Chestnut Ridge, NY—LeCroy Corporation introduces new high-performance mixed signal oscilloscopes for the popular WaveRunner Xi and WaveSurfer Xs series. With analog bandwidths up to 2 GHz, a maximum digital input frequency of 500 MHz, and long memory of 50 Mpts/ch, LeCroy's mixed signal oscilloscopes deliver raw performance and the best solutions for serial data busses such as I2C, SPI, UART, RS-232, CAN and LIN. The mixed signal oscilloscopes provide up to 36 digital channels. All analog and digital channels can capture data at full sample rate for long periods of time, with no compromises, since all analog and digital memory is always available and never shared between channels. Perfect timebase synchronization, advanced cross triggering and fast update rates complete the integration of analog and digital worlds. The increasing number of 16-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers is now being used creates new challenges for the design and debug of embedded systems. LeCroy's embedded test solutions provide exactly the powerful, flexible tools needed for understanding address and data lines, as well as analog sensors and serial data signals. They also shorten the development cycle for devices with embedded controllers, DSPs, FPGAs, ADCs, DACs, and transducers.

No Compromises

Available in two models, the new MS Series high-performance mixed signal oscilloscopes add powerful tools for the design and debug of embedded systems to the WaveRunner Xi and WaveSurfer Xs. The MS-500, with a maximum input frequency of 500 MHz, is twice as fast as other mixed signal oscilloscopes. The 500 MHz maximum input frequency is perfect for today's faster-speed embedded systems, and the 50 Mpts/Ch memory allows long capture of up to 25 ms of digital data at full sample rate, simultaneously, on each of the 18 channels. For added flexibility, the MS-500 mixed signal oscilloscope can be operated in 36-channel mode. This provides more than twice the number of input channels of any other solution and ensures that every important analog and digital signal can be measured. The MS-250 provides the capture of 10 ms of digital data, with speeds up to 250 MHz on 18 channels.

While other mixed signal oscilloscopes force the user to accept shortened memory lengths when turning on more logic channels, the WaveRunner Xi and WaveSurfer Xs series solutions provide full oscilloscope memory and full digital memory all the time. This provides the best-in-market performance in simultaneous and synchronized measurements of long logic trains and analog signals during system ramp up.

Easy to Use, Streamlined User Interface

The WaveRunner Xi and WaveSurfer Xs mixed signal oscilloscopes leverage the streamlined LeCroy user interface and simplify how mixed signal oscilloscopes operate. The large 10.4-in. color intuitive touch screen graphical user interface and front panel make it easy to view analog and digital channels simultaneously, and eliminate the learning curve associated with logic analyzers. Logic analyzers offer numerous features but often provide a complicated user interface. LeCroy's interface provides an easy way to turn on and off all analog and digital channels without having to navigate confusing menus. Cursors and automated measurements can be used to measure mixed signals, such as the measurement of skew timing between analog and digital signals.

A wide range of accessories are available to simplify connecting to the device under test. These accessories include a variety of gripper probes in different sizes designed to easily connect to ICs of different pitches. Mictor and 3M interface cables are also available.

Trigger and Decode Solutions Include I2C, SPI, CAN, UART, RS-232 and LIN

With the introduction of the new mixed signal oscilloscopes, digital lines can also be used for triggering I2C, SPI and CAN signals. In addition, LeCroy is introducing new serial data solutions for UART, RS-232 and LIN. The UART and RS-232 solution provides the ability to trigger and decode both RS-232 and generic UART signals. This generic UART format is widely used as a backbone for many proprietary protocols and LeCroy's UART package can be configured to decode any of these UART-based protocols. The new LIN trigger and decode solution provides full support of LIN 1.3, 2.0 and J2602. Powerful conditional data triggering allows the oscilloscope to trigger when data is in range, out of range, or less than or greater than a defined value.

Powerful, Flexible Triggering

The large number of digital channels time aligned and synchronized to the oscilloscope channels in embedded system measurements create a critical need for powerful and flexible triggering. Both the WaveRunner Xi and WaveSurfer Xs mixed signal oscilloscopes provide the triggering necessary to guarantee that important events can always be captured and isolated. The analog-digital cross pattern trigger functionality allows for a simple pattern of one or two logic conditions, or a complex pattern consisting of all 36 digital channels plus all 4 analog channels. These patterns can consist of logic states, transitions or don't care conditions. Adding to the cross pattern trigger is the A-B qualified event trigger. This enables the user to set up one condition to arm the trigger to then trigger on a second condition, allowing a rising edge on an analog signal to arm the oscilloscope to trigger on a pattern of analog and digital waveforms. A wide range of other LeCroy SMART triggers are available to find different pulse widths, glitches or intervals on analog or digital channels, or isolate runts or pulses with varying slew rates on the analog oscilloscope channels.

Pricing

Mixed signal capability is available on WaveRunner Xi and WaveSurfer Xs oscilloscopes from 200 MHz to 2 GHz with US list prices beginning at $9,180. The MS-500 provides 500 MHz maximum input frequency, 50 Mpts/ch, 2GS/s, 18 channels and is priced at $3,990. A 36-channel mode is enabled through the MSO-DLS-36 option priced at $990. The MS-250 provides 250 MHz maximum input frequency, 10 Mpts/ch, 1 GS/s, 18 channels and is priced at $2,990.

Engineers and technicians who would like to know more can contact LeCroy at 1-800-5LeCroy (1-800-553-2769) or visit www.lecroy.com

The 16-bit controller is driving the LED display correctly, but the direct digital synthesizer chip with built-in 14-bit DAC isn't responding properly. Worse, the scope probes don't seem to be making proper contact with the DDS chip's 20-mil leads.

