LeCroy Corporation has announced a new version of its LogicStudio software that enhances the oscilloscope connectivity of the LogicStudio 16, providing support for not only the LeCroy WaveJet oscilloscope but also several popular oscilloscopes from Tektronix and Agilent. This new software adds an unprecedented level of flexibility to the LogicStudio, letting users of a wide range of oscilloscopes from 40 MHz up to 1 GHz turn their PCs into Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes. The 16 digital channels, 1 GS/s sample rate, 3.75ns glitch capture, and serial protocol analysis (I2C, SPI, UART) of LogicStudio can now combine with the analog channels from a wide range of oscilloscopes including the LeCroy WaveJet, six Tektronix product lines or three Agilent product lines. The lively, dynamic waveform display with a smart, intuitive user-interface is now more powerful than ever, providing a deep toolset for digital, serial and analog debug.
Like most logic analyzers, LogicStudio can capture and display digital and serial signals. However, LogicStudio goes a step further and provides a communication link to a wide range of oscilloscopes turning the PC into a true mixed signal debug environment. The communication from the LogicStudio software to the oscilloscope will allow for configuring the trigger and transferring data, presenting all the digital, serial and analog data in a single display. Analog waveforms from the oscilloscope are displayed alongside digital and serial signals from the digital channel enabling quick and easy mixed signal measurements. With support for ten different oscilloscope series from three different manufacturers, the LogicStudio is a versatile, time saving tool for embedded system design and debug.
The operation is simple but the toolset is deep. LogicStudio provides a tremendous amount of tools for digital debug including timing cursors, unique zooming and panning of waveforms, a persistence display and a history mode which can replay old data captures. Additionally, protocol analysis for I2C, SPI and UART is included to decode waveforms as they are captured and provides the ability to trigger on specific addresses or data packets on the bus.
The LogicStudio software is an intuitive environment for digital debug. By leveraging simple, everyday mouse functions, LogicStudio delivers an easy to navigate user-interface, making debugging faster, smarter and much easier. To scroll through the waveforms the user can left-click and drag. To center the point of interest on the screen, simply double-click it; to zoom in for more details, right-click and drag or turn the scroll-wheel on the mouse. On top of its ease-of-use, the interface is lively and dynamic. Data is captured and displayed at a high rate, which when combined with the persistence tool and history mode, can quickly help identify glitches or problems. A unique magnifier tool will let the user search longer captures for more details without changing the scale of the main acquisition. For timing measurements, activate a pair of cursors anywhere on the display or snap them right to an edge of one of the waveforms for precise measurements.
Triggering is an important part of any logic analyzer and LogicStudio goes above and beyond to provide rich triggering capabilities. First, the trigger can be operated in Auto, Normal or Single modes just like a modern oscilloscope. Some USB logic analyzers operate in a simple, single trigger mode but LogicStudio provides free running acquisitions without delays due to data being transferred to the PC. Additionally, the amount of triggering types is extensive. There are simple edge or logic state triggers but the advanced triggering provides an open environment to build elaborate trigger conditions, logic combinations and qualifiers to capture a wide range of events.
