Calibration of fast sampling oscilloscopes

A technique for determining the impulse and step-response function of fast sampling oscilloscopes with rise times down to 20 ps is described. Electrical pulses are generated by a photodiode using a picosecond laser. The electrical pulses are measured using an electro-optic sampler and applied to the oscilloscope under test. The response of the oscilloscope is derived from its record of the photodiode pulse by deconvolution.