13 Results
More functions, greater processing power and growing data rates make high-speed system-on-chips (SoCs) power designs challenging. The increasing number of power rails that supply the various function blocks of modern CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, ASICs and such require precise sequencing during power-up and powerdown. Supply voltage levels are also lowered to reduce power dissipation inside the SoC. Power integrity requirements are stricter and more supply current is needed on power rails. Multiphase buck converters continue to grow more popular for high-current power rails. The converters have many benefits, but designers also face challenges when it comes to power design and validation testing.
13-Jan-2025
Selecting Your Next Oscilloscope:
If you are selecting your next oscilloscope and want more insight on how to understand ENOB values measured and published by oscilloscope manufacturers, this document is for you. The effective number of bits (ENOB) is a way of quantifying the quality of analog to digital conversion. A higher ENOB means that voltage levels recorded in analog to digital conversion are more accurate. Understanding oscilloscope vendor-supplied ENOB values can be complex. This document focuses on interpretation of measured ENOB results made on oscilloscopes rather than the math behind ENOB calculations.
21-Jun-2024 | AN-No. 1TD12
Automated test equipment (ATE) is a cornerstone in production facilities. Devices under test (DUT) have to be measured according to various limits to ensure safe and reliable operation for the user. A production facility must ensure that these tests are performed properly and cover all the necessary test cases. However, the tests must also be executed with sufficient speed. Oscilloscopes (e.g. the MXO series from Rohde & Schwarz) are often a typical part of ATE and can improve the workflow with a dedicated “waiting for trigger” signal.
30-May-2024
Today’s complex circuits must integrate several components that feed on different power levels. A robust circuit that ensures interoperability of these components needs carefully designed, clean and stable power distribution networks for power timing. At lower voltage levels, tolerance is defined in percentages and can make precise measurements challenging.
22-Apr-2024
The automotive industry is undergoing a transformative shift towards electrification. Precise measurement and analysis of electric drivetrains are vital to improved performance, efficiency and reliability. MXO oscilloscopes have become an essential test tool for these measurements, with real-time insight into voltage and current waveforms that let engineers and technicians explore the intricate mechanisms to improve drivetrain performance and efficiency.
12-Mar-2024
With advanced FFT capabilities and unparalleled sensitivity and dynamic range, the MXO oscilloscopes are the perfect choice for electromagnetic interference (EMI) debugging. Swiftly and accurately detect and analyze EMI emanating from electronic circuits and boards with time-correlated RF analysis. Elevate your debugging experience with the fast performance of the MXO oscilloscopes.
07-Feb-2024
Power converters with a full-bridge topology are frequently used in telecommunications and servers that need to be compact, efficient and cost sensitive, making them more complex. Switching patterns for all the main primary switches including synchronous rectifier switches need to be validated after the first protype is built. This complex validation requires proper measurement of switching patterns to prevent catastrophic switching patterns. Expertise and the right measurement tools are essential when identifying unexpected events in the converter switching process.
17-Jan-2024
Rohde & Schwarz offers a powerful tool for remote control of their oscilloscopes - the RsInstrument Python module. This module enables users to control and automate their Rohde & Schwarz test & measurement instruments, including oscilloscopes, through Python scripts or interactive console communication.
14-Dec-2023
Stable operation in all circumstances is essential for power converters. Different working conditions, such as load steps, startup/shutdown sequences and input voltage variation, apply to most converter types. In addition to the standard feedback control loop, integrated pulse width modulation (PWM) controllers provide extended functions, such as line feed-forward loop control and soft-start control. These extended control functions improve regulation for specific conditions. Such complex regulation systems require smart methods to ensure proper operation of the converter in all modes. For this task, extensive expertise and the right measurement tools are essential for identifying and locating unexpected events in the system.
11-Oct-2023
Validating switching converter stability is vital for any power supply design. Frequency loop and load transient responses are often used to ensure switching converter stability. Even as frequency loop response becomes more important to design validation, load transient response is still commonly used. Load transient response can also be enhanced by visualizing the positive duty cycle for pulse width modulation (PWM) signals over time. A modern oscilloscope can do this, while also helping identify unknown converter effects.
09-May-2023
In addition to the main function, power electronic circuits very often have to provide other essential functions such as interfacing with submodules to fulfill system design requirements. Power designs therefore include bus communications in combination with a microcontroller. This can easily lead to more complex designs that may have a negative impact on the conducted emission measurements. Sometimes these auxiliary functions generate emissions infrequently, making it challenging to locate and isolate the root cause. An instrument with a very fast FFT analysis capability is essential to find infrequent events efficiently.
03-Mar-2023
An offline AC/DC switching converter has no separate bias power supply that provides power to the control integrated circuit itself. Here, an auxiliary primary winding and discrete components are added to supply power to the control circuit. Verifying this circuitry is essential and requires accurate and detailed signal level and timing measurements. The startup sequence takes a long time, which needs to be taken into consideration in the measurement and requires an instrument with sufficient memory.
23-Nov-2022