Pico 3425 PicoScope Differential Oscilloscope.

Differential inputs

Most oscilloscopes can only measure signals referenced to ground and have what are known as “single-ended inputs”. The PicoScope 3425 has four fully differential inputs that allow you to measure signals that are not referenced to ground. With a maximum common mode and differential range of 400 V, the PicoScope 3425 is capable of measuring both high voltage and low level signals.

Typical high voltage applications include capturing waveforms from switch mode power supplies, telephone cables, motor inverters and electric / hybrid vehicles.

The high-impedance, high-resolution inputs are also suited to biological and scientific research as they allow measurements on low-level signals in the presence of common-mode noise without the need for expensive differential preamplifiers or differential oscilloscope probes. Differential inputs can also be used to connect to bridge type sensors for example to measure load, pressure and strain.

High resolution offers 16x more detail

The PicoScope 3425 is a 12 bit oscilloscope that offers 16 times more vertical resolution than traditional 8 bit oscilloscopes (4096 vertical levels vs 256). The example shows how with a 12 bit oscilloscope (blue trace) you can zoom in to reveal details of the signal that are not visible on an 8 bit oscilloscope (black trace).

As well as the high vertical resolution, the 512,000 sample buffer memory ensures a high horizontal resolution as well. You can collect long detailed captures without the sampling rate dropping.

FFT spectrum analyzer

Unlike the oscilloscope views which display amplitude vs time, the spectrum view reveals new detail by plotting amplitude vs frequency. The spectrum view is ideal for finding the cause of noise or crosstalk in a signal which often looks random in the time domain. It is also often the best mode for testing distortion, frequency response and stability of amplifiers, filters and oscillators. The spectrum analyzer in PicoScope is of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) type which, unlike a traditional swept spectrum analyzer, has the ability to display the spectrum of a single, non-repeating waveform.

PicoScope oscilloscopes have low-noise, low-distortion front-end designs and our high-resolution scopes offer exceptional levels of dynamic range (> 100 dB SFDR for the PicoScope 4262). This makes them capable of revealing signal details that other scope and dedicated analyzers miss.

A full range of settings gives you control over the number of spectrum bands (FFT bins), window types, scaling (linear, log, log/log) and display modes (instantaneous, average, or peak-hold).

You can display multiple spectrum views with different channel selections and zoom factors, and place these alongside oscilloscope views of the same data. A comprehensive set of automatic frequency-domain measurements can be added to the display, including THD, THD+N, SNR, SINAD and IMD.

A mask limit test can be applied to a spectrum for automated tests and you can even use the AWG and spectrum mode together to perform swept scalar network analysis.

Signal integrity

Most oscilloscopes are built down to a price. PicoScopes are built up to a specification.

Careful front-end design and shielding reduces noise, crosstalk and harmonic distortion. Years of oscilloscope design experience can be seen in improved bandwidth flatness and low distortion.

We are proud of the dynamic performance of our products and, unlike most oscilloscope manufacturers, we publish our specifications in detail. The result is simple: when you probe a circuit, you can trust in the waveform you see on the screen.

Portable PC based oscilloscope

Pico Technology oscilloscopes are small, light and portable. In the lab they take up the minimum of bench space while for the engineer on the move they are small enough to fit in a bag with your laptop.

The USB connection makes printing, copying, saving, and emailing your data quick and easy. The high-speed USB interface allows fast data transfer, while USB powering removes the need to carry around a bulky external power supply.

The PicoScope 3425 USB Oscilloscope comes in a tough carry case complete with all the probes, leads, clips and adaptors you need to start taking differential measurements:

• Four screened BNC to 4 mm plug leads
• 4 current clamp adaptors
• 2 test probes
• 8 crocodile clips
• USB cable
• Software and Reference CD
• Quick Start Guide
• Carry case

Advanced digital triggers

The majority of digital oscilloscopes still use an analog trigger architecture based on comparators. This causes time and amplitude errors that cannot always be calibrated out and often limits the trigger sensitivity at high bandwidths.

Over 20 years ago Pico first pioneered the use of fully digital triggering using the actual digitized data. This technique reduces trigger errors and allows our oscilloscopes to trigger on the smallest signals, even at the full bandwidth. Trigger levels and hysteresis can be set with high precision and resolution.

The PicoScope 3425 offers an industry-leading set of advanced triggers including pulse width, windowed and dropout.

Waveform buffer

PicoScope oscilloscope software has the ability to store more than one waveform in its waveform buffer. Depending on the settings you have chosen, PicoScope can store from 1 to 10,000 waveforms in its buffer.

When you click the Start button or change a capture setting, PicoScope clears the buffer and then adds a new waveform to it every time the oscilloscope captures data. This continues until the buffer is full or you click the Stop button. Once you have stopped capturing data, you can then review each captured waveform to find the event you want. You can also save the whole buffer and examine it at a later date.

Digital persistence modes

Advanced display modes allow you to collect thousands of waveforms per second. New or more frequent data can be displayed in a brighter color or shade. This makes it easy to see glitches and dropouts and to estimate their relative frequency. Choose between analog persistence, digital color, fast or custom display modes.

Mask limit testing

Mask limit testing is a feature that tells you when a waveform or spectrum goes outside a specified area, called a mask.

This feature is specially designed for production and debugging environments. Capture a signal from a known working system, and PicoScope will draw a mask around it with your specified tolerance. Connect the system under test, and PicoScope will highlight any parts of the waveform that fall outside the mask area. The highlighted details persist on the display, allowing the scope to catch intermittent glitches while you work on something else. The measurements window counts the number of failures, and can display other measurements and statistics at the same time.

Serial bus decoding and protocol analysis

PicoScope can decode CAN, FlexRay, I²C, I²S, RS-232/UART, SPI, and USB protocol data as standard. Expect this list to grow with future free software upgrades.

In graph format shows the decoded data (in hex, binary, decimal or ASCII) in a data bus timing format, beneath the waveform on a common time axis, with error frames marked in red. These frames can be zoomed to investigate noise or signal integrity issues.

In table format shows a list of the decoded frames, including the data and all flags and identifiers. You can set up filtering conditions to display only the frames you are interested in or search for frames with specified properties. The statistics option reveals more detail about the physical layer such as frame times and voltage levels. PicoScope can also import a spreadsheet to decode the data into user-defined text strings.

High-end features as standard

Buying a PicoScope is not like making a purchase from other oscilloscope companies, where optional extras considerably increase the price. With our scopes, high-end features such as serial decoding, mask limit testing, advanced math channels and segmented memory are all included in the price.

To protect your investment, both the PC software and firmware inside the scope can be updated. Pico Technology have a long history of providing new features for free through software downloads. We deliver on our promises of future enhancements year after year, unlike many other companies in the field. Users of our products reward us by becoming lifelong customers and frequently recommending us to their colleagues.