The Picotest Online Forum

I just got a Tek MSO58B scope with the PWR license and the Picotest PI Solution bundle to measure PDN impedance and capacitor parasitics out to 100 MHz. I have worked with VNAs in the past and understand the calibration / de-embedding process for RF systems and know that test fixtures and cables are

Has anyone been able to get the M35XX Excel add-in to work with recent 64-bit MS Excel version? I get a MS Forms dialog when opening Excel that an object couldn't be loaded, and then a compile error for WinApi. The Add-ins ribbon shows the Picotest M35XX PT-Link custom buttons, but can't run the a

Do you have a probe that can plug into a VNA and test/record the impedance of traces on a PCB? One with very small tips on one end and an “SMA” connector, “APC” connector, “N” connector, or even a “BNC” connector?

Could I see a derivation and reasoning behind how Q(Tg) is converted to phase margin? I'm having a tough time understanding what's going on under the hood and how NISM actually works.

Hello, I'm currently working on an assessment of the NISM method in my lab where I am measuring the phase margin of a POL using both NISM and Bode plot methods to see how similar the results are. I'm running into some trouble trying to make the measurement on some of my buck converter POL's. Some of

Which connector should be used for the bias input highlighted above? I am trying to measure the output impedance of an LDO but I do not have this connector/adapter. Is it possible to order it separately?

Hi, I read the excellent DesignCon paper ('Power Integrity for 32 Gb/s SERDES Transceivers', by PICOTEST, Xilinx & Keysight), referenced in Lesson 1. In this paper, the advantage of raising the switching frequency of a DCDC is explored. I've had recent experience of choosing the BW of a DCDC conve

Currently NISM only works with the S2VNA s/w application which supports all Copper Mountain 2-port VNAs. The R60 is a 1-port VNA and utilizes the RVNA s/w application. There is a slight difference in the command set between S2 and R, and therefore NISM does not work with the RVNA application at th

I assume using two is not beneficial with respect to matching. Or is any pair of P2105A matched?

J2120A Usage In the vast majority of cases, the line injector is almost certainly working correctly. It is often the case that the test setup impacts the results and that a large voltage drop at its output is seen. We do get many questions about the J2120A and its operation. After reading the follow

P2102A USER: Hey Steve, I was super-excited to get my P2102A 2-port probe, but I am trying to figure out how to calibrate it for ultra-low impedance measurements. I seem to be getting bad results, can you help? Steve Sandler: This is a great question, and I am happy to help solve this for you. A tr

I am looking to measure an LDO gain/phase with the J2110A solid state injector. But, I am confused about the connections to do so on the module. Here is a very simple block diagram of the LDO. Normally, I have an injection resistor between VOUT and Rtop. Then, I measure across this resistor to get

The old 2-port probe can't measure below 25mOhms. This is because it's a 2 (3) point contact, not 4 point Kelvin. The new one is a 4 point contact Kelvin probe. The old one is 1X and the new one is available in different attenuation, for measuring higher voltage and/or higher impedance. The new p

• Can you recommend good cables to connect the J2101A to a DUT? • About the PDN Cable SMA connectors. I read here that brass SMAs should be torqued to 3-5 in-lbs: https://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedias/connector-torque SMA (stainless steel) 7-10 in-lbs (~1Nm) SMA (brass) 3-5 in-lbs (~0.4N

Hello, Could you please tell me why the gain of the transformer is near the -15dB ? what is the test setup for this measurement ? Thanks for your help

Dealing with Line Injection Issues (J2120A, J2123A) Here is some information on the Power Supply Rejection Ratio (‘PSRR’) measurement setup using the J2120A line injector. Depending on the load current and impedance you are trying to drive, the output of the injector may drop several volts. In t

I am measuring Picotest Kit 1 milliohm resistor using 2 Port Shunt Thru method using Picotest Common Mode Isolator. As shown below above the low frequency range I am measuring a base of approx. 400uOhms instead of 1milliohms. Full 2 Port Calibration is performed. Noise floor was in the 10s of uOhms

Hello, I have been looking into different measurement methods on how to verify the stability of the control loop of COT buck converters. Traditional methods like bode-plots don't really work because of the inherent non-linearity. Is NISM effective at obtaining the phase margin for COT devices?

I have a glance to the Bode 100 application note about battery impedance testing with your current injector: https://www.omicron-lab.com/fileadmin/assets/Bode_100/ApplicationNotes/Battery_impedance/App_Note_Battery_Impedance_V2_0.pdf and I was wondering whether you see any impairment in doing the sa

We’re trying to determine what pitch the end user wants for their P2104A 1-port probe (https://www.picotest.com/Products_P2104A.html).

So we recently purchased a P2102A and while I really appreciate the ability to use the provided fixed width probe tips to probe standard surface mount components like 0402, 0603, 0805, 1206, I'm in a situation where I am trying to do 2 port impedance measurements on a couple new components (a diode

We just bought VRTS 1.5 Demo Board and tried todo the bode plot for the output of the board , Figure1: shows the setup and everything is setup in accordance to the guidelines provide by siglent in the link below. Measuring Power Supply Control Loop Response with Bode Plot II - Siglent (siglenteu

I am taking an output impedance measurement using the 3-port (voltage / current) method. Here is my calibration test setup: I feel this is a very good test setup, and these are the shortest cables I can readily locate. Everything has the look and feel of "good working order" or is brand new.

Hi, I've been using this probe successfully with the 0402 head. I've been probing a DNI 0402 capacitor footprint, but after several measurement (with some down-force) the sharp pins are damaging my pads. I wondered if anyone had tried other probing structures? I was thinking of using 4 well-space

I need to measure freq response of transimpedance amplifier which means I need to inject Current at input and measure Voltage at output. I have J2111a current injector and Bode100 in my lab so can you show me measurement setup by using these equipments.

We bought a couple of those B-Amp12 to boost the signal level for doing PDN measurements and I had a question about connections for the amp. The amp has connections for Ch1 and Ch2, If I connect those to the Omicron, how/where do I connect the other end of the P2102A probe? Does the Bode 100 SW

Whenever I used a VNA to measure s-paramerers, I would do a calibration, and that would remove them from having any impact on the end measurement results. Why is it that even after a VNA calibration for 2 port shunt measurement, you still have to use an isolator? Why isnt the calibration good enough

Customer: Hi Steve, I have my Friday’s questions for the weekend to relax with… · 1-port method - I do see that the Bode100 monitor both the voltage ahead of the reference source resistor and after the source resistor: o Why monitoring the voltage ahead of the internal resistor? o I