Capturing Data

In the oscilloscope, an 8-bit A/D converter converts the input waveform into an evenly-spaced series of voltage readings. These readings are made once for each channel, and are stored into memory as an array of voltages with implicit times.

Main and Delayed Sweep

The delayed sweep display function magnifies the contents of sample memory—data used by the main and delayed sweep windows is acquired on a single acquisition; the data corresponds to the same trigger event. Using the delayed sweep window, you can zoom in on a portion of the waveform and examine it in greater detail.

The delayed sweep operation is based on MegaZoom technology. Unlike analog oscilloscopes, the MegaZoom oscilloscope’s delayed sweep is not a second acquisition, but an expansion of the same data displayed in the main sweep. MegaZoom technology makes this possible because of its deep memory. It is possible to capture the main display at 1 ms/div, and redisplay the same trigger in the delayed display at 1 s/div—a 1000:1 zoom ratio.

When you enable the delayed sweep view, the oscilloscope divides the display into two portions. The upper part shows the waveform according to the main time base; the lower shows a small portion of the waveform magnified according to a second time base (the delayed sweep window). In the delayed sweep window, the horizontal time/division knob adjusts the magnification of the delayed sweep portion. The delayed sweep time base must be at least twice as fast as the main time base, and can vary up to the maximum sweep speed of 5 ns/div for 54620-series and 1 ns/div for 54640-series.

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Agilent Technologies 54621A, 54621D, 24A, 42A, 22A, 41A manual Capturing Data, Main and Delayed Sweep