Glossary
Megahertz (MHz)
A frequency of one million Hz (cycles per second), or 106 Hz.
Megasample per second (Ms/s)
One million (106) samples per second.
Noise
An unwanted voltage or current in an electrical signal.
Oscilloscope
An instrument for making a graph of two factors. These are typically
voltage versus time.
Peak
The difference in amplitude between the maximum value and the aver
age or mean value of a waveform.
Peak-to-Peak
Amplitude measurement of the absolute difference between the maxi
mum and minimum amplitude.
Period
A timing measurement of the time covered by one complete signal
cycle. It is the reciprocal of frequency and is measured in seconds.
Phase
A timing measurement between two waveforms of the amount one leads
or lags the other in time. Phase is expressed in degrees, where 360°
comprises one complete cycle of one of the waveforms. Waveforms
measured should be of the same frequency or one waveform should be
a harmonic of the other.
Probe
An oscilloscope input device.
Quantizing
The process of converting an analog input that has been sampled, such
as a voltage, to a digital value.
Record length
The specified number of samples in a waveform.
Reference memory
Memory in a oscilloscope used to store waveforms or settings. The
digital storage oscilloscope saves the data even when the oscilloscope
is turned off or unplugged.
Repetitive acquisition
The particular mode on the instrument at the faster sweep speeds
where numerous acquisitions are required to form a picture of the wave-
form because of the limits imposed by the sampling rate.
Repetitive signal
A signal that varies uniformly in terms of voltage overtime.
G-4
Glossary
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