Keysight InfiniiVision HD3 Series Mixed-Signal 14bit Oscilloscopes 200MHz to 1GHz

Promotion 2024-9-4 until 2024-12-31: Get free 100 MPts of memory per channel (option HD300MSO-100) when you purchase a new HD3 series oscilloscope!.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Question: What does ENOB mean and what does the value indicate?

Answer: ENOB stands for "Effective Number of Bits". In an oscilloscope, the ENOB value of the A/D converter itself is not the decisive factor. Rather, the ENOB value of the entire system is important. Because even if the A/D converter has a high ENOB value, the design of the front end of an oscilloscope, for example, also has a major influence. Poor oscilloscope front-end noise can drastically reduce the ENOB value of the entire measurement system. The ENOB values of the system are therefore lower than the A/D converter bits of the oscilloscope. For example, the 8-bit InfiniiVision 3000G/4000G Series X-Series oscilloscopes have a very good system ENOB of about 6.9. A 14-bit HD3 Series oscilloscope with an ultra-low noise front end has an even better system ENOB of over 10.4 bits. In general, a higher ENOB is better. The ENOB value is important, but does not take into account offset errors or phase distortion that the oscilloscope may cause.

Question: What is important about "waveform update rate" specifications?

Answer: The waveform update rate/waveform capture rate is the speed at which the oscilloscope can acquire data and update the display with this data. Even if it appears to the viewer to be in real time, there is technically a dead time between acquisitions. Signal parts in the dead time are not displayed by the oscilloscope. Rarely occurring, very short events/glitches can be lost as a result. Faster update rates mean shorter dead times and therefore a higher probability of detecting such events.

When specifying the waveform capture rate in the data sheet, it should be noted that many manufacturers quote the maximum value here. With many devices on the market, however, the rate drops significantly if additional functions of the oscilloscope are activated, for example signal math or serial decoding. If you use such functions extensively in your application, you should pay attention to this.

Thanks to the hardware architecture with specially developed and optimized chips and the resulting possibility of implementing many functions in hardware, Keysight can maintain the data acquisition rate of its oscilloscopes without compromise. For example, 1,300,000 Wfms/s applies to the HD3 series without restriction - even if mathematical functions are active, for example.

Question: What are the current (2024) technical trends in oscilloscopes and does the Keysight HD3 meet them?

Answer: These trends have been apparent in oscilloscopes for several years now:

• Multifunctionality: Oscilloscopes are universal devices today. The HD3 includes (partly as standard, partly via options) oscilloscope, FFT, logic analyzer/MSO, voltmeter, counter, function and arbitrary signal generator, serial trigger and decoding. By the way: The MSO option is activated ex works, you only need the additional logic connections/probes to use the logic channels.
• High resolution: Classic oscilloscopes work with 8-bit A/D resolution, the trend is towards 12 bit, the HD3 even offers 14-bit resolution (ENOB >10.4 bit, noise floor 50 µV_RMS).
• Touchscreen 10.1"/25.7 cm: Facilitates operation such as zooming or setting markers.
• Current interfaces: USB and LAN/Ethernet as standard for remote control and automation.
• Extensive analysis functions (mathematics, automatic measurements, serial bus decoding etc.) for use in embedded design, energy/power (analysis in power electronics), automotive and medical technology/healthcare.
  In other words, HD3 is the perfect all-rounder for demanding requirements!