Tektronix MSO64B

Confidence in numbers

Input channels

• 4 FlexChannel inputs
• Each FlexChannel provides:
  • One analog signal that can be displayed as a waveform view, a spectral view, or both simultaneously
  • Eight digital logic inputs with TLP058 logic probe

Bandwidth (all analog channels)

• 1 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 4 GHz, 6 GHz, 8 GHz (upgradable)

Sample rate (all analog / digital channels)

• Real-time: 25 GS/s
• Interpolated: 2.5 TS/s

Record length (all analog / digital channels)

• 62.5 Mpoints standard
• 125, 250, 500 Mpoints, or 1 Gpoints (optional)

Waveform capture rate

• >500,000 waveforms/s

Vertical resolution

• 12-bit ADC
• Up to 16-bits in High Res mode

Standard trigger types

• Edge, Pulse Width, Runt, Timeout, Window, Logic, Setup & Hold, Rise/Fall Time, Parallel Bus, Sequence, Visual Trigger, Video (optional), RF vs. Time (optional)
• Auxiliary Trigger ≤5 V_RMS, 50Ω, 400 MHz (Edge Trigger only)

Standard analysis

• Cursors: Waveform, V Bars, H Bars, V&H Bars
• Measurements: 36
• Spectrum View: Frequency-domain analysis with independent controls for frequency and time domains
• FastFrame^TM: Segmented memory acquisition mode with maximum trigger rate >5,000,000 waveforms per second

• Plots: Time Trend, Histogram, Spectrum and Phase Noise

• Math: Basic waveform arithmetic, FFT, and advanced equation editor
• Search: Search on any trigger criteria
• Jitter: TIE and Phase Noise

Optional analysis

• Advanced Jitter and Eye Diagram Analysis
• Advanced Spectrum View
• RF vs. Time traces (magnitude, frequency, phase)
• Digital Power Management
• Mask/Limit Testing
• LVDS Debug and Analysis
• PAM3 Analysis
• Advanced Power Measurements and Analysis

Optional serial bus trigger, decode and analysis

• I²C, SPI, I3C, RS-232/422/485/UART, SPMI, CAN, CAN FD, LIN, FlexRay, SENT, PSI5, Automotive Ethernet,MIPI D-PHY, USB 2.0, eUSB2, Ethernet, Audio, MIL-STD-1553, ARINC`429, Spacewire, 8B/10B, NRZ, Manchester, SVID, SDLC, MDIO

Optional serial compliance test

• Ethernet, USB 2.0, Automotive Ethernet, Industrial Ethernet, MIPI D-PHY 1.2

Optional memory analysis

• DDR3 debug, analysis, and compliance test

Arbitrary/Function Generator¹

• 50 MHz waveform generation
• Waveform Types: Arbitrary, Sine, Square, Pulse, Ramp, Triangle, DC Level, Gaussian, Lorentz, Exponential Rise/Fall, Sin(x)/x, Random Noise, Haversine, Cardiac

¹Optional and upgradable.

Digital voltmeter²

• 4-digit AC RMS, DC, and DC+AC RMS voltage measurements

Trigger frequency counter²

• 8-digit

²Free with product registration.

Display

• 15.6-inch (396 mm) TFT color
• High Definition (1,920 x 1,080) resolution
• Capacitive (multi-touch) touchscreen

• High Definition (1,920 x 1,080) resolution video output

Connectivity

• USB Host (7 ports), USB 3.0 Device (1 port), LAN (10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet), Display Port, DVI-I, VGA

e*Scope

• Remotely view and control the oscilloscope over a network connection through a standard web browser

Warranty

• 3 years standard

Dimensions

• 12.2 in (309 mm) H x 17.9 in (454 mm) W x 8.0 in (204 mm) D
• Weight: <28.4 lbs. (12.88 kg)

With the lowest input noise and up to 8 GHz analog bandwidth, the 6 Series MSO provides the best signal fidelity for analyzing and debugging today’s embedded systems with GHz clock and bus speeds. The remarkably innovative pinch-swipe-zoom touchscreen user interface coupled with the industry’s largest high definition display and 4 FlexChannel inputs that let you measure one analog or eight digital signals per channel, the 6 Series MSO is ready for today’s toughest challenges and tomorrow’s too.

