The Internet takes up where the medieval maze builders left off. And, just as you were guaranteed that there was a beginning and an end to a maze, you can be certain the information you want to find is out there somewhere among the billions and billions of web pages. The objective of this list of application notes, technical literature, and white papers is to help you find it.
Initially, we selected test and measurement sites that offer literature with a broad appeal. In some cases, these documents are the authoritative reference works on particular subjects, for example, notes from Agilent Technologies on RF measurement, or Tektronix notes on oscilloscope probes. We haven’t included many application notes that describe how to use a particular product for a specific measurement.
Unlike the medieval mazes, however, there are many paths to any particular document, depending on where you start. Figure 1 shows a few of the different kinds of web sites you probably have encountered in your browsing. Although a hierarchy is imposed by the figure, it is by no means a rigid relationship.
For example, if you were to visit www.chipcenter.com/TestandMeasurement/main.html, you would find abstracts for more than 4,000 application notes from 100 companies. The selection of a note will redirect you to the application note itself on a company site.
A word of warning if you are attempting to locate information through indirect means: When you are redirected to another site, sometimes the URL will be wrong. Of course, it simply could be wrong. Often, it will have changed because the target site changed through some kind of reorganization. If the material still exists, the best way to find it is to truncate the URL to its minimum and then progress through the site’s page hierarchy.
University web sites are amazing places to visit. Many areas are freely accessible, although some are restricted to registered students and faculty. UNIX help from The University of Edinburgh, Tomi Engdahl’s Electronics pages at www.ePanorama.net, and a circuits archive from the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington were found as links from wwwbbs.dei.unipd.it/, the website of the University of Padova, Italy. Most other large universities throughout the world have similar types of sites with wide-ranging links.
The www.ePanorama.net site is overwhelming in the number of topics and links it contains. Lighting is one of the specific subjects, and links from this site go to personal sites having experimental circuit information, company sites with IC application data, and manufacturers’ sites where lighting products are sold.
Archives generally are unmaintained sites. For instance, the gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/DEC/SRC/technical-notes/ site is an FTP archive on ftp.digital.com. It is an unsupported service of Compaq Corporate Research that you use entirely at your own risk; no warranty is expressed or implied.
Hundreds of technical/application notes related to computer architecture and software are listed. Unfortunately, all titles are of the form SRC-1999-001.html, for example, and the articles are in a variety of formats. It is worthwhile, recent technical material, but you have to work hard to find the reports you want. It is intended for use by Compaq personnel but freely accessible to others.
The following short list of URLs directs you to indices of technical material from several larger test and measurement companies. These are the first places to look for information if it’s not presented in the specific documents we have chosen.
Agilent Technologies
www.tm.agilent.com/classesProdSearch?md=br&view=
Applicationnotes&letter=a&language=eng&locale=
US&qt=&referrer=library
National Instruments
digital.ni.com/appnotes.nsf/web/index
OMEGA Engineering
www.omega.com/techref/
This site includes topics such as temperature, pressure, strain and force, flow and level, pH and conductivity/environment, data acquisition, and electric heaters.
LEMUSA
www.lemusa.com/LEM/LDADocum.nsf/1e76283e9951a
6f3802567a90059ea38?OpenView&Start=
1&Count=30&Expand=7#7.
Information relating to current measurement is available here.
Gould Instrument Systems
www.gouldis.com/applications.htm
Measurement applications for recorders and DSOs are described.
LeCroy
www.lecroy.com
Application notes, application briefs, and scientific application notes are provided.
Saving Time
Although many site types exist, only the company that produces a particular document has a serious interest in assuring that you find it. They’re providing it as a service, but also in the hope that you will use their equipment to make the measurement they have described in great detail. So, the best way to access that information is to go directly to a company site. Of course, you have to know which companies to start with, and that’s where we can help.
We’ve listed URLs to popular and informative literature found on test and measurement sites. Have we provided links to 99% of the documents that exist? No, not by a long way. But, we have made a start by listing important ones.
