Test Equipment Guide.com: Information on Network Analyzers & Spectrum Analyzers

Digital Test Equipment Glossary H-R

Intensity Grading – Frequency-of-occurrence information that is essential to understanding what the waveform is really doing.

Interpolation – A processing technique to estimate what a fast waveform looks like based on only a few sampled points.

Loading – The interaction of the probe and test equipment with the circuit being tested which distorts a signal.

Peak Detection – An acquisition mode that enables you to observe signal details that may otherwise be missed, particularly useful for seeing narrow pulses spaced far apart in time.

Peak-to-peak (Vp-p) – The voltage measured from the maximum point of a signal to its minimum point.

Period – The amount of time it takes a wave to complete one cycle. The period equals 1/frequency.

Phase – The amount of time that passes from the beginning of a cycle to the beginning of the next cycle, measured in degrees.

Phase Shift – The difference in timing between two otherwise similar signals.

Pre-trigger View – The ability to capture what a signal did before a trigger event. Determines the length of viewable signal both preceding and following a trigger point.

Probe – An input device for making electrical contact with a circuit, a lead to connect to the circuit’s ground reference, and a cable for transmitting the signal and ground to the test equipment.

Pulse – A common waveform shape that has a fast rising edge, a width, and a fast falling edge.

Pulse Width – The amount of time the pulse takes to go from low to high and back to low again, conventionally measured at 50% of full voltage.

Ramp – Transition between voltage levels of sine waves that change at a constant rate.

Real-time Sampling – A sampling mode in which as many samples for collected as possible from a triggered acquisition. Ideal for signals whose frequency range is less than half the analyzer’s maximum sample rate.

Rise Time – The time taken for the leading edge of a pulse to rise from its low to its high values, typically measured from 10% to 90%.

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