App Note: Active Probes: Their Unique Characteristics and Applications
and
Publication: Oscilloscope Probe Circuits (by Tektronix)

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Here are two sources of information that every person using oscilloscopes should have access to:

Active Probes: Their Unique Characteristics and Applications is a 12 page document with the following sections:

 INTRODUCTION   WHAT ARE ACTIVE PROBES?  Active Probe Types: FET, BiPolar, Differential Active Probe Principals: Basic Differences between Passive and Active Probes  LIMITATIONS OF PASSIVE PROBES  Degraded Risetime Due to Capacitive Loading Capacitive Loading - Sinewave Probe Ground Lead Effects Probe Charging Capacitance - Ground Leads Summary  LOW IMPEDANCE (Zo) PROBES  General Description Effect of Resistive Loading  Bias-Offset Probes  THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS  Low Tip Capacitance - Effect on Risetime Effect on Sinewave Amplitude Active Probe Features and Benefits - Overview Active Probe Operational Limits - Overview The Importance of Linear Dynamic Range and DC Offset Specifications  ACTIVE PROBE APPLICATIONS  Probing Logic Circuits Trouble-shooting and Evaluation of High Speed Circuitry Ground Lead Ring Frequency vs System Bandwidth Testing Probe Card Mounted Hybrids, Surface-Mounted Devices and Wafers  OVERVIEW -TEKTRONIX ACTIVE PROBE CHARACTERISTICS  SUMMARY  

Oscilloscope Probe Circuits is a 116 page document with the following sections:

 PREFACE INTRODUCTION PASSIVE VOLTAGE PROBES Zo PROBES ACTIVE VOLTAGE PROBES CURRENT PROBES DIFFERENTIAL PROBES HIGH VOLTAGE PROBES INDEX 

Both documents include a great deal of information about the theory of operation behind Tektronix Probes, presented in text, schematics, pictures and graphs.

Two PDFs of each document are provided, in two resolutions. One is:

Text-only pages scanned at 400dpi minimum
Pages with photos at 400dpi (minimum) 256 shade grayscale with contrast individually adjusted in prescan(s) of every page

Both high resolution PDFs are fully-bookmarked and completely hyperlinked.

You also get a second scan of each, done in resolutions that vary depending on individual page content, but are never higher than needed to produce a useable quality, quickly navigable text-searchable document that will do the job without consuming more time and resources than are needed.

This disk is for sale for the sum of $14.00, which includes first class mailing to anywhere in the continental USA or airmail worldwide.