The electronic instrumentation division develops and manufactures information technology devices, acoustical equipment, and network information tools for CD applications, and sells them worldwide under the PLEXTOR brand name. Within the engineering department, we are developing DVD±R/RW drives and CD-R/RW drives.

We use the TA320 and TA520 Time Interval Analyzers to analyze the time intervals of the marks and spaces that generate the playback of the recorded disk. We also have several TA320's on our manufacturing line.

We chose the TA720 Time Interval Analyzer for its high sampling speed and intersymbol interference analysis functions. The playback and recording speeds of CDs and DVDs gets faster with every new generation of products, so we needed a time interval analyzer with a sampling speed that could keep space. Also, thanks to its intersymbol analysis functions, we can measure, even at high recording speeds, the length of the spaces occurring after marks as well as the effects of the interference from those spaces. When we set the widths of the marks and evaluate the recording performance, we use the intersymbol analysis function to measure the jitter distribution of binary signals.

Evaluation of recorded disks during the development stage involves establishing recording conditions by using the TA720 to confirm waveforms during magnetic recording. The final evaluation is done on an evaluation tester, and this setup has shortened our development times and given us improved efficiency overall. The TA can display both marks and spaces, so it's very easy for us to visually compare the relationship between the two. For disk rotation jitter analysis, we use the TA720 with its high speed and ability to take a large number of samples.

We also use the DL1740 SignalExplorer digital oscilloscope for drive servo control signals. We had been using several instruments in the DL series previously, but the DL1740 caught our attention because of its 1 GS/s sampling speed. Also, the roll mode function is very convenient when we want to capture data while scrolling the waveform. Having a roll mode function on a high speed sampling oscilloscope is very effective for observing changes in the drive servo signals. We also can use the pulse count function for the drive pickup.