The WavePro 7 Zi series from LeCroy revolutionizes
oscilloscope design and functionality (Fig. 1). While
the 15.3-in. WXGA LCD touchscreen can display all
sorts of useful data at the same time, the real breakthrough
is what’s inside, as its hardware and software make it
one of the best scopes on the market.
The series includes five basic models with maximum bandwidths
of 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4, and 6 GHz. The WavePro series
serial data analyzers (SDAs) and disk-drive analyzers (DDAs),
which also are available, are derived from the scope.
HARDWARE HIGHLIGHTS
The scope has a faster front end capable of 20 Gsamples/s
on all four input channels, and that increases to 40
Gsamples/s with interleaving. This means the WavePro 7 Zi’s
rare-event capture capability is second to none. It additionally
offers faster SRAM storage. The sample storage per channel
is 10 Mpoints/channel with up to 128 Mpoints/channel
optional. Input impedances of both 50 O and 1 MO are provided
on those four input channels.
While the sample rate is impressive, it doesn’t do much
good if you can’t process the data fast enough for analysis
and display. LeCroy solved this problem by adding an Intel
Core 2 quad processor, a 64-bit bus and operating system,
and up to 8 Gbytes of RAM.
The display shows up to eight waveforms simultaneously
(Fig. 2). Or, you can display eight grids of other kinds of data,
depending on your needs. In addition, you will soon be able
to get a second external display of the same size to show
other data while maintaining the standard scope outputs.
And, users can remove the right-hand control panel and
place it closer to the unit under test.
The optional LeCroy Serial Interface Bus (LSIB) connects
directly to the PCI Express x4 data bus inside the scope and
provides the fastest data transfer rate of any scope, according
to LeCroy, at 500 Mpoints/s. LSIB is way faster than
the general-purpose interface bus (GPIB) or 100BaseT or
1000BaseT Ethernet. All you do is install the LSIB card in the
scope and a compatible card in the remote computer. The
WavePro 7 Zi is LXI-compliant as well.
The scope’s four high-performance probes
feature new amplifiers with excellent noise performance
that’s essential for making precise
jitter and other signal-integrity measurements.
The high dc and midband loading make
them ideal for many serial data and memory
applications such as PCI Express,
FireWire, and double data rate (DDR).
These probes also offer ±4-V offset capability and ±3-V common mode control. They work well
in multipurpose applications for single-ended needs like DDR
memory and serial data standards like HDMI.
SOFTWARE SUMMARY
The fabulous hardware forms the necessary base of the
WavePro 7 Zi series, and the software makes the measurements,
performs the analysis, and creates the displays.
LeCroy has a strong track record when it comes to good
software for design, debug, and validation, and it just got
better with this new scope.
The software offers a new and superior feature finder and
a seriously deep toolbox of analysis routines. Combine it
with the quad-core processor and deeper memory, and you
get an exceptionally responsive scope that delivers 10 to 20
times the usual processing throughput thanks to more effective
use of cache.
LeCroy’s X-Stream II architecture makes long acquisition
memory a pleasure to use. It employs variable waveform
segment lengths to improve CPU cache memory efficiency,
which makes the WavePro 7 Zi faster than other scopes
when it’s processing long records. But that’s not all. With
such super processing power, the display response is
significantly faster than other digital scopes, which greatly
improves the user’s experience.
The new software tools include Smart trigger 200-ps
pulse-width triggering and 80-bit/3.125-Gbit/s serial pattern
triggers, all of which greatly shorten the time to make measurements
and find anomalies. Other software tools previously
available are included, such as the WaveStream fast
viewing mode, WaveScan advanced search and analysis,
and low-speed serial triggers (I2C, SPI, RS-232 UART, CAN,
LIN, and FlexRay), as well as MS-250 and MS-500 4+36
mixed-signal options.
The TriggerScan feature can detect and capture more
anomalies per second by using high-speed trigger hardware
to detect undesired behaviors. It captures and displays
glitches in a persistence mode for additional analysis and
action. Also, it only captures the signals of interest, and it
provides answers in minutes rather than hours. You can set
TriggerScan up yourself with pre-defined or user-defined sets
of edge, Smart, or serial trigger setups. You can use up to
100 trigger conditions together as well.
The WavePro 7 Zi offers a wide range of analysis tools and
a huge library of measurement, math, graphing, statistical,
frequency analysis, and mask testing to get better answers
faster. In addition, the software implements customization
features that permit specialized measurements and math
operations not available on other scopes, like inverse fast
Fourier transform (FFT). And, it lets you integrate third-party
software tools and include software tools such as Matlab,
Visual Basic, C++, and Excel.
The only downside is the price, but what other digital
scope is better? The base WavePro 7 Zi 6-GHz model starts
at $59,490. Of course, you can option out the scope with
just the memory, software, and other features you need,
but a fully loaded model will reach close to $100,000. Then
again, time is money. This scope is so good, it can save you
many hours of grief in debugging and validating your project,
paying for itself in a short time.
LOUIS E. FRENZEL
LECROY CORP. • www.lecroy.com