HP 54522A - Page 76

» sequential ——
oft
- # of points —
c # of segments -,
~ Max =
Horizontal
Sequential softkey
Sequential softkey
Sequential single-shot is a real-time feature that is used to maximize the
oscilloscope’s data capture rate while improving memory efficiency. You
define the number of points the oscilloscope captures on each acquisition and
the number of segments (events) that are captured. You can make
measurements, calculate waveform math functions, or use pan and zoom on
captured segments. Also, a time tag is placed on each captured event. The
time tag allows you to determine when a captured segment occurred with
respect to the first captured segment.
Normal oscilloscope operation is a 5-step process:
e Acquire new data into high-speed memory.
e Transfer the data to slower, conventional memory.
e Process the data.
e@ Make measurements on the data.
e Display the data.
The last three steps — processing, measuring, and displaying the data —
takes up most of the oscilloscope’s time. This time span is also referred to as
oscilloscope dead time because the oscilloscope is not acquiring new data at
that time. The sequential single-shot mode delays performing the last three
steps until after all of the selected events are acquired.
Use the sequential single-shot mode when you need to rapidly capture events
by minimizing oscilloscope dead time, or when there is a significant dead time
between events and you are interested in the events rather than the time
between events. For example, if you have a series of 100-ns pulses that are
1 ms apart, the time between pulses is 10,000 times greater than the width of
each pulse. If you are only interested in specific events, you can adjust the
triggering and you can set the number of points so only the events you are
interested in are captured (pulses, rising edges, or falling edges). Then, you
can set the number of segments to capture the number of events you want to
analyze. The time tag feature allows you to piece together the captured
events in time with respect to the first event.
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