Tektronix Announces 70 GHz Real-Time Oscilloscope with Industry Best Signal Fidelity

BEAVERTON, Ore., March 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Tektronix, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of oscilloscopes, today announced the DPO70000SX 70 GHz ATI Performance Oscilloscope featuring the lowest-noise and highest effective bits of any ultra-high bandwidth real-time oscilloscope available on the market. The new oscilloscope incorporates a range of innovations that enable it to more effectively meet the current and future needs of engineers and scientists developing high-speed coherent optical systems or performing leading-edge research.

Key innovations delivered in the DPO70000SX ATI Performance Oscilloscope that set it apart from traditional ultra-high bandwidth oscilloscopes include:

• World's first 70 GHz real-time oscilloscope with Tektronix' patented Asynchronous Time Interleaving (ATI) technology that preserves signal-to-noise ratio for higher fidelity. This means that users can more accurately capture and measure their signals at higher speeds than possible with any other oscilloscope available today.
• Impressive 200 GS/s sample rate with 5 ps/sample resolution for improved resolution and timing.
• Compact form factor that enables the instrument to be positioned very close to the device under test (DUT) while providing flexible display and control for analysis. Reducing the distance to the DUT enables shorter cable lengths which in turn help to preserve signal fidelity at very high frequencies.
• The most scalable oscilloscope system on the market featuring Tektronix' patent pending UltraSync architecture that provides precise data synchronization and convenient operation of multi-unit systems. Precise multi-channel timing synchronization is key to meeting acquisition requirements in applications such as 100G and faster coherent optical modulation analysis.

"For advanced applications like coherent optical, wideband radar and high-energy physics, customers need more from their oscilloscope than just raw bandwidth," said Brian Reich, general manager Performance Oscilloscopes, Tektronix. "Looking at the full range of customer needs drove us to look beyond banner specs to drive important innovations in the DPO70000SX 70 GHz ATI Performance Oscilloscope around signal fidelity, flexibility and scalability. We see many of these innovations as having long-term influence on oscilloscope architectures."

Signal integrity takes center stage

As engineers develop products and systems with higher data rates, they face a continued number of test challenges. In particular, as speeds go up and amplitudes go down, system noise becomes a major problem because it obscures important signal details. Through the use of ATI technology, DPO70000SX oscilloscope enables engineers to see more of their signal details with less noise and distortion so they can make better measurements and understand their system operation better.

To achieve ultra-high bandwidths, other oscilloscope vendors use a frequency interleaving technique that splits the signal into high- and low-frequency bands which are digitized separately. Digitizing the bands separately like this introduces noise, and causes phase, amplitude, and other mismatches which are very difficult to overcome when the two bands are reassembled. With Tektronix' patented ATI technology – which uses time interleaving rather than frequency interleaving to achieve high sample rates – the full signal spectrum is digitized by each of two symmetrical signal paths with matched performance, which substantially reduces noise when the full spectrum is recovered.

UltraSync scalability with precision

Precise multi-instrument timing synchronization is required for high-speed coherent optical applications. UltraSync meets this requirement with a high-performance synchronization and control bus that allows multiple DPO70000SX oscilloscopes to work together to deliver the precise high-speed multi-channel acquisitions needed for these applications.

UltraSync includes a 12.5 GHz sample clock reference and coordinated trigger bus for inherent acquisition-to-acquisition jitter equivalent to typical channel-to-channel jitter within a single instrument. In addition, it includes a high-speed data path to transfer waveforms from extension units to the master unit for analysis. Since each oscilloscope fully processes its acquired signals, only completed waveforms are sent to the master unit, maintaining performance even as more channels are added. UltraSync allows optical test software to manage a multi-instrument acquisition system for the most precise optical modulation analysis available.

Industry best compact form factor

To improve system flexibility, the DPO70000SX oscilloscopes are packaged in an industry-best 5 ¼ in. tall form factor while retaining full high-performance functionality. This compact packaging means that engineers can stack two oscilloscopes in the same space as a standard bench oscilloscope.

The DPO70000SX also provides the flexibility to use one channel at 70 GHz, 200 GS/s or two channels at 33 GHz, 100 GS/s. Available dual unit systems synchronize two DPO70000SX units providing two channels at 70 GHz, 200 GS/s each, or four channels at 33 GHz, 100GS/s operating as a single, coordinated instrument. Dual-unit systems can be easily separated into individual units when needed and a DPO7AFP auxiliary front panel gives direct control of common instrument settings to provide a typical bench oscilloscope experience – for a single unit or a multi-unit system.

The inherent flexibility of the DPO70000SX provides customers the ability to easily scale up to more performance across more channels. For instance, four channels at 33 GHz with insight on two channels at 70 GHz may be sufficient for many of today's applications. As needs change, two additional units can be added to the configuration to provide four channels at 70 GHz – all functioning as a single instrument.

Pricing & Availability

DPO70000SX oscilloscopes are available to order worldwide with export restrictions for certain countries.

• 70 GHz ATI units start at $315,000 US MSRP with a two-unit system starting at $479,000 US MSRP.
• In addition, a 33 GHz non-ATI unit is available starting at $285,000 US MSRP with a two-unit system starting at $371,000 US MSRP. 

Wondering what else Tektronix is up to? Check out the Tektronix Bandwidth Banter blog and stay up to date on the latest news from Tektronix on Twitter and Facebook.

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.

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SOURCE Tektronix, Inc.

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