Oscilloscope supports up to 16-GHz bandwidth

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

Rohde & Schwarz has expanded its R&S RTP oscilloscope family with two new models — the 13-GHz R&S RTP134 and 16-GHz R&S RTP164 — extending the product line’s bandwidth from 4-GHz up to 16-GHz. The new models support four channels to 8 GHz, or two channels interleaved for their respective higher frequencies. The company also added new functionality for debugging and analysis.

The bandwidth of the digital trigger is extended to 16 GHz to provide high precision for detecting very small and intermittent signals. The R&S RTP triggers on real-time de-embedded signals and supports all trigger types including pulse width, setup and hold, or runt, up to the full bandwidth.

Suited for debugging high-speed differential signals and available for both data acquisition and trigger functions, a new math module supports addition or subtraction for any two signals, plus signal inversion and common mode operations.

Users also can analyze high-speed serial signals at data rates up to 16 Gbits/s with the serial pattern trigger options, R&S RTP-K140/K141, which include hardware-based clock data recovery for extracting the embedded clock signal as trigger reference. The trigger supports bit patterns up to 160 bits in length, plus decoding schemes such as 8B/10B, or 128B/132B.

The R&S RTP supports debug and compliance test on DRAM memory interfaces using DDR4, DDR4L, and LPDDR4 with the new option R&S RTP-K93. Another new option is the R&S RTP-K11 I/Q mode, which converts modulated signals to I/Q data for analysis, saving acquisition memory, and extending the maximum acquisition time. The I/Q can be used with any suitable external tool for proprietary signal analysis.

The latest upgrade also adds all the functions for time domain reflection (TDR) and transmission (TDT) analysis to characterize and debug signal paths, such as PCB traces, cables, and connectors. The new option R&S RTP-K130 provides TDT/TDR analysis for both single-ended and differential signals.

The R&S RTP high-performance oscilloscope family is available in 4-GHz, 6-GHz, 8-GHz, 13-GHz, and 16-GHz models. Update options support bandwidth increases up to 16 GHz for all R&S RTP models. New modular probes are available for the 13-GHz (RT-ZM130) and 16-GHz (RT-ZM160) models.

These scopes are suited for debugging embedded electronic designs including high-speed buses, multi-channel RF interfaces (radio or radar), complex power management units, and simple control and programming buses such as I₂ C, and SPI, across a variety of market sectors, particularly automotive, aerospace, defense, industrial, and telecommunications.