Logic analyzers handle wide-bus debug chores

The logic analyzer might seem to be on the road to extinction as mixed-signal oscilloscopes take on some logic-analyzer functionality, but that's not the case. Logic analyzers are still invaluable when you have a hundred or more bus lines to monitor simultaneously while performing system-level debug.

Further, logic analyzers can display data in a variety of formats: timing and state diagrams as well as protocol and source-code listings. Mike Juliana, product marketing manager at Tektronix, also noted that logic analyzers can operate in a unique synchronous (state) mode in which it acquires signals according to an external clock—this mode ensures that the instrument presents waveform states only when they are valid.

Tektronix, Juliana said, has studied why people need new logic analyzers. Topping the list, 39% of perspective purchasers need more timing resolution. In addition, 16% need more channels, 14% need deeper memory, 12% are equipping a lab for a new project, 10% need more units, 9% are replacing a broken instrument, and 9% are seeking ease of use.

Elaborating on the need for resolution, Juliana said that shrinking timing windows are requiring 200- to 300-ps measurements, and inadequate timing resolution can cause true signal relationships to be lost.

To meet the needs of engineers for advanced logic-analysis functionality at a low price point, Tektronix has introduced the TLA6400 Series family, which offers 40-ps resolution, samples synchronous buses with clock rates to 667 MHz and data rates to 1,333 MHz, and accommodates 34, 68, 102, or 136 channels with record lengths to 64 Mb. For ease of use, the instrument offers drag-and-drop triggering and measurements. In addition, the instrument supports what the company calls iCapture technology, which allows a single probe to acquire logic and analog signals simultaneously; the analog signal can be routed via a 2-GHz analog mux to an oscilloscope. Prices range from $11,600 for a 34-channel model to $20,800 for a 136-channel model.

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