The instrument is a high-speed, precision sampling system that finds use in validation and conformance testing and impedance verification for: high-performance semiconductor/computer applications, such as semiconductor testing, TDR characterization of circuit boards, IC packages and cables, and high-speed serial digital data communications. high-performance communications applications, such as design evaluation and manufacturing test of datacom and telecom components, transceiver subassemblies, and transmission systems. The instrument includes a user interface that runs on the Microsoft Windows operating system as a windowed application. You operate the instrument using front-panel controls with the mouse and keyboard or with the touch screen. The installed Windows operating system (MS Windows 98 or MS Windows 2000) is dependent on the purchase date or product upgrade status. Key features include: industry-leading waveform acquisition and measurement rate, with Sample, Envelope, and Average acquisition modes. support for up to six sampling modules (two large and four small modules) for a maximum configuration of ten inputs. (Up to eight inputs can be active at a time. See Maximum Configuration on page 1--11). supports integrated optical signal pick-off and clock recovery enabling accurate triggering on optical communication-signals. support for optical modules with several integrated, selectable reference receivers, which eliminates the need for a multitude of add-on reference receivers. full programmability, with an extensive GPIB-command set and a message- based interface. true differential TDR, with fast step (35 psec reflected risetime) when used with a TDR-capable sampling module. industry-leading trigger bandwidth (12+ GHz) when using the built-in- prescaler. support of both telecom (SONET and SDH) and datacom (Fibre Channel, Infiniband, and Gigabit Ethernet) optical communication standards. powerful built-in measurement capability, including histograms, mask testing, and automatic measurements. automatic measurements operate on Pulses, RZ eye patterns, and NRZ eye patterns. DC to 65 GHz optical bandwidth; DC to 65 GHz electrical bandwidth, with up to 12.5 GHz triggering. NOTE. Bandwidth is determined by the specific modules that are installed. FrameScan acquisition for isolating data-dependent failures during conformance/performance testing and for examining very low-level repetitive signals. support for optical conformance testing of SONET/SDH signals (including the various forward error correction rates for these telecom rates) from 155 Mbps to 43 Gb/s, 1 and 10 Gb/s FibreChannel signals, 10.52 Gb/s FibreChannel signals, and 1, 2, and 10 Gigabit FibreChannel signals as well as 2.5 Gb/s Infiniband signals. NOTE. Support for conformance testing rates is determined by the specific modules that are installed. high precision time base with two modes of operation, locked and short-term jitter-optimized negligible long-term jitter degradation (<0.1 ppm), which substantially improves the ability to view signals that are delayed far from the trigger point without distortion. improved short-term and long-term trigger jitter. a gated trigger option (Option GT) that lets you disable or enable (gate) triggering based on a TTL signal you connect to the instrument rear panel. the GT feature also allows you to use recirculating buffers as part of your test setup to simulate the effects of very long optical links that are typical of undersea cables and other long terrestrial links. analysis and connectivity tools enable the instrument to be controlled from a variety of local and remote environments and to share data with other commercially available analysis programs. pre-defined, built-in masks in addition to the user-defined masks. a large 10-inch color display that supports color grading of waveform data to show sample density. an intuitive UI (User Interface), with built-in online help displayable on screen.