New ´scope tools boost circuit design

Oscilloscopes and computers, today´s standard engineering tools for design and troubleshooting, continue to make huge strides in capability and speed. During the last 30 years, the typical engineer´s computing tool has changed from the slide rule to a microprocessor-based system running at 50 MHz or faster. The computer system´s hardware and software components continue to improve substantially on an annual basis. Similarly, the troubleshooting tool for inspecting electronic signals has changed from the basic analog oscilloscope to the 500 MHz digital scope. The software and hardware in these scopes also changes dramatically on an annual basis. Some of the newest digital scopes allow the owner to upgrade the processor, add more processing RAM, increase data acquisition memory, and add storage devices such as a PCMCIA memory cards or portable hard drives. This article addresses the changes in oscilloscopes that make them more powerful tools for designing semiconductor devices and higher level circuits containing many devices