TTi, Tektronix, TAP1500

High-speed active probe for real-time signal acquisition from TTi

News Release from: Thurlby Thandar Instruments Ltd
04 February 2007

The TAP1500 high-speed active probe for the Tektronix DPO4000 and DPO7000 families of oscilloscopes is now available from TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments). The new 1.5 GHz single-ended active FET probe provides the excellent high-speed electrical and mechanical performance required for the real-time testing and debugging of today's digital system designs.

Specifically designed for use and direct connection to the TekVPI probe interface used on the Tektronix oscilloscopes, the TAP1500 active FET probe achieves high-speed signal acquisition and measurement fidelity by solving three traditional problems associated with non-active probes.

To preserve the full 1 GHz bandwidth of the oscilloscope, it is important that the probe bandwidth exceeds the bandwidth available on the instrument. With a bandwidth of more than 1.5 GHz and a rise time of less than 267 ps, the TAP1500 allows the oscilloscope to truly display the characteristics of
the signal under test.

With less than 1 pF of loading effect, the probe has significantly lower capacitance than a traditional probe. This is critical in many capacitance-sensitive high-speed circuits.

The small compact probe head for probing small geometry circuit elements is
enhanced by a selection of attachment accessories to enable connection to
surface-mount devices as small as 0.5 mm pitch.

The Tektronix TekVPI probe interface provides easy access to the oscilloscope's probe menu display for probe status and diagnostic information and to control the probe DC offset.