Tutorial discussion of electronic sampling systems for recording wide-bandwidth transient signals

The fidelity with which very fast transient signals can be recorded by linear, time-varying, sampling systems operating near the speed limit of the electronics is characterized by a frequency domain transfer function. The transfer function is the Fourier transform of a suitably defined impulse response. The derivation of this result is reviewed, and a prototypic system is studied. Comparisons are made with oscillographic recording.