Oscilloscope

An oscilloscope consists primarily of the main unit and the probe, its key technical specifications include bandwidth and sampling rate. The ground-loop inductance and parasitic capacitance of the probe can affect measurement accuracy; therefore, ground-loop inductance should be minimised as far as possible, and attention should be paid to the probe’s input capacitance. The main limitations of an oscilloscope include insufficient sensitivity, a narrow input voltage range, and limited bandwidth.

The basic function of an oscilloscope is to display how the voltage of the signal under test varies over time; it can be used to measure parameters such as the duty cycle and rise/fall times of a signal. An oscilloscope can measure voltage signals, and can also measure current or optical signals, for example, using appropriate probes or adapters.

The correct use of an oscilloscope involves selecting the appropriate probe range, enabling the bandwidth limit function and selecting the AC coupling mode, in order to minimise high-frequency noise interference and facilitate the observation of signal ripple information.