MSO8604HD | Lab-Grade 6 GHz 4-Channel 12-Bit Mixed Signal Oscilloscope

Overview

The MSO8604HD is a lab-grade 6 GHz 4-channel mixed signal oscilloscope on UNI-T’s MSO8000HD platform, with a native 12-bit ADC, 20 GSa/s real-time sample rate in half-channel mode, 1 Gpts of standard memory per channel at half channels and a rise time of ≤ 73 ps. Sustained waveform capture is ≥ 1,000,000 wfms/s, and the 12-bit resolution is native across the acquisition rather than an averaging mode you switch on and pay for in update rate.

It is the MSO8000HD for benches where signal integrity and power integrity meet. High-speed serial links run on the 50 Ω inputs at up to 6 GHz; power-delivery rails, regulators and control loops run on the 1 MΩ input path, specified to 500 MHz, with the optional MSO8000HD-PWR power analysis suite. One instrument, one timebase, both halves of the board.

It sits between the MSO8504HD at 5 GHz and the MSO8804HD at 8 GHz. All three share the chassis, the 20 GSa/s digitiser, the 15.6-inch FHD touch display and the analysis stack. The MSO8604HD and MSO8504HD add the 1 MΩ path and ship with four UT-P07 500 MHz high-impedance passive probes alongside the 50 Ω kit; the 8 GHz MSO8804HD is 50 Ω only.

Key Features

Detailed Features

Power Analysis (Optional)

Modern power delivery runs at low voltage and high current, so a rail has to be clean as well as correct. The MSO8604HD reads it on the 1 MΩ path with 12-bit resolution, which keeps millivolt ripple and the DC level it rides on readable in the same view, while the 50 Ω channels watch the high-speed lines that rail is feeding.

MSO8000HD-PWR adds automated power quality, inrush current, harmonics, switching loss, safe operating area (SOA), start-up and shut-down timing, modulation, ripple, efficiency, R_ds(on), power-supply sequencing, slew rate (dv/dt and di/dt), control-loop response (Bode plot) and power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR). Results are repeatable from one run to the next, which is what turns a bench check into a validation record.

Power probes connect on the 1 MΩ path: UT-P4150 (12 MHz, 150 A), UT-P4030D (100 MHz, 30 A) and UT-P4500 (5 MHz, 500 A) DC/AC current probes; UT-P30 through UT-P36 high-voltage differential probes; and the UT-PR2060 power rail probe (1 GHz, ±60 V offset) for ripple on low-voltage rails.

Native 12-Bit Across the Acquisition

The MSO8000HD platform digitises at 12 bits natively — sixteen times the vertical resolution of an 8-bit oscilloscope at the same gain setting. That matters most when a small signal has to be read in the presence of a large one: ripple on a rail, a low-level reflection riding on a clean edge, the difference between two nominally identical lanes. An 8-bit instrument recovers that detail by changing the gain, which is only possible when the large signal is not also on screen. ERes mode extends resolution to a maximum of 16 bits where bandwidth can be traded for it.

Channel Architecture — 6 GHz Half-Channel, 4 GHz Full-Channel

The MSO8604HD interleaves its digitisers. Using half the channels gives the full 6 GHz of bandwidth and 20 GSa/s; using all four analog channels gives 4 GHz and 10 GSa/s. Memory follows the same split, at 1 Gpts/CH and 500 Mpts/CH respectively. Plan the channel count around the fastest edge in the measurement, not the other way round.

Deep Memory and Sequence Mode

Standard memory is 500 Mpts per channel in full-channel mode and 1 Gpts per channel on half channels; MSO8000HD-MD2G doubles both. Deep memory is what lets a long window be captured without dropping sample rate — the usual trade that hides the glitch you were looking for. Sequence mode segments that memory across many triggers, storing event after event with minimal dead time between them, which is where the ≥ 1,000,000 wfms/s figure earns its keep.

Integrated Instruments

Spectrum analyzer, 4-digit digital voltmeter, 8-digit frequency counter and the limit-template testing kit are standard. MSO8000HD-AWG adds a dual-channel function and arbitrary waveform generator with 60 MHz maximum output at 625 MSa/s, including modulation and sweep. MSO8000HD-LA enables the 16 digital channels.

