New Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope Gives Engineers Three Dimensions to Every
Signal
BEAVERTON, Ore., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Tektronix, Inc. (NYSE:TEK) today
unveiled a new class of test instrumentation that delivers the increased
performance and visibility required by engineers working with complex
electronic signals. The Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope -- DPO -- uses new
patented technology to analyze and measure complex signals in design
applications such as video and communications.
Tektronix's first entry into the digital phosphor arena is a family of
seven DPOs. Using revolutionary DPX(TM) technology, these new products are
capable of operating in high-speed environments of up to 2 GHz in bandwidth on
four channels. With today's microprocessor speeds topping 400 MHz and new
designs edging toward use of 1 GHz processors, DPX makes an information-rich
display possible.
Providing up to 1,000 times more signal data than digital storage
oscilloscopes (DSOs) currently on the market, DPX -- a waveform imaging
processor designed specifically for acquiring and managing the three
dimensions of every signal -- allows the human eye to integrate subtle details
and variations of signal behavior. This new signal display enables engineers
to debug and verify the performance of their designs with greater precision
and speed.
The inaugural DPO continues a commitment to oscilloscope innovation at
Tektronix. Credited with the creation of the first advanced oscilloscope -- a
test instrument upon which the company's initial business was built
-- Tektronix Measurement Business Division represents 44 percent of the
company's revenues.
"Our oscilloscope business has always made a significant contribution to
the company's bottom line and we expect the DPO will continue that tradition,"
said Dan Terpack, president, Measurement Business Division. "Our competitors
have introduced new features to existing products. We're introducing a new
class of instrumentation that will move technology to the next level."
According to the industry research firm Prime Data, the oscilloscope is
the largest product-specific category of test equipment, with a market sized
at $1.46 billion.
The DPO is Different than an ART or DSO
Although digital storage oscilloscopes (DSO) have been the mainstay of
electronic design engineers for over 15 years, the DSO has limited signal
definition and display capabilities and has not displaced analog real-time
oscilloscopes (ARTs), first used in World War II. With the invention of the
Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope, engineers can now display, store and analyze
complex signals in three dimensions. Essentially, the DPO combines the best
features of the ART and the DSO, while improving the performance of both, at a
price comparable to oscilloscopes of similar bandwidth configuration on the
market today.
"As far as I'm concerned, this Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope has an analog
scope built in. Its display is as good as any analog oscilloscope I've ever
seen. It shows the gray scaling of an analog scope that allows me to
immediately find problems in disk drive sectors. Digital storage oscilloscopes
can't do this," said Dale Giles, R&D Lab manager, VTC Corporation,
Bloomington, Minn. |
