LeCroy shows real-time ‘scope at 100 GHz; view the video
The company currently offers 65 GHz real-time bandwidth in its LabMaster 10 Zi scope platform (pictured); it is presenting the 100-GHz result as a technology announcement and has not yet set a date for the release of a product with this performance: however, at the time of the announcement of the 65-GHz model (April 2012) the company anticipated a 100-GHz instrument release “in calendar year 2013”.
LeCroy said at that time that the 100-GHz figure would be achieved using its Digital Bandwidth Interleave (DBI) technique. In DBI, the incoming signal is divided into two (or potentially more) frequency band segments; the upper fraction(s) are downconverted to a lower band where A/D conversion takes place, while the lower fraction is directly digitised. The resulting data streams are then digitally recombined to yield a digital representation of the entire incoming signal.
During the demonstration (see video clip), the injection signal was 100 GHz with a 240 Gsample/sec sample rate (each sample was taken is approximately 4 psec apart). The company’s target applications include CEI-25/28, CEI-56, optical coherent modulation communication systems, defence and radar applications, emerging 10-32 Gb/sec serial data technologies, 100GBASE-R Ethernet, SAS12,PCI Express Gen4, Thunderbolt, and next-generation USB.
The 100-GHz demonstrated performance, LeCroy says, dramatically exceeds currently available capabilities. "Reaching 100 GHz real-time oscilloscope performance is one of many industry milestones achieved by Teledyne LeCroy," said Tom Reslewic, chief executive officer, Teledyne environmental and electronic measurement instrumentation. "It reveals new phenomena, opens channels for new discoveries and paves the way for vast improvements in the field of high speed measurement."
The demonstration was conducted at the research facilities of Teledyne Scientific Company in Thousand Oaks, California. Teledyne LeCroy and Teledyne Scientific also announced they have completed the design of a jointly developed next-generation indium phosphide (InP) chip and have released the design for fabrication at Teledyne Scientific’s InP foundry. The jointly developed chip is the first device in a chip set planned for future generations of high speed oscilloscopes. Teledyne acquired LeCroy Corporation in August 2012.
Previous high-speed real-time ‘scopes from LeCroy have used devices fabricated in IBM’s 8HP silicon-germanium (SiGe) process.
"We are pleased to see the 100 GHz real-time oscilloscope milestone reached less than one year after the acquisition of Teledyne LeCroy," said Robert Mehrabian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Teledyne. "Releasing the new InP chip in collaboration with Teledyne Scientific on the very same day illustrates the breadth of our technology expertise, and our commitment to taking high performance oscilloscopes to the next level."
InP, LeCroy adds , “promises higher speed devices than can be designed in other known processes. Teledyne is a leader in next generation InP technology, with advanced design and production capabilities currently in place.”
Teledyne LeCroy; teledynelecroy.com
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