Whitepaper
Equivalent Time Sampling Oscilloscope vs. Real-Time Oscilloscope
This application note from Keysight Technologies differentiates between real-time and equivalent time sampling oscilloscopes. Real-time scopes function as fast ADCs, capturing entire waveforms with sample rates up to 80 GSa/s (bandwidth extending to 63 GHz) triggered asynchronously to the input signal. Equivalent time sampling scopes, conversely, sample only once per trigger cycle with a rearm time of approximately 25 μs and require synchronous triggering; they achieve bandwidth exceeding 80GHz. The paper details acquisition methodologies for both types – real-time capture vs. incremental delay sampling - and their respective applications including bit stream analysis & eye diagram creation. Advantages highlighted include the real-time scope's ability to capture single-shot events, versus the equivalent time scope’s wider bandwidth and lower jitter.