DESCRIPTION:

The Rohde & Schwarz RTA4004 is the standard four-channel model within the RTA4000 family and provides 200 MHz bandwidth as the base platform for the series. Built around Rohde & Schwarz's "Power of 10" architecture, the instrument combines a custom-designed 10-bit ADC, class-leading memory depth, low-noise front-end performance, and extensive upgrade capability within a compact laboratory oscilloscope.

A defining feature of the RTA4000 family is its custom 10-bit analog-to-digital converter. Compared with conventional 8-bit oscilloscopes, the RTA4004 delivers four times the vertical resolution, allowing engineers to observe low-level signal details, switching ripple, transient disturbances, power integrity issues, and signal integrity problems that may otherwise remain hidden. High-resolution acquisition modes can further increase effective vertical resolution to as much as 16 bits for precision measurements.

The oscilloscope supports real-time sampling rates up to 5 GSa/s and provides 100 Mpoints acquisition memory per channel, extending to 200 Mpoints in interleaved operation. This deep memory architecture enables long-duration waveform captures while maintaining high timing resolution, making the instrument particularly effective for serial communications analysis, industrial control systems, embedded development, switching power supplies, and transient event investigation.

Standard functionality includes FFT spectrum analysis with up to 128k points, digital voltmeter operation, trigger counter measurements, advanced search functions, waveform mathematics, mask testing, automatic measurements, and history mode capabilities. Segmented memory acquisition allows efficient capture of intermittent events while minimizing wasted acquisition memory.

The RTA4004 can be expanded with numerous software and hardware options. The RTA-B1 mixed-signal option adds 16 digital logic channels for synchronous analogue and digital analysis. Protocol triggering and decoding are available for I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, LIN, I2S, ARINC 429, and MIL-STD-1553. Additional options provide arbitrary waveform generation, pattern generation, power analysis, frequency response analysis, and spectrum analysis capabilities.

The large 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen offers a 1280 × 800 resolution display with smartphone-style gesture controls. Combined with acquisition rates exceeding 64,000 waveforms per second, a compact 3.3 kg form factor, and fast startup performance, the RTA4004 is optimized for modern development laboratories, manufacturing environments, educational institutions, and service organisations.

Keywords: Rohde & Schwarz RTA4004, RTA4000 Series, 200 MHz oscilloscope, four-channel oscilloscope, mixed signal ready oscilloscope

Technical Specifications

Specifications based on the standard RTA4004 platform.

Key Features

• Four analogue input channels
• 200 MHz bandwidth
• Custom Rohde & Schwarz 10-bit ADC architecture
• Up to 5 GSa/s real-time sampling
• 100 Mpoints memory per channel
• 200 Mpoints interleaved memory
• Up to 1 Gpoint segmented memory
• More than 64,000 waveforms per second acquisition rate
• Up to 16-bit high-resolution mode
• FFT spectrum analysis
• Digital voltmeter and trigger counter
• History mode and advanced search functions
• Optional 16-channel mixed-signal capability
• Optional serial protocol triggering and decoding
• Optional waveform and pattern generation
• Optional power and Bode plot analysis
• 10.1-inch WXGA capacitive touchscreen
• USB and LAN connectivity

Usage Suitability

The RTA4004 is ideally suited for embedded systems development, industrial automation diagnostics, communications engineering, power electronics design, motor drive analysis, serial bus debugging, manufacturing diagnostics, product validation, laboratory research, maintenance operations, and advanced electronics engineering applications requiring four-channel acquisition, deep memory analysis, and extensive future upgrade capability.