Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

Dear EPICS community,

 

ZTEC Instruments has released three new series of EPICS oscilloscopes/digitizers with 12, 13, and 14-bits of vertical resolution. These oscilloscopes have low noise and low distortion when compared to traditional 8-bit scopes. They are ideally suited for monitoring low-level signals and for making high dynamic range waveform measurements for many typical particle accelerator applications.

 

Resolution	Number of steps	Step size (% of full-scale)	Dynamic Range
8-bit	256	0.39% (3910 ppm)	49.9 dB
12-bit	4,096	0.024% (244 ppm)	74.0 dB
14-bit	16,384	0.0061% (61 ppm)	86.0 dB

 

Common applications for high resolution oscilloscopes include:

-          Transient signal capture: Often transient signals have signal components that must be resolved in the presence of large signals. High resolution oscilloscopes can simultaneously capture small levels of signal ripple on top of much larger signals.

-          Frequency domain analysis: A Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm is used to transform a time domain scope signal into the frequency domain for spectral analysis. The quantization noise of an 8-bit scope would limit the ability to resolve signals beyond its 50 dB dynamic range. High resolution DSOs provide the additional dynamic range necessary for spectral analysis of many signals typically monitored with particle accelerator control systems.

 

ZTEC’s EPICS oscilloscopes, with embedded EPICS IOCs, provide complete instrument control and monitoring via EPICS process variables. We also provide free EDM and MEDM panels with the instruments for quick and easy integration into your EPICS environment.

 

The key specifications for the high resolution EPICS scopes are as follows:

-          ZT444x: 14-bit resolution, 400 MS/s simultaneous sampling per channel (800 MS/s max when interleaved)

-          ZT443x: 13-bit resolution, 250 MS/s simultaneous sampling per channel (500 MS/s max when interleaved)

-          ZT442x: 12-bit resolution, 500 MS/s simultaneous sampling per channel (1 GS/s max when interleaved)

-          All: 2 or 4 input channels, 300 MHz analog bandwidth, 128 Msamples of memory per channel (256 Msamples when interleaved), rack mountable (1U height)

For more details, contact me or visit: http://www.ztecinstruments.com/oscilloscope/digital-oscilloscopes/epics-digitizer-epics-oscilloscope?zcid=70170000000Ixo6

 

These instruments were also recently covered by Test & Measurement World magazine:

http://www.tmworld.com/article/354420-Autotestcon_2009_ZTEC_debuts_12_13_and_14_bit_oscilloscopes_in_PCI_PXI_VXI_and_LXI.php

 

 

Boyd Shaw

ZTEC Instruments

7715 Tiburon St. NE

Albuquerque, NM 87109

 

505 924-0613

http://www.ztecinstruments.com