What is the purpose of the oscilloscope’s storage depth (record length) parameter?
Let’s start with this formula: sampling rate = storage depth ÷ waveform recording duration. When purchasing an oscilloscope, you’ll often see specifications like 1 GS/s or 2 GS/s. As this formula shows, the sampling rate isn’t fixed as these labels suggest. Since the storage depth is a constant, adjusting the oscilloscope’s record length will correspondingly reduce the sampling rate. Therefore, the storage depth ensures that even during long‑duration signal acquisition, a high sampling rate can still be maintained.
