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Writer's pictureBenjamin Dannan

Measuring multiple non-synchronized signals with the MXO5 Zone Trigger Setup


Measuring PDN Crosstalk

Have you ever found yourself squinting at an oscilloscope screen, struggling to make sense of a jumbled mess of signals? You meticulously adjust the trigger settings, only to end up with a less-than-ideal view of the events you're trying to capture. Fear not, for there's a clever solution that can help untangle those tricky, non-synchronized signals: the MXO5 Zone Trigger Setup! Traditional oscilloscope trigger types, such as the common edge trigger, are often challenging to configure correctly and may fall short when attempting to visualize specific trigger events.


How does zone triggering on an oscilloscope work?

Zone triggering provides a more intuitive and versatile approach. This method empowers users to define trigger conditions by simply drawing one or more zone areas directly on the oscilloscope's display. Think of it like setting up a virtual fence for your signals. The oscilloscope diligently monitors each acquisition, looking for signals that enter these designated zones. Only the acquisitions that meet the graphical conditions are displayed, while those that fall outside are discarded. For instance, you can configure the oscilloscope to trigger only when the signal falls within a specific voltage range or time window.


When is zone triggering beneficial?

This approach offers significant advantages for capturing events involving non-monotonic edges, decoding complex serial bus patterns, analyzing math waveforms, and even identifying events that span multiple channels or occur in the frequency domain. These scenarios often leave traditional triggers scratching their heads, but zone triggering handles them with grace.


Rohde & Schwarz has truly upped the ante with the MXO5 series oscilloscopes by introducing the industry's first ASIC-based zone triggering. This groundbreaking technology unleashes unprecedented speed, achieving an astonishing zone trigger update rate of up to 600,000 waveforms per second while boasting a blind time of less than 1.45 us between trigger events. 


To put that into perspective, it's up to 10,000 times faster than competing zone-triggering solutions! This incredible speed ensures that you won't miss those fleeting events that often slip through the cracks with slower, software-based approaches.


What are the benefits of zone triggering?

This new ASIC-based zone triggering opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Imagine effortlessly capturing events based on specific RF chirp lengths in the time domain or triggering only when a chirp surpasses a defined power level in the frequency domain. The MXO5 makes it a breeze. Moreover, the MXO series introduces a unique "free run" mode that allows the oscilloscope to capture data as rapidly as possible without waiting for an edge trigger event. When combined with zone triggering, this mode becomes a formidable tool for power integrity measurements and EMI debugging. The MXO5's zone triggering capability is further enhanced by its ability to operate on analog channel signals, math, and spectrum data, providing comprehensive analysis capabilities.


Example Application: Figure 1 provides a visual representation of how zone triggering can be utilized using the Picotest S50 demo board. In this example, two zones are defined: Zone 1 captures the highest peak of the victim power distribution network (PDN), while Zone 2 captures the lowest peak. By analyzing the signals within these zones, engineers can gain insights into the crosstalk between aggressor and victim PDNs, a critical aspect of power integrity analysis.

Zone Trigger Utilization
Figure 1 - Zone Trigger Utilization

Real-Time Waveform Storage

The MXO5's zone triggering also boasts a novel feature: the ability to store only the waveforms that satisfy the defined zone trigger criteria in real-time. This intelligent storage capability eliminates the clutter of irrelevant data, allowing you to laser-focus on the specific events that matter most to your application. The MXO5 Zone Trigger Setup truly empowers you to conquer those challenging measurement scenarios with ease and precision.

Availability


This game-changing functionality is a standard feature on all MXO4, MXO5, and MXO5C series oscilloscopes, starting with firmware version 2.2. Existing MXO users can even upgrade their instruments for free! So ditch those frustrating traditional triggers and embrace the power of the MXO5 Zone Trigger Setup to unveil the hidden secrets within your signals.


Conclusion

In conclusion, zone triggering is a powerful technique that enhances the capabilities of oscilloscopes, particularly when measuring multiple non-synchronized signals. While traditional triggering methods often struggle with complex events, zone triggering offers a versatile solution by allowing users to define trigger conditions graphically on the oscilloscope display. This method enables capturing and analyzing specific signals based on criteria such as voltage levels, time windows, or frequency characteristics. The advent of hardware-accelerated zone triggering, as exemplified by the Rohde & Schwarz MXO series' ASIC-based implementation, has further increased speed and efficiency. Advanced features like "free run" mode and real-time selective waveform storage enhance zone triggering's utility. By understanding and leveraging zone triggering, engineers can analyze and debug complex systems more effectively, leading to improved designs and more reliable products.


Check out this YouTube video, which provides a tutorial on setting up a Zone Trigger on the Rohde & Schwarz MXO5 oscilloscope.


References


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