Never let a lack of channels slow down your verification and debug process again

The 6 Series MSO offers better visibility into complex systems by offering four, six and eight-channel models with a large 15.6-inch high-definition (1,920 x 1,080) display. Many applications, such as embedded systems, three-phase power electronics, automotive electronics, power supply design, and Power Integrity require the observation of more than four analog signals to verify and characterize device performance and to debug challenging system issues.

Most engineers can recall situations in which they were debugging a particularly difficult problem and wanted greater system visibility and context, but the oscilloscope they were using was limited to two or four analog channels. Using a second oscilloscope involves significant effort to align the trigger points, difficulty in determining the timing relationships across the two displays, and documentation challenges.

You might assume that a six and eight-channel oscilloscope would cost 50% or 100% more than a four-channel oscilloscope, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that six-channel models are only ~25% more than four channel models and eight-channel models are only ~67% (or less) more than four channel models. The additional analog channels can pay for themselves quickly by enabling you to keep current and future projects on schedule.

FlexChannel technology enables maximum flexibility and broader system visibility

The 6 Series MSO redefines what a Mixed Signal Oscilloscope (MSO) should be. FlexChannel technology enables each channel input to be used as a single analog channel, eight digital logic inputs (with the TLP058 logic probe), or simultaneous analog and spectrum views with independent acquisition controls for each domain. Imagine the flexibility and configurability this provides.

You can change the configuration at any time by simply adding or removing TLP058 logic probes, so you always have the right number of digital channels.

Previous-generation MSOs required tradeoffs, with digital channels having lower sample rates or shorter record lengths than analog channels. The 6`Series MSO offers a new level of integration of digital channels. Digital channels share the same high sample rate (up to 25 GS/s), and long record length (up to 250M points) as analog channels.

Unprecedented signal viewing capability

The stunning 15.6″ (396 mm) display in the 6 Series MSO is the largest display in the industry. It is also the highest resolution display, with full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080), enabling you to see many signals at once with ample room for critical readouts and analysis.

The viewing area is optimized to ensure that the maximum vertical space is available for waveforms. The Results Bar on the right can be hidden, enabling the waveform view to use the full width of the display.

The 6 Series MSO offers a revolutionary new Stacked display mode. Historically, scopes have overlaid all waveforms in the same graticule, forcing difficult tradeoffs:

• To make each waveform visible, you vertically scale and position each waveform so that they don’t overlap. Each waveform uses a small percentage of the available ADC range, leading to less accurate measurements.

• For measurement accuracy, you vertically scale and position each waveform to cover the entire display. The waveforms overlap each other, making it hard to distinguish signal details on individual waveforms

The new Stacked display eliminates this tradeoff. It automatically adds and removes additional horizontal waveform ‘slices’ (additional graticules) as waveforms are created and removed. Each slice represents the full ADC range for the waveform. All waveforms are visually separated from each other while still using the full ADC range, enabling maximum visibility and accuracy. And it’s all done automatically as waveforms are added or removed! Channels can easily be reordered in stacked display mode by dragging and dropping the channel and waveform badges in the Settings bar at the bottom of the display. Groups of channels can also be overlaid within a slice to simplify visual comparison of signals.

The massive display in the 6 Series MSO also provides plenty of viewing area not only for signals, but also for plots, measurement results tables, bus decode tables and more. You can easily resize and relocate the various views to suit your application.

Exceptionally easy-to-use user interface lets you focus on the task at hand

The Settings Bar – key parameters and waveform management

Waveform and scope operating parameters are displayed in a series of “badges” in the Settings Bar that runs along the bottom of the display. The Settings Bar provides Immediate access for the most common waveform management tasks. With a single tap, you can:

• Turn on channels
• Add math waveforms
• Add reference waveforms
• Add bus waveforms
• Enable the optional integrated Arbitrary/Function generator (AFG)
• Enable the optional integrated digital voltmeter (DVM)

The Results Bar – analysis and measurements

The Results Bar on the right side of the display includes immediate, one-tap access to the most common analytical tools such as cursors, measurements, searches, measurement and bus decode results tables, plots, and notes.

