The Use of Fiber Optics for Oscilloscope External Triggering

摘要

The input to the external trigger circuit of an oscilloscope is normally designed to accept a remotely generated trigger signal via coaxial cable. A photodiode was installed in the input so that it accepts an optical trigger signal via a fiber optic cable. This inexpensive conversion is useful in electromagnetic interference (EMI) studies, where hard wire cable can contaminate shielded environments, and does not interfere with the oscilloscope's other triggering capabilities. The original input can be restored at any time, in the field or in the laboratory. (Author)