Agilent Claims World's Fastest Oscilloscope Probing System with 30 GHz Bandwidth

The InfiniiMax III probing system represents the convergence of new technologies, state-of-the-art design methodologies, and our experience from developing two generations of award-winning probe systems, said Mike McTigue, principal design engineer for the InfiniiMax III probing system and recent winner of Agilent's prestigious Bill Hewlett award for innovation.

This combination allows us to deliver breakthrough performance that was previously unimaginable.

Engineers working with high-energy physics, emerging wireline communication standards and high-speed serial data links, such as USB, SAS or PCI Express®, use oscilloscopes to capture fast, single-shot events and to make critical measurements like jitter, while ensuring compliance to industry standards for interoperability. With data rates in the next few years extending beyond 10 Gbps, engineers need oscilloscopes that can deliver higher-bandwidth measurements. The probing system is a critical part of the solution.

It is very rare in the industry for a breakthrough probing system to be introduced at the same time as a breakthrough oscilloscope family, said Jay Alexander, vice president and general manager of Agilent's oscilloscopes business. Customers told us they needed significant innovation in both areas and that is what we have delivered.

Agilent used a proprietary indium phosphide (InP) integrated circuit process and state-of-the-art thick film packaging technology to achieve breakthrough performance within tight geometric constraints. The InfiniiMax III browser uses a novel crisscross blade grounding system for lower inductance grounding, a poly-iron wrap of coax tips to reduce standing waves, and very-low parasitic replaceable resistor tips to achieve industry-leading 30-GHz performance.