DVM, measurement and search results badges are displayed in the Results Bar without sacrificing any waveform viewing area. For additional waveform viewing area, the Results Bar can be dismissed and brought back at any time.

Touch interaction finally done right

Scopes have included touch screens for years, but the touch interface has been an afterthought. The 6 Series MSO’s 15.6″ display includes a capacitive touchscreen and provides the industry’s first oscilloscope user interface truly designed for touch.

The touch interactions that you use with phones and tablets, and expect in a touch enabled device, are supported in the 6 Series MSO.

• Drag waveforms left/right or up/down to adjust horizontal and vertical position or to pan a zoomed view
• Pinch and expand to change scale or zoom in/out in either horizontal or vertical directions
• Drag items to the trash can or drag them off the edge of the screen to delete them
• Swipe in from the right to reveal the Results Bar or down from the top to access the menus in the upper left corner of the display

Smooth, responsive front panel controls allow you to make adjustments with familiar knobs and buttons, and you can add a mouse or keyboard as a third interaction method.

Variable font size

Historically, oscilloscope user interfaces have been designed with fixed font sizes to optimize viewing of waveforms and readouts. This implementation is fine if all users have the same viewing preferences, but they don’t. Users spend a significant amount of time staring at screens, and Tektronix recognizes this. The 6 Series MSO offers a user preference for variable font sizes; scaling down to 12 points or up to 20 points. As you adjust the font size, the user interface dynamically scales so you can easily choose the best size for your application.

Attention to detail in the front-panel controls

Traditionally, the front face of a scope has been roughly 50% display and 50% controls. The 6 Series MSO display fills about 85% of the face of the instrument. To achieve this, it has a streamlined front panel that retains critical controls for simple intuitive operation, but with a reduced number of menu buttons for functions directly accessed via objects on the display.

Color-coded LED light rings indicate trigger source and vertical scale/position knob assignments. Large, dedicated Run/ Stop and Single Sequence buttons are placed prominently in the upper right, and other functions like Force Trigger, Trigger Slope, Trigger Mode, Default Setup, Auto-set and Quick-save functions are all available using dedicated front panel buttons.

Windows or not – you choose

The 6 Series MSOoffers you the choice of whether to include a Microsoft Windows operating system. Opening an access panel on the bottom of the instrument reveals a connection for a solid state drive (SSD). When the SSD is not present, the instrument boots as a dedicated scope with no ability to run or install other programs.

When the SSD is present, the instrument boots in an open Windows 10 configuration, so you can minimize the oscilloscope application and access a Windows desktop where you can install and run additional applications on the oscilloscope or you can connect additional monitors and extend your desktop.

Whether you run Windows or not, the oscilloscope operates in exactly the same way with the same look and feel and UI interaction.

Need higher channel density?

The 6 Series is also available as a low-profile digitizer – the LPD64. With four SMA input channels plus an auxiliary trigger input, in a 2U high package and 12-bit ADC’s, the 6 Series Low Profile Digitizer sets a new standard for performance in applications where extreme channel density is required.

Experience the performance difference

With up to 8 GHz analog bandwidth, 25 GS/s sample rates, standard 62.5 Mpts record length and a 12-bit analog to digital converter (ADC), the 6 Series MSO has the performance you need to capture waveforms with the best possible signal fidelity and resolution for seeing small waveform details.

Digital Phosphor technology with FastAcq high-speed waveform capture

To debug a design problem, first you must know it exists. Digital phosphor technology with FastAcq provides you with fast insight into the real operation of your device. Its fast waveform capture rate – greater than 500,000 waveforms per second – gives you a high probability of seeing the infrequent problems common in digital systems: runt pulses, glitches, timing issues, and more. To further enhance the visibility of rarely occurring events, intensity grading indicates how often rare transients are occurring relative to normal signal characteristics.

