Custom waveforms are represented as a series of samples—essentially, the samples provide a list of successive values in the waveform. The Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) of the EE board constructs a waveform from these sampled points by assuming that the value of the function is constant between the given points.

AWG Waveform

Oscilloscope Triggering

Oscilloscope triggering allows us to assign a “zero time” to a particular feature on the signal. That feature gets placed on the same point on the plot window every time the oscilloscope screen updates; if the signal repeats itself based on this feature, the oscilloscope will display the same section of the signal every time the screen updates, making the signal appear to be unchanging.

Oscilloscope Signals Waveform

Oscilloscopes

The fundamental purpose of an oscilloscope is to measure and display voltages as a function of time. A plot of the voltages vs. time is provided in the main waveform window of the oscilloscope. The horizontal axis of the waveform window is time, and the vertical axis is voltage. The user can control the waveform display by adjusting these axes.

Oscilloscope Waveform