The rat's nest of cables and probes on the bench, feeding two separate oscilloscopes, isn't making matters better. Gulping down yet another cup of bitter coffee doesn't seem to help either. ***

These latest oscilloscopes from LeCroy Corp. once again expand the company's existing WaveRunner Xi Series and WaveSurfer Xs Series scopes. They also compete with new scopes recently introduced by Agilent Technologies, and others.

As you can see from LeCroy's thorough press release (on the left), the company is again aiming these mixed-signal oscilloscopes at designers working with embedded systems, where signals in analog and digital domains are found, often along with serial data streams. One of these LeCroy scopes lets you do this simultaneously—on one instrument—in realtime.

You can probe signals on microcontrollers, DSPs, and FPGAs, while looking at inputs and outputs of devices such as data converters and transducers. The MS-500 model, with its 500-MHz bandwidth spec, is claimed by LeCroy to be twice as fast as competing mixed-signal scopes.

Three models are available. The MS-500 has a maximum input frequency of 500-MHz, and offers 18 channels, with 50-Mpoints of memory per channel. An MS-500-36 version has 250-MHz maximum input frequency specs, with 25-Mpoints/channel, but can accommodate 36 channels, using a second lead set.

The MS-250, as its name implies, is a 250-MHz version, with 18 channels and 10-Mpoints of memory per channels.

Deep Memory

The MS-500's memory depth of 50-Mpoints/channel lets fast signals be captured for up to 25-ms, with a sampling arte as fast as 2-Gsamples/s. The scope provides up to 36 signal channels, which should be more than sufficient to look at all address, data, and control lines on most 16-bit and 32-bit microcontrollers, as well as letting you examine high-speed serial busing.

For its part, LeCroy's 250-MHz MS-250, with 10-Mpoints of memory, can capture of 10-ms of data on as many as 18 channels. That's just the ticket for ensuring proper timing and bus traffic in somewhat less complex multi-device mixed-signal embedded environments. The MS-250 may therefore be a more cost-effective choice for shops developing systems around 8-bit controllers.

Observing Serial Data

LeCroy's press statement emphasizes serial bus observation. That's because monitoring serial data buses has become a major element of today's embedded system design. You need instrumentation that can rapidly isolate specific messages on serial buses. To do that, LeCroy uses a color-coded overlay on-screen to de-code bus data. More on that in a moment.

You can also use a zoom function in order to observe more detail as individual bits are de-coded.

Click for larger typical screen image

A built-in search capability can also scan for specific messages on a bus, and you can use cursors to read hex bus values or make manual timing measurements.

Protocol Ready

Coupled with conditional triggering, an MS-250 or MS-500 scope can help capture bus traffic, and display data messages from a variety of protocols, including I²C, SPI (the Motorola-derived serial peripheral interface), and LIN (local interconnect network) types. Using an external module, you can capture CAN (controller area network) data streams.

You can also observe UART and RS-232 serial lines, triggering using analog/digital cross-pattern triggers, and analog/digital event triggers. Moreover, you can choose any digital channel as the source for an analog trigger. You can set up either simple or more complex cross-pattern triggers, with any combination of up to four analog and 36 digital channels.

Trigger conditions can be set in binary or hex (symbolic for CAN). You could, therefore, even trigger on data in specific locations of a long I²C EEPROM read, for example.

Conditional data triggering permits triggering on a range of data bytes that correspond to Reads or Writes to specific sub-address blocks in EEPROM. Conditional data triggering can also monitor outputs from sensors and data converter stages, such as A/Ds (analog-to-digital converters).

You can also establish patterns with a choice of binary values, or using a signal's rising or falling edge. You could also set your triggering on either of a signal's edges, or establish don't-care triggers. You can even trigger if data is outside a safe operating range.

Automatic Measurements

The MS-250 and MS-500 scopes can also make automatic measurements. You can use this feature to measure a signal's period, frequency, or duty cycle, for example, The ability to do that works on digital lines just as they would on analog channels. What's more, you can generate statistics and so-called histocons, for more detailed interpretation of captured information.

When working with specific serial protocols, the aforementioned color-coded de-code overlay feature uses software to de-construct waveforms into binary, hex, or ASCII information. That can then be overlaid data on a waveform.

Scope As Protocol Analyzer

These scopes can actually operate as protocol analyzers. A Table view displays acquired protocol information, and you can customize that as needed. You can also export tabular data to an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The table includes Search/Zoom functions, too, letting you locate a message in the table and then zoom in to see more detail. You can also search for specific address or data values.

Probing High-Density Packages

LeCroy's press release also mentions the accessories that can ease connection to your circuit. These include gripper probes in different sizes designed to connect to ICs of different pitches, and 36-pin Mictor and 18-pin 3M interface cables. A PK400-1 so-called Microgripper Set is for relatively large devices. It's for conventional 100-mil devices. It includes ten probes with color-coded leads.

LeCroy's PK400-2 Microgripper Set is for very small components, namely devices with leads on 40-mil pitches. Lastly, a PK400-3 set is for 8-mil (0.2-mm) devices.

Click here to review a datasheet (in Adobe Acrobat .PDF format).

For more details contact LeCroy Corp., Customer Care Center, 700 Chestnut Ridge Rd., Chestnut Ridge, New York 10977. Phone: 800-453-2769 or 845-425-2000. Fax: 845-425-8967. E-mail: contact.corp@lecroy.com.

LeCroy, 845-425-2000, www.lecroy.com