A family of high-performance gigabit test probes allowing cost-effective fingertip browsing of broadband data streams out to 18 Gb/s. These include the now ubiquitous USB 2 & 3, HDMI 1 & 2, Ethernet, PCIe, SATA and LVDS standards.
Cost-effective test and measurement solutions have struggled to keep up with the increased use of broadband digital communications, particularly in the field of low-invasive transmission line probing solutions. With less than 0.4 pF tip capacitance and ground-referred loading of 220 Ω to 910 Ω, overall the PicoConnect probes are less invasive than the majority of existing and more costly probing solutions. To achieve measurement accuracies down to a few percent they are ratio-compensated for their typical application: the probing of transmission lines and ports between 40 Ω and 100 Ω (80 Ω to 200 Ω differential).
Suited to interfacing with any measuring instrument with 50 Ω inputs, PicoConnect probes allow broadband oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer users to browse circuitry, backplanes, interconnect and systems, typically without interrupting their function, and to do so across multiple channels without breaking a budget. They are particularly cost-effective in applications ranging from 1 Gb/s to 12 Gb/s.
The probe family offers division ratios of ÷5, ÷10 and ÷20 with impedances to suit low-voltage, high-speed, typically digital applications. For each ratio there is a DC or AC coupled option, the latter important when DC bias must not be disturbed (as with HDMI, ECL, PECL and LVDS).