Oscilloscope Practical Series 48: Trigger Sensitivity

To measure the functionality of an oscilloscope, the trigger module is generally a point of focus. In fact, the triggers used internally in oscilloscopes are divided into analog triggers and digital triggers. The ZDS2022 oscilloscope uses a digital trigger, which results in low signal jitter and high trigger sensitivity, with dynamic adjustment available!

We discovered a small glitch signal within a certain clock signal; how can we trigger it?

Press the [Trigger] button, set the trigger mode to Normal, set the trigger type to Pulse Width Trigger, and select a pulse width type of Less Than Specified Pulse Width. The upper limit for pulse width needs to be less than 500us. By pressing the trigger settings soft key, you can see the sensitivity settings. The trigger sensitivity of the ZDS2022 oscilloscope can be adjusted; it can be switched from Auto to Manual, with the default set to 0.3div. By turning knob A, set the sensitivity to 0.0div, at which point the sensitivity is at its highest, and the small glitch waveform on the screen is stably triggered, which is very beneficial for observing such small signals.

Figure 1: Adjusting Trigger Sensitivity

You might think that by simply reducing the vertical or horizontal time base setting, we can enlarge the small glitch and trigger it even if the sensitivity is not high. However, at this point, we would not be able to see the overall characteristics of the signal, so adjusting the sensitivity is indeed more convenient. When observing signals with considerable noise, we can increase the sensitivity and lower it to stabilize the triggered waveform. At this point, the waveform on the screen remains stably triggered due to the lower sensitivity, clearly presented.

The adjustable trigger sensitivity design of the ZDS2022 oscilloscope is powerful and can be flexibly applied in various scenarios, meeting different user needs!