New 30 GHz Probing System Ideal for 4th Generation Serial Data Measurements

BEAVERTON, Ore., Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tektronix, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of oscilloscopes, today announced the industry's lowest noise and highest bandwidth 30 GHz probing system with coaxial connectors. The new P7600 Series Probing System features probe-specific DSP filters that enhance performance and minimize noise levels. When paired with the Tektronix DPO/DSA73304D oscilloscope, the P7600 Series Probing System provides connectivity and signal fidelity for high speed differential signal measurements on serial bus designs like PCI Express.

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For high-speed serial data standards, designers are employing differential signaling which can be more efficiently acquired on an oscilloscope using the mini-coaxial differential probing method being announced today. The new P7600 Series includes two direct connect 2.92mm coaxial inputs, enabling conversion of an incoming differential signal pair to a single oscilloscope input channel. This enables up to 30 GHz differential measurement capability on all 4 DPO/DSA73304D oscilloscope channels. Efficient utilization of oscilloscope channels enables multi-lane serial bus acquisitions and/or simultaneous acquisition of high speed data alongside other system activity like 100 MHz reference clocks or chip-to-chip bus traffic like I²C. The P7600 Series also includes critical TriMode^™ functionality that provides full support of differential measurements found in high-speed serial signals, along with independent single-ended and direct common mode measurements through the same probe connection. In addition, Tektronix also provides industry leading 30 GHz bandwidth for its solder-in connectors.

"TriMode probes have proven to be extremely popular among our customers because they enhance productivity—setting up a probe can be a time consuming activity and TriMode probes speed up signal acquisition," said Brian Reich, general manager, Performance Oscilloscopes, Tektronix. "In addition to a broad family of TriMode probes, we now have the industry's fastest TriMode probes and the ultra-high-performance oscilloscopes our customers need for their most demanding serial bus measurement challenges."

TriMode probing improves productivity by reducing setup time on standards tests for serial buses like PCI Express, Serial Attached SCSI and Thunderbolt that require both common-mode and differential signaling measurements. With TriMode, only one connection to the DUT is needed. Switching between differential mode [A-B], single-ended mode [A-Gnd, B-Gnd], and common mode [((A+B)/2)-Gnd] is accomplished through a single button press.

To provide a clean frequency response through the probing system, the new P7600 Series TriMode probing system utilizes probe-specific S parameter data. When connected to a DSA/DPO70000D Series Oscilloscope, the probe transfers this data to the instrument to create a specific DSP bandpass filter. Probe specific filters are critical as bandwidth increases, because at 30 GHz even small variations in the signal path can lead to significant variations in frequency response.

Pricing & Availability
P7600 Series Probing Systems with TriMode capability are available to order now with deliveries starting in early Q1 2013. Pricing starts at $25,000 US MSRP.

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About Tektronix
For more than sixty-five years, engineers have turned to Tektronix for test, measurement and monitoring solutions to solve design challenges, improve productivity and dramatically reduce time to market. Tektronix is a leading supplier of test equipment for engineers focused on electronic design, manufacturing, and advanced technology development. Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Tektronix serves customers worldwide and offers award-winning service and support. Stay on the leading edge at www.tektronix.com.

Tektronix is a registered trademark of Tektronix, Inc. All other trade names referenced are the service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

SOURCE Tektronix, Inc