PicoScope 6000E Series ultra-deep-memory oscilloscopes

A smarter scope for faster debug

The PicoScope 6000E Series fixed-resolution and FlexRes oscilloscopes provide 8 to 12 bits of vertical resolution, 1 GHz bandwidth and 5 GS/s sampling rate, and now includes the four-channel PicoScope 6428E-D which offers 3 GHz bandwidth and 10 GS/s maximum sampling rate.

Models with four or eight analog channels have the timing and amplitude resolution you need to reveal critical signal integrity issues such as timing errors, glitches, dropouts, crosstalk and metastability issues.

• Up to 3 GHz bandwidth
• 8-bit to 12-bit FlexRes® ADC
• A choice of 4 (up to 3 GHz) or 8 (up to 500 MHz) analog channels
• Supports up to 16 digital MSO channels
• 200 ms capture time at 5 GS/s
• Up to 10 GS/s with the PicoScope 6428E-D
• Up to 4 GS capture memory
• 50 MHz 200 MS/s 14-bit AWG
• 300 000 waveforms per second update rate
• PicoScope, PicoLog® and PicoSDK® software included
• 40 serial protocol decoder/analyzers included
• Mask limit testing and user-definable actions
• High-resolution time-stamping of waveforms
• Over ten million DeepMeasure™ results per acquisition
• Advanced triggers: edge, window, pulse width, window pulse width, level dropout, window dropout, interval, runt, rise/fall time and logic

Typical applications

These instruments, with PicoScope software, are ideal for design engineers working with high-performance embedded systems, signal processing, power electronics, mechatronics and automotive designs, and for researchers and scientists working on multichannel high-performance experiments in physics labs, particle accelerators and similar facilities.

The PicoScope 6000E Application Programming Interface (API) provides programming access to the full set of advanced hardware features and can be used to develop diverse custom and OEM applications. 

Best-in-class bandwidth, sampling rate and memory depth

Capture time in PicoScope at maximum sampling rate: 200 ms at 5 GS/s (10 GS/s for the PicoScope 6428E-D)

The PicoScope 6000E Series oscilloscopes, with up to 1 GHz analog bandwidth complemented by a real-time sampling rate of 5 GS/s, can display single-shot pulses with 200 ps time resolution.

The PicoScope 6428E-D with up to 3 GHz analog bandwidth complemented by a real-time sampling rate of 10 GS/s can display single-shot pulses with 100 ps time resolution.

The PicoScope 6000E Series gives you the deepest capture memory available as standard on any oscilloscope – up to 4 GS in total.

This ultra-deep memory allows the oscilloscope to capture 200 ms waveforms at its maximum sampling rate of 5 GS/s. The PicoScope 6428E-D can capture 200 ms waveforms at 10 GS/s.

Custom applications using PicoSDK can allocate the scope’s whole memory to a single waveform and sustain the maximum 5 GS/s sampling rate for even longer captures, up to 800 ms. The 6428E-D can sustain a maximum 10 GS/s sampling rate for 400 ms at 8-bit resolution.

The SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface and hardware acceleration ensure that the display is smooth and responsive even with long captures.

The PicoScope 6000E Series gives you the waveform memory, resolution and analysis tools that you need to perform stringent testing of today’s high‑performance embedded computers and next-generation embedded system designs.

PicoScope 6428E-D with MSO, 3 GHz, 10 GS/s

The PicoScope 6428E-D adds a high-speed oscilloscope to the PicoScope 6000E Series with high bandwidth 50 Ω inputs and a reduced set of input ranges. Larger input signals can be accommodated with the use of external attenuators or probes designed to be used with a 50 Ω input, such as the TA062 1.5 GHz low-impedance passive oscilloscope probe with 10:1 attenuation or the PicoConnect 900 Series of passive probes.

Built for speed!

With up to 3 GHz bandwidth complemented by an extremely fast, real-time sampling rate of 10 GS/s, the PicoScope 6428E-D can display single-shot pulses with 100 ps time resolution. This level of sampling rate allows you to capture very fast, high-frequency signals with precision, for detailed signal analysis.

The 4-gigasample buffer can hold up to two 200 ms captures at the maximum sampling rate of 10 GS/s. This means you can record multiple instances of a signal or capture different signal conditions.

The PicoScope 6428E-D is designed for scientists, engineers and researchers working in high-speed applications, including high-energy physics, particle acceleration, LIDAR and VISAR, who need to capture, measure and analyze sub-nanosecond waveform events – either in stand-alone applications or integrated as part of a larger system.

Power, portability and performance

Traditional benchtop mixed-signal oscilloscopes take up a lot of bench space, and models with eight analog channels are prohibitively expensive for many engineers working on next-generation designs. PicoScope 6000E Series oscilloscopes are small and portable while offering the high-performance specifications required by engineers in the lab or on the move, and deliver lowest cost of ownership for this class of instrument.

The PicoScope 6000E Series offers up to 8 analog channels, plus an optional 8 or 16 digital channels with the plug-in 8-channel TA369 MSO (mixed-signal oscilloscope) pods. The flexible high‑resolution display options enable you to view and analyze each signal in detail.

