5 techniques for fast, accurate power integrity measurements

Rail voltages are getting smaller, and tolerances are decreasing. As a result, making accurate power rail measurements has become much more difficult. In the past, any oscilloscope was able to measure ripple on historical 5 V rails with 10% tolerance, since the 500 mV requirement was well above the noise level of the oscilloscope.

Industry dynamics are driving both a decrease in rail voltage values as well as tighter tolerances across a wide range of rails. Making an accurate ripple measurement on a 1 V rail with 2% tolerance, for example, is difficult on all oscilloscopes. This guide describes five tips for making accurate power integrity measurements with oscilloscopes.

The white paper focuses on the following topics:

• Choosing an oscilloscope with low noise is critical to accurate power integrity measurements

• Coupling the oscilloscope with a 1:1 probe with built-in offset, high bandwidth, high DC impedance and an integrated R&S®ProbeMeter delivers superior capability and measurements

• Understanding and correctly setting a number of oscilloscope attributes