Overview
5
The P2102A 2-port probe comes with four (4) interchangeable, snap on, probe heads sizes
(1206, 0805, 0603, and 0402) allowing good connectivity to various component sizes. It also
comes in one of four attenuations (1X, 2X, 5X, or 10X). The probes are compatible with all
equipment including VNAs, oscilloscopes, and spectrum analyzers.
Impedance Measurement Demands New Probe Capabilities
High-speed applications put pressure on the measurement of power supply busses to
unprecedented frequencies. As an example, the measurement of PDN impedance for
FPGAs, ASICs, and high-speed digital devices generally requires the measurement of
impedance levels in the milliohm scale at frequencies exceeding 1GHz. Measuring the high-
speed step load response in power systems using 2-port impedance is difficult because of the
need to connect tw
o 50Ω transmission lines to the output capacitor.
To further compound
this difficult task, these measurements often need to be made in very small circuits such as
cell phones, solid state disk drives, and computer tablets, to name a few examples.
These revolutionary probes alleviate many of these challenges while maintaining the
precision 50Ω characteristics re
quired for these types of measurements.
What is a Transmission Line Probe?
Transmission line probes are special types of passive probes that replace the high impedance
probe cable found in a traditional passive probe with a precision transmission line, that has a
characteris
tic impedance that matches the oscilloscope’s input (50Ω). This greatly reduces
the input capacitance to a fraction of a picofarad, minimizing the loading of high frequency
signals. The probes are referred to as ‘PDN’ probes, because of their effective use in
measuring the low and ultra-low impedances found in power distribution networks.
The input impedance of the Picotest probes remains nearly constant over their entire
frequency range. The probes are useful in applications that produce fast rising, narrow pulses
with amplitudes which exceed the dynamic range of active probes. They also tend to have
less parasitic effects on frequency response, so they are ideal for measuring impedance. By
providing a simple yet elegant and flexible solution to probing high-frequency signals,
Picotest’s transmission line probes preserve signal fidelity and allow high-bandwidth test
equipment to accurately measure circuit characteristics.
The probes are designed to work with the J2102B common mode transformer which
eliminates instrument DC ground loops.
P2102A 2-Port Probe Feature and Benefit Summary
•
Supports Measuring:
Impedance, Transient Step Load, Ripple, Noise, TDT/TDR, 2-port
impedance, PCB resonances, Clock Jitter, and Non-invasive Stability
•
Wide Bandwidth – 300MHz *
•
Measures < 1mOhm *, Up to kOhms **
