
PicoScope 6407 Digitizer User's Guide 11
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4 Glossary
Analog bandwidth. The input frequency at which the measured signal amplitude is
3 decibels below the true signal amplitude.
Buffer size. The size of the oscilloscope/digitizer buffer memory, measured in
samples. The buffer allows the digitizer to sample data faster than it can transfer it to
the computer.
Device Manager. Device Manager is a Windows program that displays the current
hardware configuration of your computer. Right-click on "My Computer", select
"Manage" and then select "Device Manager".
Driver. A program that controls a piece of hardware. The driver for the oscilloscope/
digitizer is supplied in the form of a 32-bit Windows DLL, ps6000.dll. This is used
by the PicoScope software, and by user-designed applications, to control the digitizer.
GS. Gigasamples (1,000,000,000 samples).
Maximum sampling rate. A figure indicating the maximum number of samples the
oscilloscope/digitizer can acquire per second. The higher the sampling rate of the
device, the more accurate the representation of the high-frequency details in a fast
signal.
MS. Megasamples (1,000,000 samples).
PC Digitizer. A virtual instrument formed by connecting a PicoScope oscilloscope/
digitizer to a computer running a custom application or the PicoScope software.
PicoScope 6000 Series. A range of 8-bit USB oscilloscopes and digitizers from Pico
Technology, with a sampling rate of 5 GS/s, a bandwidth of 350 MHz to 1 GHz and
buffer sizes up to 1 GS.
PicoScope software. A software product that accompanies all PicoScope
oscilloscopes and digitizers. It turns your PC into an oscilloscope, digitizer, and
spectrum analyzer.
USB 2.0. Universal Serial Bus. This is a standard port used to connect external
devices to PCs. The port supports a data transfer rate of up to 480 megabits per
second, so is much faster than the RS-232 COM ports found on older PCs.
Vertical resolution. A value, in bits, indicating the precision with which the
oscilloscope/digitizer converts input voltages to digital values. Software enhancement
can improve the effective vertical resolution.
Voltage range. The range of input voltages that the oscilloscope/digitizer can
measure. For example, a voltage range of ±100 mV means that the oscilloscope/
digitizer can measure voltages between -100 mV and +100 mV. Input voltages
outside this range will not damage the instrument as long as they remain within the
protection limits stated in the Specifications table.
9