November 2014

HawQ Test
System Soars
Mitigating Risk
Interview with of Counterfeits
Dave Cipriani
VP of Oscilloscope Oscilloscopes
Division, Keysight
Technologies by the Numbers
How Many Channels
is Enough?

Keysight
Eyes
Innovation
Oscilloscopes That Excel
 Join Today

eeweb.com/register
 Modern Test & Measure
Current requirement
Figure 2. When power-supply loads vary,
so does efficiency, a scenario common in
computing tasks.
ential
The answer to this is a multiphase controller
such as ON Semiconductor’s NCP81140,
which dynamically switches multiple
CONTENTS
PROBE
phases in or out depending on load
changes (figure 3). The response from
such a device to changing loads is very
fast, whether it is adding phases to shore
up current to increasing loads, or shedding
them when a single phase is able to keep
up with the power requirements. In this
fashion, high efficiency is maintained
IONS ABOUNDacross the load spectrum with a huge
corresponding reduction in heat stress on
the supply’s components. Moreover, the
circuit is scalable in terms of the number
t PDN probeofisphases and the output per phase.
y respects and more
The debugging of a multiphase switch-
han meets the eye.
mode power-supply design would be
difficult to undertake with the typical
four-channel oscilloscope. The circuitry is
Hymowitz
considerably more complex than that of a
ent of Sales and Marketing at Picotest
single-phase power supply (figure 4). In this
case, debugging would call for six probes:
four for monitoring the output currents of
the four phases and two more to monitor
HawQ
the overall voltage and current.
System Soars
an industry-leading manufacturer
d stress and reliability testing
he company has recently
e HawQ, a new, cost-effective,
tion for highly accelerated
g needs, including highly
fe testing, stress screening,
Qualmark system can help
uditing.
detect and mitigate risk of counterfeits
CONTENTS
Current requirement
Figure 3. A multi-phase switch-mode controller
dynamically switches in more phases are required
to service a variable load.
It gets even more complex when the
power supply is for a server. Such power
4
supplies call for six phases, so you’d be
looking at eight channels. There are
many other embedded applications for
multiphase switch-mode power supplies
as well.
One example of an oscilloscope well
suited for an application of this nature
TECH REPORT
Essential 1-Port PDN Probe
is Teledyne LeCroy’s HDO8000 series,
Applications Abound
which sports eight analog input
channels as well as 16 digital
channels as an option.
D
12
on’t confuse the 1-port PDN probe with a Figure 1. The Picotest P2101A
TECH SERIES
1-port PDN probe head is
10 to 1 ratio, passive oscilloscope probe. They 4. Proper
Figure debugging of this
shown while performing an
four-phase
have little in common with a 1-port PDN probe power supply
SHORT OPEN circuit
LOAD calibration
requires six oscilloscope
other than the improvement of the signal-to-noise channels.
on a demonstration board.
ratio achieved by the lack of probe attenuation. The
1-port PDN probe is special in many respects and more
Oscilloscopes By The Numbers
complicated than meets the eye. This article serves
as an introduction to the 1-port PDN probe but also
How Many Channels is Enough?
provides examples of how it can be applied to get
high-quality measurements quickly and easily.
PRODUCT WATCH
HawQ Test System Soars 14
Rigol’s
Qualmark System Helps Detect Counterfeits
Innovative Mixed-Signal
18
Oscilloscope
Rigol’s Innovative Mix-Signal Oscilloscope
For the Low-Speed, Serial Signaling Market
Rigol’s MSO2302A mixed-signal oscilloscope
is a best-in-class instrument with all
the user-friendly features found on the
company’s other scopes. However, what
sets this oscilloscope apart from the others
is its design. This scope is tailored for the
growing market of low-speed, serial signaling.
Earning its name, “mixed signal,” the scope
allows analog and digital signals to be
22
directly compared. The MSO2000A series
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
Designed for the low-speed, is a valuable, yet affordable addition to an
embedded-system toolbox.
serial signaling market
Oscilloscopes That Excel
Interview with Keysight’s Dave Cipriani
3
 Modern Test & Measure

Essential
1-Port
PDN PROBE
APPLICATIONS ABOUND

The 1-port PDN probe is

special in many respects and more
complicated than meets the eye.

