolution. This means you can reconfigure the hardware to be either a fast (1 GS/s) 8-bit oscilloscope for looking at digital signals, or a high-resolution 16-bit oscilloscope for audio work and other analog applications. Whether you’re capturing and decoding fast digital signals or looking for distortion in sensitive analog signals, FlexRes oscilloscopes are the answer.

Deep capture memory

PicoScope 5000D Series oscilloscopes have waveform capture memories ranging from 128 to 512 million samples – many times larger than traditional benchtop scopes. Deep memory enables the capture of long-duration waveforms at maximum sampling speed. In fact, the PicoScope 5000D Series can capture waveforms over 500 ms long with 1 ns resolution. In contrast, the same 500 ms waveform captured by an oscilloscope with a 10 megasample memory would have just 50 ns resolution.

Deep memory can be useful in other ways too: PicoScope lets you divide the capture memory into a number of segments, up to a maximum of 10 000. You can set up a trigger condition to store a separate capture in each segment, with as little as 1 µs dead time between captures. Once you have acquired the data, you can step through the memory one segment at a time until you find the event you are looking for. Powerful tools are included to allow you to manage and examine all of this data. As well as functions such as mask limit testing and color persistence mode, PicoScope software enables you to zoom into your waveform by a factor of several million. The Zoom Overview window allows you to easily control the size and location of the zoom area.

Other tools, such as DeepMeasure^TM, serial decoding and hardware acceleration work with the deep memory, making the PicoScope 5000D Series among the most powerful oscilloscopes on the market.

Logic analyzer / mixed signal ability

The PicoScope 5000D Series includes mixed signal models that include 16 digital inputs so that you can view digital and analog signals simultaneously.

The digital inputs can be displayed individually or in named groups with binary, decimal or hexadecimal values shown in a bus-style display. A separate logic threshold from –5 V to +5 V can be defined for each 8-bit input port. The digital trigger can be activated by any bit pattern combined with an optional transition on any input. Advanced logic triggers can be set on either the analog or digital input channels, or both to enable complex mixed-signal triggering.

The digital inputs bring extra power to the serial decoding options.  You can decode serial data on all analog and digital channels simultaneously, giving you up to 18 channels of data.  You can for example decode multiple SPI, I²C, CAN bus, LIN bus and FlexRay signals all at the same time!

App note: Debugging an I²C Bus with a PicoScope Mixed–Signal Oscilloscope

• Channel controls:
  Channel controls are used to manage probe types, assign channel names, set vertical scaling, input coupling, and other signal conditioning parameters before making measurements on the device under test (DUT).
• Serial decoding:
  PicoScope can decode over 30 protocols, including I2C, SPI, UART/RS-232 and CAN standards for automotive and embedded system applications.
  Decoded packets can be displayed in Graph format showing the decoded data (in hex, binary, decimal, or ASCII) in a data bus timing format, beneath the waveform on a common time axis, with error frames marked in red. These frames can be zoomed in to investigate detailed waveform characteristics. Packets can also be displayed in Table format that shows a list of the decoded frames, including the data and all flags and identifiers.
• Trigger types:
  Trigger types include basic edge triggering and a number of advanced trigger types that enable the capture of complex signals. This makes them ideal for troubleshooting circuits with glitches, timing violations, dropouts and other signal integrity issues in analog and digital circuits. Using a Pulse width trigger, for example, it is easy to detect a pulse that is narrower than it should be. The Runt trigger can be used to isolate under / over height pulses that result from setup & hold violations in digital circuit designs.
• Time base control:
  Time base control is used to set the timing of an acquisition using the seconds / division control. Sampling controls provide a choice of time base operating modes: Buffer memory priority adjusts sampling rate to maintain a fixed capture memory depth. Sample rate priority adjusts memory depth to maintain a fixed sampling rate.
• Digital channel controls:
  Digital channel controls, on MSO models, display a digital signal as either a logic high or logic low, depending on whether the voltage on that channel is above or below a set threshold. The digital channels are displayed individually or can be grouped together in a bus display, all time correlated with the analog channels around the same trigger point. The bus value can be displayed in hex, binary, decimal, or level for DAC testing.
• Toolpark:
  Toolpark houses secondary functions such as Measurements, Math channels, Serial decoding, Rulers, Mask testing and Actions etc., are just one touch away and can be favorited to create a custom UI layout that suits user preferences and work patterns.
• Math channels:
  PicoScopes offer advanced math functions: multiplication, division and integration as well as basic functions like addition and subtraction. Multiplication can be used to calculate power from V & I waveforms, and energy by integrating the power waveform.

