Fast Oscilloscopes Use Reed Relays in Their Feedback Loops

Introduction

Electronics based products play an indispensable role in our everyday world, even though we cannot see the waveforms and interaction within the product at the component level.  However, in the typical electronics lab, it is very important for the design engineer to be able to "look" into a circuit and "see" what is happening.  Oscilloscopes are what allow this to happen.  Engineers many years ago invented the oscilloscope that portrays voltages and currents in a visual fashion on a CRT (cathode ray tube).  The oscilloscope technology has now totally gone over to LCD screens for visual portrayal.  Now with increasing speeds and fast pulses making up the digital world, oscilloscope designers have been challenged to develop the ability to portray these fast digital pulses.  MEDER's reed relays play a key role in the necessary feedback loops for operational amplifiers within the oscilloscope.

Full application write up: Fast Oscilloscopes use Reed Relays in Their Feedback Loops

Features

• High reliability
• Ideal RF characteristics
• Ideal for carrying fast digital pulses with skew rates less than 20 picoseconds
• Ability to carry RF signals from DC up to 20 GHz (SRF relay-coming soon/request samples today)
• Switch to shield capacitance <0.5 picofarads
• Dielectric strength across the contacts 200 volts
• Contacts dynamically tested