By Charles Hymowitz
Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Picotest

4
 TECH REPORT

D
on’t confuse the 1-port PDN probe with a
10 to 1 ratio, passive oscilloscope probe. They
have little in common with a 1-port PDN probe
other than the improvement of the signal-to-noise
Figure 1. The Picotest P2101A
1-port PDN probe head is
shown while performing an
SHORT OPEN LOAD calibration
on a demonstration board.

ratio achieved by the lack of probe attenuation. The

1-port PDN probe is special in many respects and more
complicated than meets the eye. This article serves
as an introduction to the 1-port PDN probe but also
provides examples of how it can be applied to get
high-quality measurements quickly and easily.

5
 Modern Test & Measure
BROWSER-CLASS PROBE
Several companies manufacture
and distribute high-frequency TDR
probes. These probes are typically
designed for very high-frequency
measurement, typically 10GHz or more.
These probes are designed to be used
in sophisticated probe stations with
microscope-supported tip placement.
1-port PDN probes, such as the Picotest
P2100A shown in figure 1, are designed
to be handheld browser probes. The
handheld browser probe shown is a
Probes lower frequency probe, supporting
are generally DC to 1.5GHz. There are a few notable
characteristics that assure high-
thought of as quality, precise measurements.
a tool to get PRECISELY 50Ω
a signal from The first characteristic is that the
probe characteristic impedance must
a DUT to an be precisely 50Ω. Poor connections
instrument between the probe cable and the probe
connector or a mismatch between the
to be probe cable and the probe head can result
recorded. in small parasitic capacitance at the
probe tip. This leads to poor frequency
response and can add considerable (and
erroneous) ringing to the measurement.
Since the probe pins are inductive,
it is important that the probe not be
capacitive in order to assure that while
the measurement is bandwidth limited
due to the tip inductance, it will not ring.
So what determines the probe
bandwidth? The dominant term
is the pin inductance, which for
6
this probe is approximately 5nH,
resulting in a bandwidth of:
The measurement is confirmed in
figure 2 using a Copper Mountain
Technologies S5048 VNA to
directly measure the bandwidth.
The probe can be calibrated to a
frequency somewhat greater than this
when used with a VNA, but not when
used with a scope. The probe must
be terminated into 50Ω, though the
termination can be AC in order to protect
the instrument from the operating
voltage of the device under test (DUT)
and also to prevent changing the DC
operating point of the DUT due to the
50Ω termination. Any appropriate DC
block with the desired frequency range
can be used. Picotest PDN probes include
a 500Hz to 6GHz DC blocks that work
with any 50Ω instrument or probe.
SMALL & SLIM
The probe head must be both small and
slim so that it fits in confined spots,
such as modern, high-density circuit
boards. A browser probe may be held
for long periods of time, so it needs to
be comfortable and easy to grip. Some
probes, like this one are rubberized to
provide nonskid comfort. Of course
the probe can be used with any probe
stand or probe station when hands-
 TECH REPORT

Figure 2. A direct
measurement of the probe
bandwidth using a Copper
Mountain Technologies
S5048 4.8GHz VNA confirms
the bandwidth of the probe
at 1.42GHz. Note the lack
of peaking or ringing since
the probe has a precise 50Ω
connector to probe head,
eliminating capacitance.

free operation is needed. The probe is shown The probe is shown in figure 1 with an offset
mounted in a SKID probe station in figure 3. ground pin. This pin allows rotation in order to
provide variable pitch while maintaining a uniform
VARIABLE PITCH & FIXED LENGTH inductance so that the probe fits on any size device
while also maintaining reasonable calibration.
While spring-loaded tips and flying ground
leads are convenient they cannot be
BIDIRECTIONAL PROBE
calibrated out of the measurement
due to their very nature. For Probes are generally thought of as
example a spring-loaded pin a tool to get a signal from a DUT
will present an inductance to an instrument to be recorded.
that is dependent on A PDN probe is a bidirectional
the protrusion of the probe allowing signals to be
spring-loaded pin. In delivered to the DUT as well
a similar fashion, a as sending signals from the
flying-ground lead can DUT to the measurement
change inductance based instrument. This is often
on the position of the desirable when troubleshooting
wire. For these reasons, or optimizing a design. By
it is important to provide a sending noise signals to the DUT
fixed pin-length solution to the response can be evaluated,
achieve maximum bandwidth. highlighting soft spots in the design.

Figure 1, close-up. The probe is shown with an offset ground pin.