Industry leading vertical resolution and low noise

The 6 Series MSO provides the performance to capture the signals of interest while minimizing the effects of unwanted noise when you need to capture high-amplitude signals while seeing smaller signal details. At the heart of the 6 Series MSO are 12-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that provide 16 times the vertical resolution of traditional 8-bit ADCs.

A new High Res mode applies a hardware-based unique Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter based on the selected sample rate. The FIR filter maintains the maximum bandwidth possible for that sample rate while preventing aliasing and removing noise from the oscilloscope amplifiers and ADC above the usable bandwidth for the selected sample rate.

High Res mode always provides at least 12 bits of vertical resolution and extends all the way to 16 bits of vertical resolution at ≤ 625 MS/s sample rates and 200 MHz of bandwidth. The following table shows the number of bits of vertical resolution for each sample rate setting when in High Res.

New lower-noise front end amplifiers further improve the 6 Series MSO’s ability to resolve fine signal detail.

A new TEK061 front end amplifier sets a new standard for low-noise acquisition providing the best signal fidelity to capture small signals with high resolution.

A key attribute to being able to view fine signal details on small, high-speed signals is noise. The higher a measurement systems’ intrinsic noise, the less true signal detail will be visible. This becomes more critical on an oscilloscope when the vertical settings are set to high sensitivity (like ≤ 10 mV/div) in order to view small signals that are prevalent in high-speed bus topologies. The 6 Series MSO has a new front-end ASIC, the TEK061, that enables breakthrough noise performance at the highest sensitivity settings. The table below shows a comparison of typical noise performance of the 6 Series MSO and prior generations of Tektronix oscilloscopes in this bandwidth range.

³ Bandwidth limited to 200 MHz.

Triggering

Discovering a device fault is only the first step. Next, you must capture the event of interest to identify root cause. The 6 Series MSO provides a complete set of advanced triggers, including:

• Runt
• Logic
• Pulse width
• Window
• Timeout
• Rise/Fall time
• Setup and Hold violation
• Serial packet
• Parallel data
• Sequence
• Video
• Visual Trigger
• RF Frequency vs. Time
• RF Magnitude vs. Time

With up to a 1 Gpoint record length, you can capture many events of interest, even thousands of serial packets in a single acquisition, providing high-resolution to zoom in on fine signal details and record reliable measurements.

Visual trigger – Finding the signal of interest quickly

Finding the right cycle of a complex bus can require hours of collecting and sorting through thousands of acquisitions for an event of interest. Defining a trigger that isolates the desired event speeds up debug and analysis efforts.

Visual Trigger extends the 6 Series MSO’s triggering capabilities by scanning through all waveform acquisitions and comparing them to on-screen areas (geometric shapes). An unlimited number of areas can be created using a mouse or touchscreen, and a variety of shapes (triangles, rectangles, hexagons, or trapezoids) can be used to specify the desired trigger behavior. Once shapes are created, they can be edited interactively to create custom shapes and ideal trigger conditions.

By triggering only on the most important signal events, Visual Trigger can save hours of capturing and manually searching through acquisitions. In seconds or minutes, you can find the critical events and complete your debug and analysis efforts. Visual Trigger even works across multiple channels, extending its usefulness to complex system troubleshooting and debug tasks.

Once multiple areas are defined, a Boolean logic equation can be used to set complex trigger conditions using on-screen editing features.

The TekVPI probe interface sets the standard for ease of use in probing. In addition to the secure, reliable connection that the interface provides, many TekVPI probes feature status indicators and controls, as well as a probe menu button right on the comp box itself. This button brings up a probe menu on the oscilloscope display with all relevant settings and controls for the probe. The TekVPI interface enables direct attachment of current probes without requiring a separate power supply. TekVPI probes can be controlled remotely through USB or LAN, enabling more versatile solutions in ATE environments. The 6 Series MSO provides up to 40 W of power to the front panel connectors, sufficient to power all connected TekVPI probes without the need for an additional probe power supply.