Some of the URLs take you to a list of documents. These URLs include a comment indicating the page in the list that contains the document we have chosen. In other cases, no electronic download is provided, so the URL includes a literature-request comment. The remaining URLs take you directly to a PDF download or a copy of the document presented as a web page. On some sites, you need to select the printable-copy button while on others you simply print the displayed page.
Buses and Networks
- RS-232 Troubleshooting
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=1000000
952&language=eng&locale=US
(literature request) - A Guide to Electrical Specification Requirements for Multipair Telephone Cables
www.dcmindustries.com/applications.htm (literature request)
Network problems due to impedance mismatch and impedance irregularities in telephone networks are caused to a large extent by extreme tolerances on the primary parameters and unbalances of the circuits in telephone cables, resulting in reflections and standing waves that affect voice frequency and carrier frequency telephone transmission. This paper highlights these irregularities and recommends specific values and tolerances that considerably reduce the impedance mismatch between telephone cables and telephone cables connected to switching, transmitting, and receiving equipment. - A White Paper on Universal Serial Bus
135.145.1.195/indepth/tutorial/usb/
usbwhite_frame3.htm
This white paper discusses the universal serial bus (USB) in both its initial 12-Mb/s form and the newer USB-2 high-speed version. USB has attracted a growing range of USB-compatible data acquisition function modules. Together, USB bus and modules promise to simplify the way people perform data acquisition. The site includes a link to www.usb.org. - Benefits of the PCI Bus for Data Acquisition and Imaging
www.datx.com/images/pdfs/bpci.pdf
The PCI bus is a board-level expansion standard that features a typical bus bandwidth of 95 MB/s compared to the 5 MB/s of the older ISA technology. A few of the company’s products serve as examples of the performance that can be gained through PCI. - Performing Bluetooth RF Measurements Today: AN 1333
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0518&language=eng&locale=US
Bluetooth is an open specification for a wireless personal area network providing limited range RF connectivity for voice and data transmissions between information appliances. The Bluetooth technology eliminates the need for interconnecting cables and enables ad hoc networking among devices.
Communications
- Vector Modulation Measurements: Measurement Applications for Microwave Radio
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=1000000223
&language=eng
This 36-page note outlines measurements and techniques for analog signals in digital radios. It reviews DMR fundamentals, covers various radio alignment techniques and BER testing, and compares vector vs. constellation displays, phase noise, filter and AGC testing, and other simulations. - Broadband Service Analysis: Coping With the Network Test Challenge
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0306&language=eng&locale=US
Traditional test and network management methodologies no longer adequately cope with the speed, complexity, and geographic scope of emerging broadband networks. This paper introduces an approach called Service Analysis and describes why this is a viable way to deploy and manage a large broadband network. - Digital Radio Theory and Measurements
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0097&language=eng&locale=US
The first part of this two-part note provides an introduction to digital radio concepts and implementation. The second part reviews the impairments that may occur on a practical digital radio system and how these degradations affect the performance of a radio link. Measurement solutions to these problems also are presented. - Mobile Communications Device Testing
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=10000
00469&language=eng&locale=US
Pulsed battery drain currents, regulated charge currents, and remote DUT fixtures dictate the need for specialized power sourcing, loading, and measurement capabilities for testing mobile communications devices. This guide can assist the test-system designer in selecting a system power supply by properly evaluating test-system and power-supply needs unique to the application and not immediately obvious. - Benefits of DSOs in Communications
www.lecroy.com/applications/Benefitsin
Communications/BenefitsinCommunications.asp
Examples illustrate how to use a DSO in examining phase shift keying, frequency shift keying, full duplex signals, gaussian minimum shift keying, quadrature amplitude modulation, and Ethernet LANs. Use of a persistence display and pass/fail testing are examined.
Data Acquisition and Processing
- A Refresher Course on Windowing and Measurements
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=10000
00561&language=eng&locale=US
Windowing and digitization meet in the process of dynamic signal analysis. This article explains the need for windowing and describes the advantages of common windows used by FFT-based analyzers. - Sampling and Digitizing
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=10000
00560&language=eng&locale=US
Basic sampling, dynamic range, and aliasing are covered in this application note along with a discussion of antialiasing filtering. - Real-Time vs. Equivalent-Time Sampling
www.tek.com/Measurement/cgi-bin/framed.pl?
