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 Venable Instruments 8656 SH 71W Cuesta Center Bldg E Austin, TX 78735 512-949-3100 - ofc 512-949-3151 - fax | ||
A major difference between Venable Frequency Response Analyzers (FRAs) and oscilloscopes is that FRAs evaluate circuits as a function of frequency, while oscilloscopes evaluate as a function of time. FRAs stimulate a circuit with a signal and evaluate the response. Oscilloscopes evaluate circuits passively.
Because FRAs function in the frequency domain they have a striking advantage over oscilloscopes in evaluation of parasitic elements in circuits. Parasitics are electrical values that do not appear on schematics. Internal resistance and inductance of capacitors, gains of switching circuits, lumped series losses of power circuits, and leakage inductance of transformers are a few examples. Every component and circuit that is designed has some degree of these hidden elements. In fact, about half of the essential elements of a circuit are parasitic elements.
In modeling of analog circuits, power electronics, and feedback loops, accurate parasitic compensation is critical to peak performance. FRAs are essential for these design tasks because they accurately identify and measure parasitic elements in circuit models. Passive measuring devices such as oscilloscopes, are overwhelmed by this task.
In designing to critical specifications such as input ripple rejection, or response time to a transient load current, an oscilloscope provides only general performance indications. For circuits with 5 or 6 or even more component values to be optimized the task is impossible for an oscilloscope. The FRA easily and accurately optimizes all components in these circumstances. In fact, Venable custom software actually specifies compensating values automatically for both simple and complex circuits.
© Copyright Venable Corporation 2002