Convenient high speed passive voltage probing

The TPP Series passive voltage probes included with every 6 Series MSO offer all the benefits of general-purpose probes – high dynamic range, flexible connection options, and robust mechanical design – while providing the performance of active probes. Up to 1 GHz analog bandwidth enables you to see high frequency components in your signals, and extremely low 3.9 pF capacitive loading minimizes adverse effects on your circuits and is more forgiving of longer ground leads.

An optional, low-attenuation (2X) version of the TPP probe is available for measuring low voltages. Unlike other low-attenuation passive probes, the TPP0502 has high bandwidth (500 MHz) as well as low capacitive loading (12.7 pF).

TDP7700 Series TriMode Probes

The TDP7700 Series TriMode probes provide the highest probe fidelity available for real-time oscilloscopes. The TDP7700 is designed for use with the 6 Series MSO, with full AC calibration of the probe and tip’s signal path based on unique S-parameter models. The probe communicates the S-parameters to the scope via the TekVPI probe interface and the 6 Series MSO includes them to achieve the very best signal fidelity possible from probe tip to acquisition memory. Connectivity innovations such as solder-down tips with the probe’s input buffer mounted only a few millimeters from the end of the tip, the TDP7700 Series probes provide unmatched usability for connecting to today’s most challenging electronic designs.

With TriMode probing one probe setup makes differential, single ended, and common mode measurements accurately. This unique capability allows you to work more effectively and efficiently, switching between differential, single ended and common mode measurements without moving the probe’s connection point.

IsoVu Isolated Measurement System

Whether designing an inverter, optimizing a power supply, testing communication links, measuring across a current shunt resistor, debugging EMI or ESD issues, or trying to eliminate ground loops in your test setup, common mode interference has caused engineers to design, debug, evaluate, and optimize “blind” until now.

Tektronix’ revolutionary IsoVu technology uses optical communications and power-over-fiber for complete galvanic isolation. When combined with the 6 Series MSO equipped with the TekVPI interface, it is the first, and only, measurement system capable of accurately resolving high bandwidth, differential signals, in the presence of large common mode voltage with:

• Complete galvanic isolation

• Up to 1 GHz bandwidth

• 1 Million to 1 (120 dB) common mode rejection at 100 MHz

• 10,000 to 1 (80 dB) of common mode rejection at full bandwidth

• Up to 2,500 V differential dynamic range

• 60 kV common mode voltage range

Comprehensive analysis for fast insight

Basic waveform analysis

Verifying that your prototype’s performance matches simulations and meets the project’s design goals requires careful analysis, ranging from simple checks of rise times and pulse widths to sophisticated power loss analysis, characterization of system clocks, and investigation of noise sources.

The 6 Series MSO offers a comprehensive set of standard analysis tools including:

• Waveform- and screen-based cursors
• 36 automated measurements. Measurement results include all instances in the record, the ability to navigate from one occurrence to the next, and immediate viewing of the minimum or maximum result found in the record
• Basic waveform math
• Basic FFT analysis
• Advanced waveform math including arbitrary equation editing with filters and variables
• FastFrame Segmented Memory enables you to make efficient use of the oscilloscope’s acquisition memory by capturing many trigger events in a single record while eliminating the large time gaps between events of interest. View and measure the segments individually or as an overlay.

Measurement results tables provide comprehensive statistical views of measurement results with statistics across both the current acquisition and all acquisitions.

Callouts

Documenting test results and methods is critical when sharing data across a team, recreating a measurement at a later date, or delivering a customer report. With a few taps on the screen, you can create as many custom callouts as needed; enabling you to document the specific details of your test results. With each callout, you can customize the text, location, color, font size, and font.

Navigation and search

Finding your event of interest in a long waveform record can be time consuming without the right search tools. With today’s record lengths of many millions of data points, locating your event can mean scrolling through literally thousands of screens of signal activity.

The 6 Series MSO offers the industry’s most comprehensive search and waveform navigation with its innovative Wave Inspector controls. These controls speed panning and zooming through your record. With a unique force-feedback system, you can move from one end of your record to the other in just seconds. Or, use intuitive drag and pinch/expand gestures on the display itself to investigate areas of interest in a long record.