7
 Modern Test & Measure

A HOST OF APPLICATIONS EXAMPLE MEASUREMENTS

• The 1-port probe can simplify a host
of necessary measurements including
many in-circuit measurements:
• Ripple and noise, including high
frequency PDN noise up to 1GHz+
• 1-port reflection impedance
including active devices
• Component impedance
measurements, RLC testing
• Noninvasive stability assessment
• Circuit sensitivity testing, injecting
noise into a DUT
A flying-ground lead can
change inductance based
on the position of the wire.
A few examples of measurements using
a 1-port PDN probe are shown in figure 4.
The measurements include a very small
signal transient response, showing of
the excellent signal to noise ratio of the
1:1 PDN probe. Another example shows
how wideband noise is connected to
the DUT via a 1-port probe to evaluate
clock-jitter sensitivity. An impedance,
performed with a 1-port probe shows the
resonant impedance resulting from the
use of a load capacitor. This impedance
peak will be a noise source in the DUT.
Finally, a series of three impedance
measurements shows the sensitivity to
very low load currents, ranging from 0mA
to 5mA. The noninvasive stability margin
is also used to determine the phase
margin of the control loop from this
impedance measurement. In this example
the phase margin is 44.8 degrees.

Figure 3. The board is

mounted into a SKID
probe station, and a
3D probe holder on
the station firmly
grips the probe. The
nonskid surface of
the probe head helps
to keep the probe
position from drifting.

8

Figure 4. Example measurements
using 1-port probe. Starting with top
left is a step-load transient response
with a 400uV/div sensitivity. Note the
cleanliness of the measurement. In the
top right the probe is used to transmit
random noise to the DUT to show clock-
jitter sensitivities. The 7MHz sidebands
indicate poor jitter rejection at 7MHz.
The lower left shows the sensitivity
of a precision voltage reference to
a load capacitor. The bottom right
shows the impedance and noninvasive
stability of a low-power voltage
regulator at 0mA, 1mA, and 5mA.
TECH REPORT
REFERENCES
http://www.edn.com/design/test-and-
measurement/4433242/1/Match-impedances-
when-making-measurements
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/impedance-
measurement-rescues/4435846/Impedance-
measurements-stabilize-op-amp-buffers
Noninvasive Stability Margin video, https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=JUIGXvXxTDM&feature=youtu.be
Clock Jitter with PDN Probe video, https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=Y6U_WwJGlR0
Troubleshooting Distributed Power Systems
video, http://www.how2power.com/videos/
9
 A DC Source used in many applications
(Reference, Simulator, Stable Supply, Secondary Standard,. . .)

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 Modern Test & Measure
Oscilloscopes
by the Numbers
How Many Channels is Enough?
By David Maliniak
Technical Marketing Communication Specialist
Teledyne LeCroy
The bulk of oscilloscope applications
2
are well served by instruments with
four analog input channels. Most basic
debugging and design-related work
involves probing of only one signal at a
given time and occasionally more than
one, especially when differential signals
4
are concerned. Thus, many users may
never see a need for an oscilloscope with
more than four channels.
8
Having said that, there are some
applications that by their very nature
surpass four channels. Moreover, some
of these applications concern circuits
and devices that are produced in
extremely high volumes. A case in point
16
is switch-mode power supplies, such
as those typically found in notebook
PCs, tablets, or embedded systems.
Consider the basic embedded switch-
32
mode power supply. A simplified
implementation might require only a
single-phase current controller such as
ON Semiconductor’s NCP81141, a device
with a serial VID (SVID) interface for
12
Current requirement
Figure 1. A switch-mode power supply driving
a fixed load can be designed and optimized
specifically for that load.
desktop and notebook CPU applications.
SVID, by the way, is the communications
protocol Intel concocted for its VR12/
VR12.5 specification for PWM control.
In a fixed-load scenario, a switch-mode
power supply may be purpose-built
for the specific application and thus be
highly efficient, on the order of >90%
(figure 1). A device like the NCP81141
would be employed to regulate the
current delivered to the supply while
maintaining a constant voltage.
However, in computing and other
embedded applications, the load is
anything but fixed. Instead, it’s widely
variable (figure 2). Power control devices
have a tough time optimizing the supply’s
efficiency with large load variations. The
“sweet spot” for maximum efficiency
is now a moving target. When the load
changes and efficiency varies, the result
is increased heating and stress on the
power supply’s components. Moreover,
battery performance is compromised in
portable systems.
 TECH SERIES

Current requirement Current requirement

Figure 2. When power-supply loads vary, Figure 3. A multi-phase switch-mode controller

so does efficiency, a scenario common in dynamically switches in more phases are required
computing tasks. to service a variable load.

