LeCroy LC Series User manual

Operator’s Manual
LeCroy
LC Series Color
Digital Oscilloscopes
Revision K — December 1999

LeCroy Corporation
700 Chestnut Ridge Road
Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977–6499
Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]
LeCroy SA
2, rue du Pré-de-la-Fontaine
1217 Meyrin 1/Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]
Internet: www.lecroy.com
Copyright © January 1999, LeCroy. All rights reserved. Information in this publication supersedes all
earlier versions. Specifications subject to change.
LeCroy, ProBus and SMART Trigger are registered trademarks of LeCroy Corporation. Centronics
is a registered trademark of Data Computer Corp. Epson is a registered trademark of Epson
America Inc. I2C is a trademark of Philips. MathCad is a registered trademark of MATHSOFT Inc.
MATLAB is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. Microsoft, MS and Microsoft Access are
registered trademarks, and Windows and NT trademarks, of Microsoft Corporation. PowerPC is a
registered trademark of IBM Microelectronics. DeskJet, ThinkJet, QuietJet, LaserJet, PaintJet, HP
7470 and HP 7550 are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company.
Manufactured under
an ISO 9000
Registered
Quality Management
System
Visit www.lecroy.com
to view the certificate.
This electronic product is
subject to disposal and
recycling regulations that
vary by country and
region. Many countries
prohibit the disposal of
waste electronic
equipment in standard
waste receptacles.
For more information
about proper disposal
and recycling of your
LeCroy product, please
visit
www.lecroy.com/recycle.
LCXXX-OM-E Rev K 1299

LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED: December 1999 


..................................................... 1–1

................................................................................................... 2– 1
 ...................................................................................... 2–4

....................... 3–1

...................................................................................... 4–1
 ............................................................................... 4–2
 ........................................... 4–3
 .............................................. 4– 5
 ............................................................................ 4–8

 ......................................................................... 5–1
.................................................................................................... 5–3
....................................................... 5–5

 .................................................. 6–1

 ............................................................ 7– 1
 .......................................................................... 7–5
.................................................................................... 7– 6

 IS SU E D : De c em b er 19 9 9 L C XXX-OM-E Rev K


............................................................ 8–1
 ................................................................................. 8–2
.......................................................................................... 8–3
................................................................................... 8–9
 ................................................................... 8– 34
 ..............................................................8–35

 ................................................................. . 9–1

............... 10–1
 ..................................................10–2
............................................... 10–5
.............................................10–6
 ................................ 10–18

 .......................................... 11–1
.............................. 11–2
................................................................... 11–5
............................................................. 11–7
....................................................................... 11–20

 ................................. 12–1
 ..................................................................................12–2
.................................................................................12–4
............................................................................. 12–5
 .................................................................... 12–7
 ............................................................................ 12–19
 ...................................................................................1 2–23

LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED: December 1999 


........................................................................... 13–1
......................................................................... 13–4

 .................... 14–1
.............................. 14–6
 ...................................................................... 14–15

 ..................................15–1

 ............................... 16–1








 IS SU E D : De c em b er 19 9 9 L C XXX-OM-E Rev K

BLANK PAGE

LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED: December 1999 



LeCroy recommends that you thoroughly inspect the
contents of the oscilloscope packaging immediately upon
receipt. Compare the contents to the packing list/invoice
shipped with the instrument (and the list on page 1–3).
Unless LeCroy is promptly notified of any missing or
damaged item, we cannot accept responsibility for its
replacement. Contact your nearest LeCroy Customer
Service Center or national distributor immediately
(telephone numbers are given in the back of this manual).
 LeCroy warrants its oscilloscope products for normal use and
operation within specifications for a period of three years from
the date of shipm ent. Calibration each year is recom m ended to
ensure in-spec. performance. Spares, replacement parts and
repairs are warranted for 90 days. The instrum ent’s firm ware has
been thoroughly tested and is thought to be functional, but is
supplied without warranty of any kind covering detailed
performance. Products not made by LeCroy are covered solely
by the warranty of the original equipment manufacturer.
Under the LeCroy warranty, LeCroy will repair or, at its option,
replace any product returned within the warranty period to a
LeCroy authorized service center. However, this will be done only
if the product is determ ined after exam ination by LeCroy to be
defective due to workmanship or materials, and not to have been
caused by misuse, neglect or accident, or by abnormal conditions
or operation.
 This warranty replaces all other warranties,
expressed or implied, including but not limited to any
implied warranty of merchantability, fitness, or adequacy for
any particular purpose or use. LeCroy shall not be liable for
any special, incidental, or consequential damages, whether
in contract or otherwise. The client will be responsible for
the transportation and insurance charges for the return of
products to the service facility. LeCroy will return all
products under warranty with transport prepaid.