Supported by PicoScope software, these devices offer an ideal, cost-effective package for many applications, including design, research, test, education, service, and repair. PicoScope software is included in the price of your scope, available for free download, with free updates, and can be installed on as many PCs as you want, allowing you to view/analyze data off-line without the scope.

Mixed-signal operation

When fitted with optional 8-channel TA369 MSO pods, the PicoScope 6000E Series adds up to 16 high-performance digital channels to up to eight analog channels, enabling you to accurately time-correlate analog and digital channels. Digital channel bandwidth is 500 MHz, equivalent to 1 Gb/s, and the input capacitance of only 3.5 pF minimizes loading on the device under test.

Digital channels, captured from either parallel or multiple serial buses, may be grouped and displayed as a bus, with each bus value displayed in hex, binary or decimal, or as a level (for DAC testing). You can set advanced triggers across the analog and digital channels.

The digital inputs also bring extra power to the serial decoding feature. You can decode serial data on all analog and digital channels simultaneously, giving you up to 24 channels of data – for example, decoding multiple SPI, I²C, CAN bus, LIN bus and FlexRay signals all at the same time!

More information on mixed-signal oscilloscopes >>

Serial bus decoding and protocol analysis

PicoScope includes more serial decoders than any other oscilloscope on the market (40 and counting). All decoders are included as standard* with no optional extras required or licences to be purchased. Our regular free software updates provide new decoders as they are released. To keep up-to-date with our latest software releases and serial decoder offerings, why not sign-up to our monthly newsletter.

Key Features:

• Decode and display multiple protocols:  You can decode multiple different protocols at the same (e.g. CAN, LIN and FlexRay).  The only limit is the number of available channels. The high resolution of a PC display is perfect for such complex applications.

• Data visualization: View decoded data in hex, binary, decimal, or ASCII directly beneath the waveform on a common time axis. Error frames are highlighted in red for quick identification and can be zoomed in for a detailed investigation of noise or signal integrity issues.

• Graph format shows the decoded data beneath the waveform on a common time axis, with error frames marked in red. These frames can be zoomed to investigate noise or distortion.

• Detailed table format: See a comprehensive list of decoded frames, including all data, flags, and identifiers. Use filtering to focus on specific frames or search for frames with particular properties. The statistics option gives deeper insight into the physical layer, revealing frame times and voltage levels. Click any frame in the table to zoom into its corresponding waveform.

• Export and offline analysis: Easily export table view data for offline viewing and analysis, ensuring you can work with your data whenever and wherever you need.

• Link file feature: Accelerate your analysis by cross-referencing values to human-readable text.

• Import: PicoScope can a spreadsheet to decode the hexadecimal data into user-defined text strings.

Discover why PicoScope is the preferred choice for professionals demanding precision and efficiency in serial decoding.

More information on Serial bus decoding and protocol analysis - overview >>

Arbitrary waveform and function generator

The PicoScope 6000E scopes have a built-in 50 MHz function (sine and square wave) generator, with triangle, DC level, white noise, PRBS and other waveforms possible at lower frequencies. As well as 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 one or more cycles of a waveform to be output when various conditions are met, such as the scope triggering or a mask limit test failing.

All models include a 14-bit 200 MS/s arbitrary waveform generator (AWG). This has a variable sample clock, which avoids the jitter on waveform edges seen with fixed-clock generators and allows generation of accurate frequencies down to 100 µHz. AWG waveforms can be created or edited using the built-in editor, imported from oscilloscope traces, loaded from a spreadsheet or exported to a CSV file.

More information on the arbitrary waveform and function generator >>

High-end features as standard

Buying a PicoScope is not like making a purchase from other oscilloscope companies, where optional extras considerably increase the price. With our scopes, high-end features such as serial decoding, mask limit testing, advanced math channels, segmented memory, hardware‑based time-stamping and a signal generator are all included in the price.

To protect your investment, both the PC software and firmware inside the scope can be updated. Pico Technology has a long history of providing new features for free through software downloads. We deliver on our promises of future enhancements year after year. Users of our products reward us by becoming lifelong customers and frequently recommending us to their colleagues.

Powerful tools provide endless options

Your PicoScope is provided with many powerful tools to help you acquire and analyze waveforms. While these tools can be used on their own, the real power of PicoScope lies in the way they have been designed to work together.

As an example, the rapid trigger mode allows you to collect 10 000 waveforms in a few milliseconds with minimal dead time between them. Manually searching through these waveforms would be time-consuming, so just pick a waveform you are happy with and let the mask tools scan through for you. When done, the measurements will tell you how many have failed and the buffer navigator allows you to hide the good waveforms and just display the problem ones.

The screenshot above shows changing frequency versus time as a graph. Perhaps instead you want to plot changing duty cycle as a graph? How about outputting a waveform from the AWG and also automatically saving the waveform to disk when a trigger condition is met? With the power of PicoScope the possibilities are almost endless. To find out even more about the capabilities of PicoScope software, visit our online A to Z of PC Oscilloscopes.