The answer to this is a multiphase controller It gets even more complex when the
such as ON Semiconductor’s NCP81140, power supply is for a server. Such power
which dynamically switches multiple supplies call for six phases, so you’d be
phases in or out depending on load looking at eight channels. There are
changes (figure 3). The response from many other embedded applications for
such a device to changing loads is very multiphase switch-mode power supplies
fast, whether it is adding phases to shore as well.
up current to increasing loads, or shedding
them when a single phase is able to keep One example of an oscilloscope well
up with the power requirements. In this suited for an application of this nature
fashion, high efficiency is maintained is Teledyne LeCroy’s HDO8000 series,
across the load spectrum with a huge which sports eight analog input
corresponding reduction in heat stress on channels as well as 16 digital
the supply’s components. Moreover, the channels as an option.
circuit is scalable in terms of the number
of phases and the output per phase.
Figure 4. Proper debugging of this
The debugging of a multiphase switch- four-phase power supply circuit
requires six oscilloscope channels.
mode power-supply design would be
difficult to undertake with the typical
four-channel oscilloscope. The circuitry is
considerably more complex than that of a
single-phase power supply (figure 4). In this
case, debugging would call for six probes:
four for monitoring the output currents of
the four phases and two more to monitor
the overall voltage and current.

13
 Modern Test & Measure

HawQ
Test System Soars

Qualmark is an industry-leading manufacturer

of accelerated stress and reliability testing
equipment. The company has recently
developed the HawQ, a new, cost-effective,
portable solution for highly accelerated
stress testing needs, including highly
accelerated life testing, stress screening,
and stress auditing.

14
 PRODUCT WATCH

Qualmark system can help

detect and mitigate risk of counterfeits

15
 Modern Test & Measure

Hardware

2
1 5
4
3

Device Cold Device

interface air Vibration under Testing
port inlets table test fixture

16
 PRODUCT WATCH

Specs
Qualmark’s HawQ is an affordable entry-level option that can help
create robust products and expose counterfeit parts. It is capable
of delivering vibrations anywhere from 4 to over 40 gRMS in six
degrees of freedom, while simultaneously applying thermal
stresses. The HawQ can deliver thermal ramp rates of up
to 40°C per minute.
The HawQ is also highly portable. It is mounted on casters and
requires only the addition of power, compressed air, and LN2,which can
be provided either through a temporary connection or using a Dewar.
Because it simultaneously provides vibration as well as thermal
testing, the HawQ is currently the only portable device of its kind on
the market. Finally, with a simple touch screen interface or the option
of remote operation, the HawQ is a supremely easy tool to use.

Watch Video
To watch a video overview and demonstration of
the Qualmark HawQ, click the image below.

17
 Modern Test & Measure

Designed for the low-speed,

serial signaling market

18
 PRODUCT WATCH

Rigol’s
Innovative Mixed-Signal
Oscilloscope
Rigol’s MSO2302A mixed-signal oscilloscope
is a best-in-class instrument with all
the user-friendly features found on the
company’s other scopes. However, what
sets this oscilloscope apart from the others
is its design. This scope is tailored for the
growing market of low-speed, serial signaling.
Earning its name, “mixed signal,” the scope
allows analog and digital signals to be
directly compared. The MSO2000A series
is a valuable, yet affordable addition to an
embedded-system toolbox.

19
 Modern Test & Measure

Hardware

1
6
2 4
3
Auto signal
decode of
USB multiple
connectivity protocols

-50,000
Waveforms
8” WVGA 16 Digital 2 Analog per second
display channels channels capture rate

20
 PRODUCT WATCH

Specs
Starting at twelve hundred dollars, Rigol’s MSO2000A series
mixed-signal oscilloscope features up to 300MHz bandwidth
with 2 gigasamples per second and a memory depth of
14 megapoints with an option up to 56 megapoints. The large,
8-inch high-resolution screen typical of Rigol scopes allows
for easy review of data. The scope has two-channel input, an
Ethernet connection for networking, and USB ports to interface
with computers. In addition, this scope can save waveforms
to USB storage devices or transfer data directly to a printer.

Watch Video
To watch a video overview and demonstration of Rigol’s
mixed-signal oscilloscope, click the image below.

