ChipShouter Connection with Oscilloscope

1

I am currently attempting to perform fault injection on a ballistic gel target board using the ChipSHOUTER device. However, I am encountering an issue with observing the injected pulse on my oscilloscope.

The setup includes a Tektronix 4 Series MSO44 Mixed Signal Oscilloscope with the following specifications:

Bandwidth: 1 GHz

Sample Rate: 6.25 GS/s

Despite following the instructions outlined in the ChipSHOUTER user manual — including configurations for pulse width, deadtime, and pulse repetition — I am unable to clearly observe the expected pulse pattern on the oscilloscope.

Here are some specific observations:

I consistently see what appears to be a random, nondistinct pulse, which remains the same across repeated attempts.

The pulse waveform does not reflect changes in ChipSHOUTER parameters such as pulse width or deadtime.

I also noticed that I am unable to modify the probe type settings within the oscilloscope's UI. This limitation may be affecting the signal interpretation.

What I have tried so far:

Verified all signal and ground connections between the ChipSHOUTER and the oscilloscope.

Adjusted the oscilloscope timebase and vertical scale to accommodate nanosecond-scale pulses.

Attempted different pulse settings on the ChipSHOUTER (including varying pulse width and deadtime).

Ensured proper synchronization between the oscilloscope and the pulse injection event.

Checked probe connectivity and compensation, though the inability to change the probe type remains unresolved.

I would greatly appreciate any guidance on:

Properly configuring the Tektronix MSO44 to accurately capture ChipSHOUTER pulses.

Suggestions for ensuring signal visibility, especially when injecting into a high-damping medium like ballistic gel.

Recommended test setups or diagnostic steps to verify ChipSHOUTER is generating pulses as expected.

Thank you in advance for your support. I am happy to provide additional details, screenshots, or configuration files upon request.

2

I can’t diagnose problems with your oscilloscope, but I can check whether you are driving ChipSHOUTER correctly. Can you share the commands you are using to drive the ChipSHOUTER?

FYI the target has no bearing on the generated pulse.

3

The commands that I am using are:
from chipshouter import ChipSHOUTER
cs = ChipSHOUTER(‘COM4’)
print(cs)

I am able to get all the values

cs.voltage = 500
cs.pulse.width = 180
cs.armed = 1
cs.pulse = 1
cs.pat_wave = [0,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,0]
cs.pat_enable = 1 #Turn on special pattern trigger
cs.pulse = 1
cs.armed = False

I am correctly able to communicate to the chipshouter but the problem is I am not able to see the injected pulse there on the oscilloscope.

4

cs.pulse.width isn’t used when cs.pat_enable = 1.

Read the “Oscilloscope Pulse Shape Monitoring” section of the user manual carefully, make sure you are using the ChipSHOUTER adapter probes, set the attenuation to 20:1 (voltage port) or 10:1 (current port) on your oscilloscope, and use an appropriate vertical range on your oscilloscope.