The Search feature allows you to automatically search through your long acquisition looking for user-defined events. All occurrences of the event are highlighted with search marks and are easily navigated to, using the Previous ( ← ) and Next ( → ) buttons found on the front panel or on the Search badge on the display. Search types include edge, pulse width, timeout, runt, window, logic, setup and hold, rise/fall time and parallel/serial bus packet content. You can define as many unique searches as you like.

You can also quickly jump to the minimum and maximum value of search results by using the Min and Max buttons on the Search badge.

Mask and limit testing (optional)

Whether you are focused on signal integrity or setting up pass/fail conditions for production, mask testing is an efficient tool to characterize the behavior of certain signals in a system. Quickly create custom masks by drawing mask segments on the screen. Tailor a test to your specific requirements and set actions to take when a mask hit is registered, or when a complete test passes or fails.

Limit testing is an insightful way to monitor the long-term behavior of signals, helping you characterize a new design or confirm hardware performance during production line testing. Limit tests compare your live signal to an ideal, or golden version of the same signal with user-defined vertical and horizontal tolerances.

You can easily tailor a mask or limit test to your specific requirements by:

• Defining test duration in number of waveforms
• Setting a violation threshold that must be met before considering a test a failure
• Counting violations/failures and reporting statistical information
• Setting actions upon violations, test failure, and test complete

Serial protocol triggering and analysis (optional)

During debugging, it can be invaluable to trace the flow of activity through a system by observing the traffic on one or more serial buses. It could take many minutes to manually decode a single serial packet, much less the thousands of packets that may be present in a long acquisition.

And if you know the event of interest that you are attempting to capture occurs when a particular command is sent across a serial bus, wouldn’t it be nice if you could trigger on that event? Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as simply specifying an edge or a pulse width trigger.

The 6 Series MSO offers a robust set of tools for working with the most common serial buses found in embedded design including I²C, SPI, I3C, RS-232/422/485/UART, SPMI, CAN, CAN FD, LIN, FlexRay, SENT, PSI5, Automotive Ethernet,MIPI D-PHY, USB LS/FS/HS, eUSB2.0, Ethernet 10/100, Audio (I2S/LJ/RJ/TDM), MIL-STD-1553, ARINC`429, Spacewire, 8B/10B, NRZ, Manchester, SVID, SDLC, and MDIO.

Serial protocol search enables you to search through a long acquisition of serial packets and find the ones that contain the specific packet content you specify. Each occurrence is highlighted by a search mark. Rapid navigation between marks is as simple as pressing the Previous ( ← ) and Next ( → ) buttons on the front panel or in the Search badge that appears in the Results Bar.

The tools described for serial buses also work on parallel buses. Support for parallel buses is standard in the 6 Series MSO. Parallel buses can be up to 32 bits wide and can include a combination of analog and digital channels.

• Serial protocol triggering lets you trigger on specific packet content including start of packet, specific addresses, specific data content, unique identifiers, and errors.

• Bus waveforms provide a higher-level, combined view of the individual signals (clock, data, chip enable, and so on) that make up your bus, making it easy to identify where packets begin and end, and identifying sub-packet components such as address, data, identifier, CRC, and so on.

• The bus waveform is time aligned with all other displayed signals, making it easy to measure timing relationships across various parts of the system under test.

• Bus decode tables provide a tabular view of all decoded packets in an acquisition much like you would see in a software listing. Packets are time stamped and listed consecutively with columns for each component (Address, Data, and so on).

Spectrum View

It is often easier to debug an issue by viewing one or more signals in the frequency domain. Oscilloscopes have included math-based FFTs for decades in an attempt to address this need. However, FFTs are notoriously difficult to use for two primary reasons.

First, when performing frequency-domain analysis, you think about controls like Center Frequency, Span, and Resolution Bandwidth (RBW), as you would typically find on a spectrum analyzer. But then you use an FFT, where you are stuck with traditional scope controls like sampl