Tektronix Brings CAN FD Support to Mixed Domain Oscilloscopes

BEAVERTON, Ore., Oct. 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Tektronix, a leading worldwide provider of measurement solutions, today introduced a complete CAN FD protocol trigger, decode and search solution for its MDO3000 and MDO4000C Series of mixed domain oscilloscopes to help automotive engineers meet consumer demand for more capable and sophisticated electronic modules and integrated systems. Automobile manufacturers are increasingly adopting the CAN FD (Controller Area Network with Flexible Data Rate) protocol which allows them to transmit more data inside vehicles.

Widely adopted in the automobile industry, the original CAN specification defined in the ISO 11898 standard limited communication speeds to 1 Mb/s. CAN FD solves the bandwidth limitation problem by allowing faster bit rates and increases payload size from 8 bytes to 64 bytes. With the faster speeds and increased complexity come new test and measurement challenges. The new Tektronix CAN FD solution gives automotive engineers working with this protocol a powerful debugging and validation tool to quickly and efficiently validate and troubleshoot designs with full visibility into actual bus traffic.

“For automotive engineers making the move to CAN FD, the combination of our complete testing solution and our mixed domain oscilloscopes, which offer unparalleled integrated functionality and a full suite of accessories, is very compelling,” said Chris Witt, general manager, Time Domain Business Unit, Tektronix. “We are committed to giving our customers in the automotive sector the market-leading solutions they need to be successful.”

CAN FD (MDO3AUTO, DPO4AUTO, DPO4AUTOMAX) software is a complete protocol trigger, decode and search solution for Tektronix MDO3000 and MDO4000C Series oscilloscopes. Software capabilities include:

• Flexible trigger on data packets and arbitration conditions (I.e. SOF, ID, etc.) with ISO and non-ISO support
• Protocol decoding with color coding of data along with data views
• Support for both CAN and CAN FD (ISO and non ISO)
• Search support for specific CAN FD data
• Table listing with time stamps
• Ability to store and export data

Tektronix Mixed Domain Oscilloscopes

Tektronix MDO3000 and MDO4000C mixed domain oscilloscopes are the only oscilloscopes available on the market today with an integrated spectrum analyzer giving engineers insights into both time and frequency domains. Even in serial design applications, engineers often need to tackle a range of tasks from device and system level debug to power optimization and EMI pre-compliance testing.

The MDO3000 is the ultimate 6-in-1 integrated oscilloscope with an integrated spectrum analyzer, arbitrary function generator, logic analyzer, protocol analyzer, and digital voltmeter/counter. The MDO3000 is completely customizable and fully upgradeable as needs change. The MDO4000C also offers 6-in-1 versatility and upgrade flexibility together with higher performance and powerful triggering, search and analysis tools.

For serial applications such as CAN FD analysis, automated search functions combine with unique Wave Inspector controls to help users find events of interest in seconds. Considering that with long record lengths a single acquisition can include thousands of screen waveforms, this function can be a major time saver.

Pricing and availability

The new CAN FD protocol test solution for use with Tektronix mixed domain oscilloscopes is included with the MDO3AUTO, DPO4AUTO and DPO4AUTOMAX modules which also include CAN, LIN and Flexray (DPO4AUTOMAX) support. Pricing starts at $1,100.  For full details, go to: www.tek.com/CANFD