Document=/Measurement/App_Notes/indexes/
oscilloscopes.html&FrameSet=oscilloscopes
(select from second group of 10)
This technical brief describes two of the fundamental modes of waveform acquisition used in Tektronix products. - ENOB (Effective Number Of Bits)—The Accurate Way to Choose a Data Acquisition Board
www.datx.com/images/pdfs/enob.pdf
ENOB measures the performance of the entire data acquisition system from the input to the recorded data, under normal operating conditions, and at full throughput.
Disk Drives
- NLTS—Nonlinear Transition Shift
www.lecroy.com/applications/NLTS/default.asp
During the write process, magnetic fields from magnetization previously recorded onto the disk can interact with the write field from the head, causing a shift in the location of the newly recorded transition. That shift is the nonlinear transition shift or NLTS.
Element Modeling
- SPICE as an AHDL
www.intusoft.com/articles/ahdl.pdf
This technical paper defines an analog hardware description language (AHDL) and then discusses how well SPICE measures up. - SPICE Models for Power Electronics
www.intusoft.com/articles/satcore.pdf
This paper describes, in depth, how to create SPICE models for saturable core transformers.
ESD
- Electrostatic Discharge Application Note
www.ti.com/sc/docs/psheets/abstract/apps/ssya008.htm
Proper ESD handling and packaging procedures must be used throughout the processing, handling, and storing of unmounted integrated circuits (ICs) and ICs mounted on circuit boards. This application note discusses how to avoid ESD damage to integrated circuits.
Fiber Optics
- EDFA Noise Figure Measurements: A Comparison Between Optical and Electrical Techniques
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0301&language=eng&locale=US
This paper compares the two common techniques for measuring the noise figure of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. - OTDR Measurements
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0987&language=eng&locale=US
(literature request)
Logic Analyzers
- 8 Hints for Solving Common Debugging Problems With Your Logic Analyzer
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=10000
00502&language=eng&locale=US
This application note helps reduce the complexity of debugging digital systems with a logic analyzer. It includes brief nuggets to help digital design engineers understand how to use logic analyzers most effectively and efficiently. - Using Deep Memory to Find the Cause of Elusive Problems
www.tek.com/Measurement/logic_analyzers/ (choose from list)
This application note shows how deep memory can be used effectively to debug hardware and embedded software errors. It also discusses how to select a logic analyzer with deep memory based on features such as memory acceleration that affect the speed of operation, increase productivity, and allow you to find the exact data you need. - The Importance of Timing Accuracy in a Logic Analyzer
www.tek.com/Measurement/logic_analyzers/ (select Application Notes and choose from list)
This application note demonstrates the need for high-resolution timing by examining three common problems. It looks at how a modern logic analyzer designed with these types of problems in mind can provide the necessary triggering and measurement tools to find and accurately display tough-to-detect timing problems with minimal intrusion on the design under test.
Optical Inspection and Video
- MPEG-2: The Basics
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=10000
00648&language=eng&locale=US
This speaker-note-based tutorial covers the fundamentals of MPEG-2 encoding and multiplexing. It will take you through the encoding process and creation of the elementary stream all the way to how the program-specific information tables are used to reconstruct a TV event from the MPEG-2 transport stream packets. - How to Select Components for Image Processing
135.145.1.195/news/appnotes/imgproc.html
This tutorial considers design of a PC-based image-processing system including input source and optics, lighting, an X-Y table for DUT positioning, the frame grabber, PC platform, imaging software, and the network connection.
Oscilloscopes
- ABCs of Probes
www.tektronix.com/Measurement/App_Notes/
ABCsProbes/60W_6053_7.pdf - The Effect of Probe Input Capacitance on Measurement Accuracy
www.tektronix.com/Measurement/App_Notes/
Technical_Briefs/ProbeInput/eng/60W_8910_1.pdf - Differential Oscilloscope Measurements
www.tek.com/Measurement/cgi-bin/framed.
pl?Document=/Measurement/App_Notes/
indexes/oscilloscopes.html&FrameSet=oscilloscopes (select from second page of list)
This application note covers differential measurements, types of amplifiers, applications, and avoiding common errors. - XYZs of Oscilloscopes
www.tek.com/Measurement/cgi-bin/framed.pl?
