Following the release of the MXO 4 last year, and given its popularity, Rohde and Schwarz (R&S) are now showcasing the new MXO 5 (Figure 1)―an eight-channel oscilloscope with a bandwidth up to 2 GHz, a sample rate of up to 5 giga-samples per second, and a channel-dedicated 12-bit ADC. Some key performance specs are as follows:

4.5 million waveforms per second
12-bit ADC (18-bit in HD mode)
500 million points of memory per channel
Digital trigger
> 45,000 FFT/sec

Figure 1 The R&S MXO5 equipped with a 15.6″ HD touchscreen, occupying the bulk of the total 17.5” of scope width. Source: Rohde and Schwarz

The oscilloscope can easily run multiple channels with a 12-bit vertical resolution with an acquisition rate of 4.5 million waveforms per second. Thanks to the < 21 ns trigger rearm time of the digital trigger, the MXO 5 can capture up to 99% of a signal. This speed is what differentiated the MXO 4 when it came on the market, since it was powered by its native MXO-EP ASIC that processes 400 Gbit/s, it was considerably fast. The MXO 5 uses the same ASIC and beefs up the channel count.

MXO 4 versus MXO 5

Table 1 shows a comparison of the basic specs between the two oscilloscopes where the major differences between the two are highlighted in bold.

Parameters

MXO 4

MXO 5

Class

4000

5000

Price range

Starts at $9,200

Similar

Bigger screen

13.3″ Full HD touchscreen

15.6″ Full HD touchscreen

Analog Channels

Digital Channels

Bandwidth

200 MHz to 1.5 GHz

100 MHz to 2 GHz

Sample rate

5 Gsample/s on 4 channels

2.5 Gsample/s on 8 channels

ADC

12-bit ADC, 18-bit HD resolution

12-bit ADC/18-bit HD resolution

Vertical sensitivity

500 µV/div at full bandwidth

Measurement noise

104 µV at 1 mV/div at bandwidth of 1 GHz

130 µV at 1 mV/div at full bandwidth of 2 GHz

Memory

Acquisition

4.5 million waveforms per second

Memory per channel

400 Mpts per channel

500 Mpts per channel

Standard segmented memory

10,000 segments (optional 1,000,000 segments)

Standard history mode

10,000 acquisitions (optional 1,000,000 acquisitions)

Real time signal capture

Up to 90%

Trigger

Digital triggering technology

Yes

Trigger sensitivity

0.0001 vertical division

Adjustable trigger hysteresis

Yes

Trigger jitter

< 1 ps

Trigger rearm time

< 21 ns

RF characteristics

Simultaneous spectra

–

Up to 4

Spectrum update rate

45,000 FFT/s

Sensitivity/noise power density

–160 dBm (1 Hz)

Noise figure

14 dB

Dynamic range

106 dB

Spurious-free dynamic range

(SFDR)

65 dBc

Second harmonic distortion

–60 dBc

Third harmonic distortion

–59 dBc

The 1000 to 4000 class are meant to be lower cost, high volume scopes (Figure 2). The MXO 4 shifted this by taking a cost-sensitive approach to performance-optimization and the MXO 5 follows by using much of the same hardware. This allows these oscilloscopes to offer some of the best performance specs for the 4000 to 5000 class while still offering general-purpose oscilloscope prices. Bug fixes and performance increases will likely be implemented in the coming months via firmware updates.

Figure 2 Cost versus performance of R&S’ range of oscilloscopes. Source: Rohde and Schwarz

A look at the MXO 5

Finding sporadic events

Typically, running multiple channels at the 12-bit resolution will cause most oscilloscopes to develop a slower acquisition rate for more blind time. All of the MXO 5’s processing paths contain multiple MXO-EP ASIC to minimize this effect, maintaining both the high vertical resolution and the impressive real-time acquisition rate on all 8 channels. This allows rare signal anomalies to be quickly discovered, even when triggers may seem too close.

High resolution signal analysis

The MXO 5 incorporates a 12-bit ADC on all input channels for precision vertical resolution at all sample rates―a useful tool for spotting small physical layer anomalies in the presence of large signals. The high definition (HD) mode enhances the oscilloscope to an 18-bit vertical resolution where the low-noise, highly sensitive analog frontend allows the offset voltage to be driven up to ±5 V. The 18-bit HD mode works seamlessly with the digital trigger on small events with vertical divisions of less than a ten-thousandth of a division (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Users are able to detect trigger events based on samples with an adjustable trigger sensitivity down to 0.0001 div. Source: Rohde and Schwarz

Spectral analysis

The oscilloscope can process 45,000 FFTs per second on up to four simultaneous spectrum displays to capture spectral events simultaneously (Figure 4). Spectral control is also independent of time domain waveforms so users can configure settings in the time domain without changing how the signal is viewed in the frequency domain.

Figure 4 MXO 5 offers up to four simultaneous spectrum displays with independent time and frequency control. Source: Rohde and Schwarz

Memory depth

The 500 megapoints of memory per channel comes as a standard option for the MXO 5 for users to capture more time and longer waveforms. Figure 5 illustrates how a user might be able to more accurately recreate a signal and eliminate any signal aliasing that might occur when capturing slower signals. The option for longer recordings is also available with a 1 Gpoints memory expansion on two channels.

Figure 5 The deep memory enables a longer time to capture at the full sample rate, where the instrument retains enough of the sample rate to see the correct waveforms even with slow events (total capture: 1 s). Source: Rohde and Schwarz

MXO 5 use cases

The performance enhancements of the MXO 5 directly benefit testing in power conversion, power sequencing and integrity, automotive testing, as well as signal integrity and debugging. Some examples include:

The combination of deep memory and the 8 analog and 16 digital channels available for protocol decoding allows for users to record system behavior to decode up to 4 protocols simultaneously in power sequencing measurements.
Supports up to 8 active probes for concurrent high voltage differential and current probes in testing high speed power converters.
With 8 channels, the MXO 5 can easily analyze multiple PWM-controlled gates in multiphase inverters for automotive applications by tracking measurement functions and performing spectrum analysis for insight into driving behavior.
With nearly no blind time, the MXO 5 can detect rare and random events for quick and dirty EMI testing.

Aalyia Shaukat, associate editor at EDN, has worked in design publishing industry for seven years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology, and has published works in major EE journals as well as trade publications.

A new cost-optimized high-performance oscilloscope