N2808A PrecisionProbe for the 9000 Series

Keysight’s PrecisionProbe TDT (N2808A) allows you to characterize and correct your measurement system quickly and accurately, without adding expensive equipment.

PrecisionProbe solves measurement challenges by allowing you to:

– Characterize the frequency response (both magnitude and phase) of any input to the 9000 Series without the need for extra equipment such as a VNA or TDR

– Quickly and accurately compensate for probe and cable loss, gaining you valuable margins

– Correct probing issues such as phase non-linearity, magnitude non-flatness, and see the effect of probe loading

– Quickly gain insight into the impedance/capacitance that defines your connection

– Increase the bandwidth of your oscilloscope and probe

Background – PrecisionProbe (Cable correction)

A measurement system is only as good as its weakest link. Users spend thousands of dollars on test and measurement equipment, including oscilloscopes, but then ignore the weakest element in their link, the cable. Oscilloscope vendors now provide methods to strengthen the weak link with the use of de-embedding software (Keysight Technologies, Inc. InfiniiSim N5465A software). However, de-embedding software requires specific characterization of the cable and the creation of an s-parameter file. To get the correct characterization you must characterize the cable using either a TDR or a VNA. Both of these methods provide characterization and s-parameters, but take time and instrument knowledge and more investment on test and measurement equipment.

It is the time, knowledge, and additional equipment that causes us to simply choose to ignore cable loss, and measurements taken by the oscilloscope now may be measuring the weakest link (the cable) and not the device you wish to measure as cable loss can dominate a measurement. At best you may choose to characterize only one or two cables, and use that characterization (s-parameter file) to compensate for of every similar cable you own, causing the magnification of cable-to-cable variability as the cables characteristics vary from the “golden” cable.