Measurement and Automation

74 automated parameter measurements with quick-measure, statistical analysis, histograms, trend charts and trace analysis. The instrument is driven over SCPI for rack automation, and the built-in WebServer puts the display and controls in a browser — useful when the scope lives in a screened room or a test cell rather than on the desk in front of you.

Applications

Signal Integrity and Power Integrity on One Bench

Processors, FPGAs and SerDes devices fail at the boundary between their data lanes and the power that feeds them. The MSO8604HD measures both: 6 GHz on the 50 Ω inputs for eye diagrams and jitter, and the 1 MΩ path with MSO8000HD-PWR (Optional) for rail ripple, power-supply sequencing, PSRR and control-loop response. A rail droop and the bit error it causes are read in one acquisition rather than inferred across two instruments.

High-Speed Digital Design

6 GHz and ≤ 73 ps rise time cover PCIe Gen2, USB 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet and most embedded SerDes bring-up, with optional jitter, eye-diagram and PAM-N analysis. The UT-PD6000 active differential probe matches it at 6 GHz and ≤ 73 ps. Combined with 12-bit resolution, small crosstalk and reflection terms resolve without gain juggling.

Mixed Analog and Digital Bring-Up

With the logic analyzer option the instrument correlates 16 digital channels against four analog ones on the same timebase, so a bus transaction and the power rail sagging underneath it are captured together.

In the Box

• 2 × UT-P6150 low-impedance passive probe, 1.5 GHz
• 4 × UT-P07 high-impedance passive probe, 500 MHz
• 2 × UT-JLC12 SMA cable, 12 GHz, 1 m
• 2 × UT-KJG12 SMA adapter, BNC to SMA, 50 Ω
• 2 × UT-L45 BNC-to-BNC straight-through cable, 1 m
• 1 × UT-D30 USB 3.0 data cable, 1 m
• 1 × region-specific power cord
• 1 × front-panel protective cover
• Calibration certificate

Instrument dimensions 445 × 311.3 × 189.7 mm (W × H × D), under 12.5 kg. Ships one unit per carton.

Recommended Add-Ons

• MSO8000HD-LA — enables the 16 digital channels.
• MSO8000HD-MD2G — doubles memory to 1 Gpts/CH full-channel and 2 Gpts/CH half-channel.
• MSO8000HD-BND — all optional serial protocol decoders in one license.
• MSO8000HD-PWR — advanced power analysis.
• UT-PR2060 — 1 GHz power rail probe, ±60 V offset.
• MSO8000HD-JITTER — jitter analysis and eye diagram.
• UT-PD6000 — 6 GHz active differential probe, ≤ 73 ps.
• MSO8000HD-AWG — dual-channel 60 MHz function and arbitrary waveform generator.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the MSO8604HD differ from the MSO8804HD and MSO8504HD?

Bandwidth and input paths. All three share the chassis, the 20 GSa/s digitiser, 12-bit resolution, memory options, display and analysis stack. The MSO8804HD reaches 8 GHz and is built for signal-integrity work, 50 Ω only. The MSO8604HD (6 GHz) and MSO8504HD (5 GHz) add a 1 MΩ input path specified to 500 MHz, ship with four UT-P07 high-impedance probes, and support MSO8000HD-PWR power analysis.

Does the MSO8604HD support power analysis?

Yes, with the MSO8000HD-PWR option (Optional) on the 1 MΩ input path. It adds power quality, inrush current, harmonics, switching loss, safe operating area (SOA), start-up and shut-down timing, modulation, ripple, efficiency, R_ds(on), power-supply sequencing, slew rate (dv/dt and di/dt), control-loop response (Bode plot) and power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR).

What is the rise time?

≤ 73 ps, at 50 Ω.

Do I get 6 GHz on all four channels?

No. 6 GHz and 20 GSa/s are available in half-channel mode. With all four analog channels active the instrument runs at 4 GHz and 10 GSa/s. This is the standard interleaving trade across the series.

Is the 12-bit resolution real, or an averaging mode?

It is a native 12-bit ADC — the resolution is present in every acquisition at full waveform capture rate, with no averaging step and no reduction in update rate. ERes mode extends it to a maximum of 16 bits where you can trade bandwidth for resolution.

Are the 16 digital channels included?

The 16-channel logic analyzer hardware is built into every MSO8000HD. It is enabled by the MSO8000HD-LA license (Optional) and connected through the UT-M15 16-channel logic probe (Optional), which UNI-T lists as a separate item.