Document=/Measurement/App_Notes/indexes/
oscilloscopes.html&FrameSet=oscilloscopes (choose from page 1 of list)
The concepts presented here provide you with a good starting point to learn how to use an oscilloscope.
Power and Current Measurement
- DC Power Supply Handbook
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0180&language=eng&locale=US
(literature request)
This application note is written for the user of regulated power supplies attempting to solve both traditional and unusual application problems. - The Three Facets of “Floating” Measurement Solutions
www.tek.com/Measurement/cgi-bin/framed.pl?
Document=/Measurement/App_Notes/indexes/
oscilloscopes.html&FrameSet=oscilloscopes
(select Technical Briefs and choose from list)
This technical brief examines the available alternatives for measuring AC signals in an ungrounded environment. It shows how the balance between three characteristics—safety, packaging, and performance—determines an instrument’s effectiveness for making floating measurements. - An Overview of Rogowski Coil Current Sensing Technology
www.lemusa.com/LEM/LDADocum.nsf/
1e76283e9951a6f3802567a90059ea38
/e710af6d3e0f6255862565d7004b19db/$FILE/Report.pdf
This 13-page application note describes the construction, use, and benefits of Rogowski coils in high-speed and high-current measurements. - Real-Time Power
www.gouldis.com/app_real_time_power.htm
This application note describes the use of Gould’s Live!View software to calculate power parameters on data as it is being acquired. Basic power relationships are presented as well as some worthwhile measurement precautions. - Accurate Instantaneous Power Measurements
www.lecroy.com/applications/PowerMeasurements
/PowerMeasurements.asp
One approach to making instantaneous power measurements is to use a digital storage oscilloscope with waveform math processing to acquire the signal and display the power loss. It does this by multiplying the data points making up the collector (or drain) current and voltage waveforms. - Benefits of Digital Oscilloscopes in Power Supply Design and Testing
www.lecroy.com/applications/PrwSuplyTest/default.asp
Examples are given of measuring power supply turn-on, hold-up time when AC power fails, in-rush current, ripple/noise, pass/fail testing, and power calculation. There also is a brief discussion about triggering and the possibility of storing test sequences.
RF Design and Test
- S-Parameter Techniques for Faster, More Accurate Network Design
www.tm.agilent.com/data/static/eng/tmo/Notes/
interactive/an-95-1/index.html
S-parameter theory is presented along with examples of their use in amplifier and oscillator design. The note covers narrowband and broadband amplifier optimization and stability considerations and discusses identification of stable operating regions for transistor oscillators. Primary S-parameter equations and Smith Chart design examples are included. - Spectrum Analysis: Amplitude and Frequency Modulation
www.tm.agilent.com/data/static/eng/tmo/
Notes/interactive/an-150-1/index.html
Amplitude and frequency modulation theory is presented together with an appendix containing a detailed mathematical treatment of modulation complete with phasor descriptions. The fast Fourier transform is related to AM signals, and techniques are described for determining the frequency bandwidth of an FM modulated signal. - Fundamentals of Microwave Frequency Counters
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0355&language=eng&locale=US
This application note addresses the microwave counter designer’s need for down-conversion techniques. It describes and compares techniques and outlines additional considerations in choosing a microwave counter. - Pulsed Carrier Phase Noise Measurements: AN 1309
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=10000
00464&language=eng&locale=US
This application note discusses the fundamentals of phase noise measurements in pulsed carrier systems. For example, in a pulsed radar system, the local oscillator phase noise can determine the minimum detectable signal level. - Understanding the Fundamental Principles of Vector Network Analysis:
AN 1287-1
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0359&language=eng&locale=US
Vector network analysis is a method of accurately characterizing components by measuring their effect on the amplitude and phase of swept-frequency and swept-power test signals. This note includes the common parameters that can be measured, including the concept of scattering parameters (S-parameters) and RF fundamentals such as transmission lines and the Smith Chart. - 4 Hints for Making Better Microwave Counter Measurements
www.tm.agilent.com/classes/MasterServlet?
