Hoffman, Mike

MSO is a ubiquitous term in the oscilloscope market today. An MSO, or Mixed Signal Oscilloscope, is a 2 or 4 channel oscilloscope with 8 or 16 (rarely more) logic analysis channels built in for timing analysis. The main benefits of this integration are time correlation between signals on the analog and digital channels of the oscilloscope, and more powerful triggering between the two. In this article, we will discuss why the MSO was created, popular applications of the technology, and some measurement tips and tricks for getting the most out of mixed signal oscilloscopes.