Application Examples
TDS5000B Series Quick Start User Manual
109
Using Acquisition Memory to Efficiently Capture Multiple
High Resolution Events
The record length of an instrument indicat es how m any sample points the instrument can acquire and store in a
single acquisition, while the sample rate determines how closely in time these samples are taken. If you set the
oscilloscope to run at the maximum sample rate, then the total time window acquired will be much shorter than
if you chose a slower sample rate. In other words, in normal operation the oscilloscope can either acquire a
shorter period of s ignal activity with high resolution or a much longer period of signal activity with lower
resolution.
Some applications, such as capturing laser or radar pulses, require that the instrument capture multiple events
over a long period of time with very high resolution. This example shows you how to use FastFrame to acquire
such signals. For this example, we are looking at a laser pulse that fires every 1-2 seconds but is only a few
nanoseconds wide. We want to capture 50 consecutive pulses and compare the wave shape of all 50 pulses.
1. Acquire the desired signal on
CH 1.
1
2. Push Autoset.
2
3. Use the horizontal and vertical
controls to display one occur-
rence of the event of interest.
3