mixed domain oscilloscope (MDO)
The designation Mixed Domain Oscilloscope (MDO) goes back to a development by Tektronix and expresses that with an MDO oscilloscope several domains can be displayed and analyzed simultaneously.
An MDO oscilloscope is an electronic measurement device that combines the measurement functions of an oscilloscope and those of a spectrum analyzer in a single instrument. A mixed- domain oscilloscope can thus measure and analyze multi- channel time-related, multi-channel digital and frequency-related signals of a DUT. The time-related and frequency-related representations are displayed simultaneously on the oscilloscope screen.
With an MDO oscilloscope, the user can acquire and display analog time-related signals, as well as analyze digital levels and RF signals in time-correlated time and frequency displays. Among other things, he can determine which spectral changes occur during a certain period of time or what the cause of the noise is.
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Mixed-domain oscilloscopes use several extremely fast A/D converters, one of which samples and digitizes the analog input signal, as in digital oscilloscopes(DSOs), while another A/D converter, in combination with a digitalsignal processor, provides spectrum analysis. This architecture allows the input signals to be displayed time-correlated in the frequency and time domain simultaneously in one acquisition cycle.