 ISSU ED: D ecember 1999 LCXXX-OM-E Rev K

 Help on installation, calibration, and the use of LeCroy equipment
is available from the LeCroy Custom er Service Center in your
country (telephone numbers are given at the back of this manual).
 LeCroy provides a variety of customer support services under
Maintenance Agreements. Such agreements give extended
warranty and allow clients to budget maintenance costs after the
initial three-year warranty has e xpired. O ther services such as
installation, training, enhancem ents and on-site repairs are
available through special supplem ental support agreements.
 LeCroy is dedicated to offering state-of-the-art instruments by
continually refining and improving the performance of LeCroy
products. Because of the quick pace at which physical modifications
may be implemented, this manual and related documentation may
not agree in every detail with the products they describe. For
example, there might be small discrepancies in the values of
components that affect pulse shape, timing, or offset; and
infrequently m inor logic changes. Be assured, however, that the
scope itself incorporates the most up-to-date circuitry.
LeCroy frequently updates firmware and software during
servicing to improve scope performance, free of charge during
warranty. You will be kept informed of such changes, through
new or revised manuals and other publications.
Nevertheless, you should retain this original manual to refer
to your scope’s unchanged hardware specifications.
 Please return products that require maintenance to the Customer
Service Department in your country, or to an authorized service
facility. You are responsible for transportation charges to the
factory, whereas all in-warranty products will be returned to you
with transportation prepaid. Outside the warranty period, you will
need to provide us with a purchase order number before we can
repair your LeCroy product. You will be billed for parts and labor
related to the repair work, and for shipping.

LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED: December 1999 

 Contact the nearest LeCroy Service Center or office to find out
where to return the product. All returned products should be
identified by m odel and serial num ber. You should describe the
defect or failure, and provide your name and contact number. In
the case of a product returned to the factory, a Return
Authorization Number (RAN) should be used. The RAN can be
obtained by contacting the Customer Service Department.
Return shipments should be prepaid. W e cannot accept COD
(Cash On Delivery) or Collect Return shipm ents. W e
recom m end air freight.
It is im portant that the RAN be clearly shown on the outside of
the shipping package for prom pt forwarding to the appropriate
LeCroy department.
 The following items are shipped with the standard configuration
of this oscilloscope:
�FrontScopeCover
�10:110M
ΩΠΠ005 Πασσιϖε Προβε
one per channel
�™Σινγλε−Χηαννελ Αδαπτερ
NOT APPLICABLE TO
LC374, LC564 OR LC584 SERIES
�
�
�
� Remote Control Manual
� Hands-On Guide
�PerformanceCertificateorCalibrationCertificate
�DeclarationofConformity
�Warranty
# # #
 Wherever possible, please use the original shipping
carton. If a substitute carton is used, it should be rigid and
packed so that that the product is surrounded by a minimum
of four inches (10 cm) of shock absorbent material.

 ISSU ED: D ecember 1999 LCXXX-OM-E Rev K
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LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED : December 1999 

 Wherever a feature is specific or not applicable to a
particular model or series of models, the applicability is
indicated as, for example: LC564 AND LC584 SERIES ONLY .
See Appendix A for each model’s complete specifications.

Each of the four channels of a
LeCroy LC Color Digital Storage
Oscilloscope (DSO) has one or
more 8-bit Analog-to-Digital
Converters (ADCs). Combine
channels by interleaving ADCs to
substantially increase the
instrument’s acquisition memory
and sampling rate.
 The central processing unit (CPU), a PowerPC®m icroprocessor,
perform s the oscilloscope’s computations and controls its
operation. A wide range of peripheral interfaces allow remote
control, storage of waveform s and other data, and printing. A
support processor constantly monitors the front-panel controls.
Data processing is fast, with data either transferred to display
memory for direct waveform display or stored in reference
memories (see “Memories” below).
 The instrument’s ADC architecture is designed to give excellent
amplitude and phase correlation, maximum analog–to–digital
conversion performance, large record lengths and superior time
resolution.
 The long acquisition memories simplify signal acquisition by
producing waveform records that allow detailed analysis over
large tim e intervals. Com bining tw o or four channels ( FOUR-
CHANNEL COMBINING NOT AVAILABLE ON LC564 SERIES ) increases
acquisition memory length. There are four memories for
tem porary storage, and four m ore for waveform zoom ing and
processing.