Mixed Signal Oscilloscope / Logic Analyzer (roll over red circles for description)

1. Channel controls:
   Channel controls are used to manage probe types, assign channel names, set vertical scaling, input coupling, and other signal conditioning parameters before making measurements on the device under test (“DUT”).
2. Serial decoding:
   PicoScope can decode over 30 protocols, including I2C, SPI, UART/RS-232 and CAN standards for automotive and embedded system applications.
   Decoded packets can be displayed in Graph format showing the decoded data (in hex, binary, decimal, or ASCII) in a data bus timing format, beneath the waveform on a common time axis, with error frames marked in red. These frames can be zoomed in to investigate detailed waveform characteristics. Packets can also be displayed in Table format that shows a list of the decoded frames, including the data and all flags and identifiers.
3. Trigger types:
   Trigger types include basic edge triggering and a number of advanced trigger types that enable the capture of complex signals. This makes them ideal for troubleshooting circuits with glitches, timing violations, dropouts and other signal integrity issues in analog and digital circuits. Using a Pulse width trigger, for example, it is easy to detect a pulse that is narrower than it should be. The Runt trigger can be used to isolate under / over height pulses that result from setup & hold violations in digital circuit designs.
4. Time base control:
   Time base control is used to set the timing of an acquisition using the seconds / division control. Sampling controls provide a choice of time base operating modes: Buffer memory priority adjusts sampling rate to maintain a fixed capture memory depth. Sample rate priority adjusts memory depth to maintain a fixed sampling rate.
5. Digital channel controls:
   Digital channel controls, on MSO models, display a digital signal as either a logic high or logic low, depending on whether the voltage on that channel is above or below a set threshold. The digital channels are displayed individually or can be grouped together in a bus display, all time correlated with the analog channels around the same trigger point. The bus value can be displayed in hex, binary, decimal, or level for DAC testing.
6. Toolpark:
   Toolpark houses secondary functions such as Measurements, Math channels, Serial decoding, Rulers, Mask testing and Actions etc., are just one touch away and can be favorited to create a custom UI layout that suits user preferences and work patterns.
7. Math channels:
   PicoScopes offer advanced math functions: multiplication, division and integration as well as basic functions like addition and subtraction. Multiplication can be used to calculate power from V & I waveforms, and energy by integrating the power waveform.

Arbitrary waveform and function generator

All PicoScope 5000D units have a built in 14-bit 200 MS/s arbitrary waveform generator (AWG). You can create and adapt arbitrary waveforms using the built-in editor, import them from existing oscilloscope traces, or load a waveform from a spreadsheet.

The AWG can also act as a function generator with a range of standard output signals, including sine, square, triangle, DC level, white noise and PRBS. As well as the basic controls to set level, offset and frequency, more advanced controls allow you to sweep over a range of frequencies.

Combined with the spectrum peak hold option, this makes a powerful tool for testing amplifier and filter responses. Trigger tools allow you to output one or more cycles of a waveform when various conditions are met, such as the scope triggering or a mask limit test failing.

High signal integrity

Here at Pico, we’re proud of the dynamic performance of our products. Careful front-end design and shielding reduces noise, crosstalk and harmonic distortion.

Over 25 years of high-resolution oscilloscope design experience leads to improved pulse response and bandwidth flatness.

Sensitivity at 1:1 zoom is an impressive 2 mV/div at the full resolution of the oscilloscope. If you need even more sensitivity, simply switch to high-resolution mode and zoom in. Combining 14-bit mode and zoom can provide 200 µV/div sensitivity while still providing more than 8 bits usable resolution.

High resolution for low-level signals

With resolution enhancement the PicoScope 5000D can display low-level signals at high zoom factors.

This allows you to view and measure features such as noise and ripple superimposed on larger DC or low-frequency voltages. Additionally, you can use the Lowpass Filtering controls on each channel independently, to hide noise and reveal the underlying signal.

Software Development Kit - write your own apps

The software development kit (SDK) allows you to write your own software and includes drivers for Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac (macOS) and Linux (including Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone).

Example code shows how to interface to third-party software packages such as Microsoft Excel, National Instruments LabVIEW and MathWorks MATLAB. 

There is also an active community of PicoScope users who share code and applications on the Pico forum and PicoApps section of the picotech.com web site. The Frequency Response Analyzer shown opposite is one of the most popular third-party applications.

Portability

The PicoScope 5000 oscilloscope is small, light and portable.  

In the lab it will take up the minimum of bench space while for the engineer on the move they slip neatly into a laptop bag.