21
 Modern Test & Measure

Keysight
Eyes
Innovation
Oscilloscopes That Excel
Interview with Dave Cipriani
VP & GM for Oscilloscope & Protocol Division
Keysight Technologies

22
 INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

K
eysight is an industry-leading,
electronic measurement technology
company helping transform
measurement through innovation in
wireless, modular, and software solutions.
Keysight provides electronic measurement
instruments, systems, and related software
as well as software design tools and services
used in design, development, manufacture,
installation, deployment, and operation of
electronic equipment. From ultrafast,
real-time oscilloscopes with high
measurement accuracy to capacitive
touch-screen oscilloscopes, Keysight
provides a solution for virtually every
application. Focused on innovation, the
company strives to develop oscilloscopes
with breakthrough capabilities that help
solve difficult measurement challenges.

EEWeb spoke with Dave Cipriani, vice

president and general manager for
Oscilloscope and Protocol Division at
Keysight, about changes prompted by
separating from Agilent, research and
development of the capacitive touch-
enabled oscilloscope, and how the company
anticipates market demands. Cipriani also
discussed how Keysight continues to inspire
technology innovation within the company.

23
 Modern Test & Measure
Keysight has been part of Agilent
Technologies, but now that Keysight
is its own company, what changes
will occur?
Keysight Technologies will have a
singular focus on the electronic test and
measurement industry, which means
Through
that now more than ever we will be able
customer to deliver innovative, first-to-market
interactions, solutions that enable customer insight.
the engineers
However, what is not going to change is
learn how our rich company history. The company
customers use dates back to 1939 with Dave Packard
and Bill Hewlett, and we have developed
the products,
a strong company culture since then.
and help We are now going to amplify those
customers parts of our culture that have served
us well—the primary one being our
come to a
customer focus. Another area we have
successful made our mark in is delivering the
resolution of best measurement science—whether
thru software or hardware—which,
problems.
when combined with our people,
has allowed us to deliver the best
products and solutions in the market.
There has been a noticeable rise in
Keysight scopes being used for testing.
How did you break that barrier?
We have some external data which shows
that Keysight’s oscilloscope growth
rate is more than double the industry
average from 2002 to 2013. I believe
this is primarily because of our focus
on the customers. We are continually
working to understand their needs and
react quickly with innovative products.
24
This includes all of our offerings such
as high-performance scopes, sampling
scopes, logic and protocol business,
probes and accessories, and also high-
volume scopes. In 2002, when Agilent
re-entered the high-performance scopes
market, we didn’t have the best banner
specs. However, our constant focus on
customers helped us to understand
the importance of making signal
integrity measurements for them. As
a result, we offered the bandwidth,
low-noise floor, flat frequency
response that together provided the
highest-quality measurements.
Another example is in our sampling-scope
business. In the mid-decade, we came
out with a one-button jitter analyzer.
We took our software, which provided
great measurement science in jitter
decomposition and made it really easy
for customers to use—there was just one
button that they had to push. Listening
intently to customer, then delivering the
tools to address those needs, with the
highest quality measurement results,
has been a formula for success.
More recently we developed ASIC
technology for our general purpose
scopes that integrated not only
oscilloscope functionality, such
as very fast update rates, but also
digital timing analysis and waveform
generation. This allowed us to deliver
market leading value which is important
to customers in this segment.

