Tektronix FCA3103 – Frequency Counter (3 GHz, 50 ps)

Tektronix FCA3103 – Frequency Counter (3 GHz, 50 ps)

The FCA3103 Timer/Counter/Analyzer pack many different functions into one feature-rich instrument. With the industry-leading frequency and time resolution, the FCA3103 comes standard with deep internal memory and a fast data transfer rate of 250k Samples/s to internal memory. In addition, the multi-parameter display shows auxiliary measurements alongside your main measurement to provide you with the results you need at a glance. With the industry’s most comprehensive analysis modes, including measurement statistics, histograms, and trend plots, you have the tools you need to quickly and accurately analyze your signal.

Industry-leading Performance for Demanding Designs

High-resolution is critical for R&D and production testing on today’s demanding designs. The FCA3103 delivers 12-digit/s frequency resolution and for time measurements, a single-shot resolution of 100 ps FCA3103 is available with measurement values displayed up to 14 digits. With industry-leading performance, the FCA3103 provides you with fast, precise measurements.

Unique Features for Accurate Measurements

To ensure correct measurements of Allan Deviation, the FCA3103 offers a zero dead-time measurement technique and continuous time stamping of trigger events. This feature is vital for mechanical and medical measurements where every single cycle must be measured. The FCA3103 offers this functionality through the USB/GPIB interfaces with a raw time-stamping function.

For correct calculation of statistical parameters, the FCA3103 comes standard with limit-qualifying capability. By setting limits, you can isolate one cluster in your calculation. This is important for applications such as verifying the jitter of digital pulses that appear in discrete clusters in CD players or in HDB3-coded data.

Also available is hysteresis compensation for time interval measurements. By adding hysteresis, you can reduce trigger-level error from the typical 15-20 mV found in most counters on the market today, down to a typical 2.5 mV. This means 6-8 times improved trigger precision in critical time interval measurements.

Fast Throughput Reduces Test Time

The FCA Timer/Counter/Analyzer offers industry-best throughput, saving you up to 90% on your testing time compared to other timers/counters on the market. Up to 250,000 measurement results per second can be stored in the internal memory. Alternatively, you can transfer up to 15,000 measurement results per second in Block mode through the GPIB or USB interface. For added flexibility, the FCA3103 offers a zero dead-time counter feature to continuously stream measurement data over the GPIB/USB bus during, not after, measurement. This creates a dynamic measurement and analysis system.

Analyze Your Device with the Industry’s Only Graphical Display

With the unique display of the FCA3103, you can measure multiple parameters of the same signal from one test connection. To reveal signal quality issues like drift, intermittent transients, and stability, you can view the data as a real-time trend plot or a histogram with the FCA3103 graphical display mode, or you can use measurement statistics to track how signal parameters are changing over time. A single-button Analyze mode gives you fast insight into the behavior of your device right on the timer/counter’s display.

Multi-parameter Display

With the multi-parameter display, you can read important auxiliary measurement values (such as Vmax, Vmin, Vp-p, and more) displayed with your main frequency, time, period, or phase measurements. With one glance, you can see the information you need to quickly assess your device’s performance.

Phase Relationship Measurement.

With up to 3 input channels, you can measure the relationship between different signals. For example, you can measure the phase relationship between the input and output signals of your device. You can read other critical parameters simultaneously, such as the test frequency of the signal and the voltage ratio (in dB), in one glance with the multi-parameter display.

Measurement Trend Plots

Depending on your test case, your signal parameters may change from instant to instant. With the Trend Plot Analysis mode, you can graphically plot the trend of a measured value over time.

Measurement Statistics

With integrated statistics processing, you can calculate the average, standard, and Allan deviation of a measurement, as well as track the minimum and maximum measured values, all with the push of a button.

Histogram Plots

To graphically see the average and standard deviation of a set of measurements, you can use the histogram function to see the distribution of measurement results.

Optional Modulation Domain Analysis

With the optional Tektronix TimeView™ software (TVA3000), the FCA Timer/Counter/Analyzer can become a high-performance modulation domain analyzer. With high measurement speeds (up to 250k measurement/s) and large memory depth (up to 3.75M points), fast frequency changes can be captured in real-time and then analyzed with TimeView. This comprehensive software tool allows for remote instrument control, and the analysis and display of measurement result in a choice of graphs. For example, results can be displayed as raw data, statistical histogram, waveform graph (as if you were using an oscilloscope), or as an FFT spectrum graph. TimeView further allows analysis of modulation parameters like modulation depth or frequency modulation index.