Oscilloscope Glossary

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Term Definition
PCB

Printed Circuit Board

PCI

Peripheral Component Interconnect - computer bus used for connection of peripherals in a PC.

PCIe

PCI express (Peripheral Component Interconnect) - computer bus used for connection of peripherals in a PC.

Synonyms - PCI express
peak

Maximum signal level measured from a zero reference point.

peak-to-peak

Level measured from the maximum point of a signal to its minimum point.

persistence mode

The captured signals "persist" on the display for a certain time so multiple waveforms of the same view are superimposed. More frequent or newer waveforms are displayed with higher color intensity than older ones. This mode is useful to look for rare intermittent events.

PICMG

PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group - Industry consortium that defines and manages the CompactPCI and CompactPCI Express standards. See http://www.picmg.org/

precision

According to ISO 5725-1 the precision of a measurement refers to the closeness of agreement within individual results. 

probe

Provides the connection between the oscilloscope and the signal to be measured. There are different types of probes available such as passive probes, active probes, differential and single-ended probes, current and high voltage probes. The ideal probe is characterised by a high signal fidelity, very low signal source loading and high noise immunity.

PWM

Pulse-width modulation - amplitude of a signal is encoded into the pulse width (duration) of a pulsed carrier signal.

PXI
PXI (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation) - modular instrumentation platform used for building electronic test, measurement and automation systems. PXI was originally introduced in 1997 by National Instruments and is promoted by the PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA).
PXIe

PXI Express = adaptation of PCI Express to the PXI form factor.

PXISA

PXI Systems Alliance - Industry consortium that defines andmanages the PXI standard. See http://www.pxisa.org/