You have consistently delivered
innovative products like the one-touch
jitter measurement. How will Keysight
continue to innovate after becoming
separate from Agilent?
It is important that we constantly invest
in hardware and software technology.
Keysight has technology centers
around the globe that are focused
on different areas of expertise. For
example, at our Santa Rosa facility, we
have a proprietary indium phosphide
fab. That team is constantly working
on next-generation processes that
are tailored to test and measurement
products. In Colorado Springs, there is
an ASIC design center that designs the
data processors behind the analog-to-
digital converters , which come from
Keysight Labs in Santa Clara. All of this
technology ultimately ends up in our
scopes. By having parallel investments in
technology and products we can deliver
a steady stream of innovative products.
Were capacitive, touch-enabled
oscilloscopes something that
customers were asking for, or is that
just something you thought could
make a scope more user friendly?
Our customers were not asking for
this feature, and there was some
initial, internal skepticism. But our
research showed capacitive, touch-
enabled oscilloscopes improve the user
experience. We started this project
several years ago with the University of
Michigan by researching the applicability
of capacitive-touch displays and
multi-touch gesturing on test and
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
measurement equipment. We first
tested whether users could physically
use that technology for controlling an
instrument. The University of Michigan
has some great facilities for measuring
biomechanical effects. We tested the
risk points from using an oscilloscope
over an extended period of time.
We then did a follow-up round of
research with the University of Michigan,
my development team here in Colorado,
and some of Keysight’s technology
centers. We looked at how to develop
algorithms for oscilloscopes that are
both responsive and make sense. For
example, if you use a pinch gesture
to resize the vertical settings on an
oscilloscope, you don’t want the setting
to come out 1.053 volts per division. You
want the setting to be within reason.
The 6000 X
Finally, we used these findings to develop series not only
our first capacitive touch-screen product,
has capacitive
the 4000 X-Series, in 2012. It is now
going throughout our product line, and touch displays,
we had a couple of introductions this but also voice
year—the Infiniium S-Series and the
control, and
InfiniiVision 6000 X. The 6000 X-Series
not only has the capacitive touch it’s probably
display, but it also offers voice control. the only
It’s probably the only oscilloscope that
oscilloscope
can speak 14 languages right now.
that can speak
As far as oscilloscope innovation 14 languages.
goes, what do you see in the next
couple of years?
For high-performance scopes and
logic analyzers, it’s about providing
measurement solutions for industry-
25
 Modern Test & Measure
leading technologies. For example in the
communications market we are starting
to see multileveling signaling and optical
MIMO applications. These examples
require new methods of measurement. In
the computer or semi-conductor segment
DDR memory applications are driving
performance needs in our logic analyzers.
The second big change we are seeing is
We’ve greater emphasis and need for software-
based solutions. Having a high-quality
provided and accurate measurement always
physical-layer starts with quality hardware, but more
compliance customers want the product to help them
debug a specific technology. We have
tests for provided physical-layer compliance tests
several years: for several years: one button can register
one button passing or failing the compliance test for
a USB standard, for example. That has
can register evolved to also telling customers why
passing or they have failed, if that occurred. Now it’s
failing the growing into an even broader solution
in which customers want to use the
compliance oscilloscope compliance apps earlier in
test for the the development cycle in their simulation
USB standard. tools—and we are starting to provide that.
In the mid-range and value segments, I see
the continuing need to improve the user
experience, not just in interacting with
the instrument but by providing turnkey
solutions, because in those segments there
is enough performance, and customers are
looking for us to add value in other ways.
Many customers will need modular
solutions or traditional desktop
debugging tools. Our goal is to provide
the customers the form factors they
26
want and need, so Keysight will provide
modular and traditional box systems.
What are some of the benefits of having
business segment teams and how is
planning done for the segments?
In various segments, customers have
different needs. We address that by first
looking at applications and technologies
that are going to change the market, such
as fifth-generation (5G) communications.
Our Keysight planning organization
looks at these new technology areas,
works to understand the customer
needs, and then looks across our various
organizations, to broadly define a
solution. This information feeds into
our business segment teams who have
a deep understanding of the products,
technology, and other applications in
their segment. They will integrate all of
this information to ultimately develop
the best technology and products
for customers in their segment.
How do you keep the Keysight team
continuously motivated and inspired
to keep innovating?
We encourage and support our research
and development (RD) engineers’
engagement with customers. In fact, when
I was the RD manager, we had specific
goals for RD-customer interactions, and
we measured to make sure we were on
track with those goals. The operative
words here are “customer interactions.”
Through interactions, the engineers
learn how customers use the products,
and they help customers come to a
successful resolution of problems.

We also have all-hands meetings,
where we bring in a customer and
ask them to explain how they use our
product within their company. The
customer tells what they like and don’t
like about the product and any unmet
needs. We try to enlist customers
who also use competitive products so
we can receive balanced feedback.
Plus we recognize and reward innovation
within the organization. For example
our research and development team has
a quarterly innovation award in which
engineers are nominated by their peers
for innovations they have made recently.
Keysight also has a company-wide
innovation award where we recognize
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
Dave Cipriani, shown
between innovation-
award recipients
Cheryl Brown and
Chad Slaugh, believes
recognition by peers
to be the highest form
of acknowledgment.
the most impactful advancements
across the entire organization.
Keysight has a mentoring program.
How has this program helped new
team members?
This is one of the greatest strengths of
our culture. At Keysight, experienced
engineers enjoy working with new
engineers. When we bring in interns,
their main feedback is how much they
appreciate the senior engineers taking
time to work with them and teach
them. Giving a young engineer time and
attention helps us attract talent and
helps them to grow. It is an incredibly
valuable experience for everyone.
27
M o v i n g To w a r d s David Elien
VP of Marketing & Business
Development, Cree, Inc.

a Clean Energy Let There Be

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