Oscilloscope Guide.com: Oscilloscope Glossary Terms and Definitions

Oscilloscope Glossary A-D

Acquisition Mode – Modes that control how waveform points are produced from sample points. Some types include sample, peak detect, hi res, envelope, and average.

Alternate Mode – A display mode of operation in which the oscilloscope completes tracing one channel before beginning to trace another channel.

Amplitude – The magnitude of a quantity or strength of a signal. In electronics, amplitude usually refers to either voltage or power.

Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) – A digital electronic component that converts an electrical signal into discrete binary values.

Analog Oscilloscope – An instrument that creates a waveform display by applying the input signal (conditioned and amplified) to the vertical axis of an electron beam moving across a cathode-ray tube (CRT) screen horizontally from left to right. A chemical phosphor coated on the CRT create a glowing trace wherever the beam hits.

Attenuation – A decrease in signal amplitude during its transmission from one point to another.

Averaging – A processing technique used by digital oscilloscopes to reduce noise in a displayed signal.

Bandwidth – The frequency range, usually limited by –3 dB.

CAN - Controller Area Network, a serial communication standard popular in automotive and industrial applications.

Chop Mode – A display mode of operation in which small time segments of each channel are traced sequentially so that more than one waveform can appear on the screen simultaneously.

Circuit Loading – Interaction of the probe and oscilloscope with the circuit being tested, distorting the signal. Compensation – A probe adjustment for passive attenuation probes that balances the capacitance of the probe with the capacitance of the oscilloscope.

Coupling – The method of connecting two circuits together. Circuits connected with a wire are directly coupled (DC); circuits connected through a capacitor or transformer are indirectly (AC) coupled.

Cursor – An on–screen marker that you can align with a waveform to make more accurate measurements.

Delayed Time Base – A time base with a sweep that can start (or be triggered to start) relative to a pre-determined time on the main time base sweep. Allows you to see events more clearly and to see events that are not visible solely with the main time base sweep.

Digital Oscilloscope – A type of oscilloscope that uses an analog–to–digital converter (ADC) to convert the measured voltage into digital information. Three types: digital storage, digital phosphor, and digital sampling oscilloscopes.

Digital Phosphor Oscilloscope (DPO) – A type of digital oscilloscope that models the display characteristics of an analog oscilloscope while providing digital oscilloscope benefits such as waveform storage. The DPO oscilloscope provides intensity-graded viewing of signal characteristics in real time, and displays signals in three dimensions: amplitude, time and the distribution of amplitude over time.

Digital Sampling Oscilloscope – A type of digital oscilloscope that employs equivalent-time sampling method to capture and display samples of a signal, ideal for accurately capturing signals whose frequency components are much higher than the oscilloscope’s sample rate.

Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO) – A digital oscilloscope that acquires signals with digital sampling using an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). It uses a serial-processing architecture to control acquisition, user interface, and the raster display.