ISSU ED: D ecember 1999 LCXXX-OM-E Rev K

 Repetitive signals can be acquired and stored at a Random
Interleaved Sam pling (RIS) rate of 10 G S/s for all m odels except
LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES, whose R IS rate is 25 G S/s.
Moreover, this advanced digitizing technique enables
measurement of repetitive signals with an effective sampling
interval of 100 ps, or 40 ps for LC564, LC584, AND LC684 SERIES,
and a measurement resolution of up to 10 ps (5 ps for LC684
SERIES). See Chapter 7.
 Triggering can be controlled to a highly specialized degree in
accordance with waveform characteristics and chosen trigger
conditions. Menus and controls enable the selection and setting
of parameters such as pre- and post-trigger recording, and of
sequence and roll modes. The trigger source can be any of the
input channels, line (synchronized to scope’s m ain input supply)
or external. The coupling is selected from AC, LF REJect, HF
REJect, HF, and DC; the slope from positive and negative. The
SMART Trigger®types offer a wide range of sophisticated
trigger m odes m atched to special trigger conditions and sets of
conditions. See Chapter 8.
 The oscilloscope’s automatic calibration ensures an overall
vertical accuracy of typically 1% of full scale. Vertical gain and
offset calibration, and horizontal (tim e) resolution, take place
each time the volts per division setting is modified. In addition,
periodic and temperature-dependent autocalibration ensures
long-term stability at the current setting.
 The display’s interactive, user-friendly interface is controlled by push-
buttons and knobs to display as many as eight different waveform s
at once. The parameters that control signal acquisition are reported
simultaneously. The screen presents internal status and
measurement results, as well as operational, measurement, and
waveform-analysis menus. See Chapters 4 and 16
.
The large display area presents waveforms and data using
Advanced Color Management. Overlap-mixing and contrast-
enhancement functions ensure that overlapping waveforms
rem ain distinct at all tim es. Both pre-set and personal color
schemes are available. See Chapter 11
.

LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED : December 1999 

The Analog Persistence™function offers display attributes of an
analog instrument with all the advantages of digital technology.
The Full Screen function expands waveform grids to fill the entire
screen. See Chapter 11.
A hard copy of the screen can be easily produced at any time by
pressing the front-panel screen-dump button (see Chapter 12).
 This is a truly digital instrument. Nevertheless the front-panel
layout and controls will be fam iliar to users of analog
oscilloscopes (see Chapter 4). Rapid response and instant
representation of waveform s on the high-resolution screen add to
this im pression.
Four front panel setups can be stored internally and recalled
directly or by remote control, thus ensuring rapid front panel
configuration. W hen power is switched off, the current front panel
settings are automatically stored for use when the scope is
turned on again. See Chapter 15
.
 The oscilloscope has also been designed for remote control
operation in automated testing and computer-aided measurement
applications. The entire measurement process, including cursor and
pulse-parameter settings, dynamic modification of front-panel
settings, and display organization, is controlled through the rear-
panel industry-standard GPIB (IEEE-488) and standard RS-232-C
ports whose connection or serial port are present on most of today’s
personal computers. For further details, please consult your remote
control manual.
See Remote Control Manual.
 Also via GPIB and RS-232-C, the Scope Explorer software
integrates the oscilloscope with W indows 95 and W indows N T
desktop. It offers user-friendly remote control of the oscilloscope,
copy of the display into W indows, and the recording to and
storage in the PC of front-panel setups, which can then be
transferred back to the oscilloscope. See Chapter 12 and the
Hands-On Guide for m ore on PC and other interfaces .

ISSU ED: D ecember 1999 LCXXX-OM-E Rev K


�
�
�
�
Fast
Memory
Display
Processor
Sample
& Hold
Trigger
Logic
External
Trigger
CH1
CH2
CH3
CH4
Timebase
Fast
Memory
Peak
Detect
Peak
Detect
Peak
Detect
Peak
Detect
Fast
Memory
Fast
Memory
Sample
& Hold
Sample
& Hold
Sample
& Hold
Program Memory
Power PC
Microprocessor
with Integrated
Cache Memory
Optional
Storage Devices
Centronics
RS-232-C
GPIB
Front-Panel
Processor
Real-Time
Clock
Data Memories
Floppy Disk
Interface
8-Bit ADC(s)
8-Bit ADC(s)
8-Bit ADC(s)
8-Bit ADC(s)

LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED : December 1999 

�
�
�
# # #
Display
Processor
External
Trigger
CH1
CH2
CH3
CH4
Timebase
Program Memory
Power PC
Microprocessor
with Integrated
Cache Memory
Optional
Storage Devices
Centronics
RS-232-C
GPIB
Front-Panel
Processor
Real-Time
Clock
Data Memories
Floppy Disk
Interface
Sample
& Hold
Fast
memory
Fast
memory
Sample
& Hold 8-Bit ADC
8-Bit ADC
Fast
memory
Fast
memory
Trigger
Logic
Sample
& Hold
Sample
& Hold
8-Bit ADC
8-Bit ADC

ISSU ED: D ecember 1999 LCXXX-OM-E Rev K
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LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED : December 1999 
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
Ensure that the operating environment is maintained within the
following parameters for safe operation of the oscilloscope
within specifications:
� Tem perature ...........................5 to 40
°C (41 to 104 °F)
� Hum idity...................................
≤80% RH (non-condensing)
� Altitude .....................................
≤2000 m (6560 ft)
� O peration................................. indoor use only
The oscilloscope has been qualified to the following EN 61010-1
categories:
�Installation(Overvoltage)Category.............II
� Pollution Degree........................................... 2
 Where the following symbols or indications appear on the
instrum ent’s front or rear panels, or elsewhere in this m anual, they
alert you to an aspect of safety.
 
CAUTION: Refer to accompanying documents (for safety
related information).
T his symbol appears elsewhere in this manual, as indicated in
the Table of Contents .
WARNING: Risk of electric shock.
xOn (Supply)
Off (Supply)


 ISSU ED: D ecember 1999 LCXXX-OM-E Rev K

 
Earth (Ground) Terminal
Protective Conductor Terminal
Alternating Current Only
Chassis Terminal.
Earth (Ground) Terminal on BNC Connectors.
WARNING
Denotes a hazard. If a WARNING is indicated on the
instrument, do not proceed until its conditions are
understood and met.
 Any use of this instrument in a manner not specified by the
manufacturer may impair the instrument’s safety protection.
The oscilloscope has
not been designed to make direct
measurements on the human body. Users who connect a
LeCroy oscilloscope directly to a person do so at their own
risk.
 The oscilloscope operates from a 115 V (90 to 132 V) or 230 V
(180 to 250 V) AC (~) power source at 45 to 66 Hz.

LCXXX-OM-E Rev K ISSUED : December 1999 

No voltage selection is required because the instrument
automatically adapts to the line voltage that is present.
 The power supply of the oscilloscope is protected against short-
circuit and overload by means of two fuses (T 6.3 A, 250 V) located
above the mains plug.
Disconnect the power cord before inspecting or replacing a fuse.
Open the fuse box by inserting a small screwdriver under the plastic
cover and prying it open. For continued fire protection at all line
voltages, replace only with fuses of the specified type and rating
.
 The oscilloscope has been designed to operate from a single-phase
power source, with one of the current-carrying conductors (neutral
conductor) at ground (earth) potential. Maintain the ground line to
avoid electric shock.
None of the current-carrying conductors may exceed 250 V rms with
respect to ground potential. The oscilloscope is provided with a
three-wire electrical cord containing a three-term inal polarized plug
for m ains voltage and safety ground connection. The plug’s ground
term inal is connected directly to the fram e of the unit. For adequate
protection against electrical hazard, this plug must be inserted into a
mating outlet containing a safety ground contact.
 Maintenance and repairs should be carried out exclusively by a
LeCroy technician (see Chapter 1). Cleaning should be limited to the
exterior of the instrument only, using a damp, soft cloth. Do not use
chemicals or abrasive elements. Under no circumstances should
moisture be allowed to penetrate the oscilloscope. To avoid electric
shock, unplug the instrument from the power outlet before cleaning.
 Risk of electrical shock: No user-serviceable parts inside.
Leave repair to qualified personnel.
 Connect the oscilloscope to the power outlet and switch it on, using
the power O n/O ff button located near the left-hand corner of the
instrum ent below the screen. W hen the instrum ent is switched on,
auto-calibration and a test of the oscilloscope’s ADCs and memories
are performed. The full testing procedure takes approximately 10
seconds, then a display will appear on the screen.
# # #

 ISSU ED: D ecember 1999 LCXXX-OM-E Rev K
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