Debugging Embedded Designs with a Mixed Signal Oscilloscope

Embedded hardware designers have traditionally used both oscilloscopes and logic analyzers to test and debug their embedded mixed-signal hardware. But a new class of measurement tool known as a mixed signal oscilloscope (MSO) may be a superior tool for many MCU- and DSP-based designs. Using an example of a mixed-signal embedded design based on a PIC18 from Microchip, this paper not only discusses the number of channels of acquisition required to effectively monitor various analog and digital I/O signals, but also covers the various types of mixed-signal triggering you should look for in an MSO to more efficiently test and debug embedded mixed-signal designs.