view=applicationnote&apn-ItemID=100000
0929&language=eng&locale=US
(literature request)
Strain Gauges
- Strain Gauge Measurement—A Tutorial: AN 078
digital.ni.com/appnotes.nsf/b0be082ea11554328
625648f006a132a/5dee13c784f6cb1c862563df0
01abd2c?OpenDocument
A strain gauge is a device whose electrical resistance varies in proportion to the amount of strain in the device. The output of a strain gauge generally is measured in a bridge configuration and requires electrical excitation. These signal-conditioning issues relating to strain gauges are discussed. - Strain Gauge Technical Data
www.omega.com/techref/strain-gage.html
This application note presents details of strain-gauge construction, error sources, and various bridge configurations.
Software
- Building Multithreading Applications With LabWindows/CVI: AN 112
digital.ni.com/appnotes.nsf/b0be082ea115543286
25648f006a132a/ab84254cedf56d2d8625
6552007fdadf?OpenDocument
This application note introduces the concepts of multithreading and multiprocessing and explains how multithreaded systems benefit developers of data acquisition and instrument control applications, including improved throughput, responsiveness, and more efficient background processing. An example developed with LabWindows/CVI 5.0 is discussed in detail to illustrate these benefits in a real-world solution. - Visualizing Data in Visual Basic: AN 150
digital.ni.com/appnotes.nsf/b0be082ea11554
328625648f006a132a/fb8b45a8fd388e308625
6832007258f3?OpenDocument
The ComponentWorks Graph (CWGraph) ActiveX control is a flexible tool that you can use in any ActiveX control container to visualize and interact with 2-D data in the way that is most meaningful to you. This application note describes how to work with the CWGraph control interactively in the ComponentWorks property pages and programmatically using Visual Basic code. - Production Test Management Software—Build or Buy? WP 1629
digital.ni.com/appnotes.nsf/b0be082ea11554
328625648f006a132a/bc44b1731ec40b9e86
2566ac006bcf29?OpenDocument
This paper outlines some the specific factors involved in defining a test software strategy and reviews the advantages and disadvantages between building your own test executive system and buying a software product to handle these requirements. - IEEE98.pdf—Automating Analog Test Design
www.intusoft.com/td/ieee98.pdf
This 10-page tutorial discusses the fundamentals of analog testing including defining failure modes, building a test fault-tree, and test synthesis, definition, and strategy.
Temperature Measurement
- Practical Guidelines for Temperature Measurement
www.omega.com/pdf/temperature/Z/pdf/z013-015.pdf
This three-page application note covers the operation and use of thermocouples and RTDs.
Use of Infrared Imaging to Conduct Defect Analysis of a Printed Circuit Board During Manufacturing or Repair and Test
- Application Note #1: Transfer Function Measurement Configurations
www.jblpro.com/pages/software jblsmaar.htm#
Application_Notes
This application note suggests how to configure a test setup for transfer function and delay locator measurements, including diagrams for typical configurations. - Effects of Bandwidth on Transient Information
www.tek.com/Measurement/cgi-bin/framed.pl?
Document=/Measurement/App_Notes/indexes/
oscilloscopes.html&FrameSet=oscilloscopes
(select from page two of list)
As clock speeds in communications and semiconductors continue to increase, timing margins get even narrower. This application note shows the results of measuring a 17.5-ps edge and a 500-MHz clock using oscilloscopes with different bandwidths.
This application note discusses the use of infrared imaging technology supplemented with image-analysis software to conduct component defect testing in both a test and repair facility or production-line monitoring.
Transfer Function Determination
Transient Measurements
Published by EE-Evaluation Engineering
All contents © 2000 Nelson Publishing Inc.
No reprint, distribution, or reuse in any medium is permitted
without the express written consent of the publisher.
December 2000
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