One of the target markets for the device is communications. Dean Miles, technical marketing manager, noted: "We are seeing a lot of investment in optical communications and there is increasing use of microwave frequencies, so there is a need for an instrument with wider bandwidth and higher resolution."
Amongst the device's features are the ability to sample at 200Gsample/s and a compact form factor that allows it to be positioned close to the device under test, retaining signal fidelity.
Tom Freeman, product line marketing manager, added: "Tektronix' asynchronous time interleaving (ATI) technology allows the scope to achieve high bandwidth with low noise." ATI, launched three years ago, allows a signal to be digitised using two symmetrical paths, with each channel accessing the full spectrum.
Engineers can specify one channel at 70GHz or two channels at 33GHz, with a sample rate of 100Gsample/s. Two devices can be synchronised to provide two channels at 70GHz or four channels at 33GHz. Synchronisation is achieved using UltraSync, with a 12.5GHz sample clock reference, a coordinated trigger bus and a high speed data path.
Unusually for such a device, it comes in a 5.25in high package with a small screen. Freeman said: "The small screen helps in set up, but the data captured by the device has more meaning when displayed on an external screen."
