Teledyne LeCroy’s WavePulser 40iX interconnect analyzer.

Teledyne LeCroy announces the WavePulser 40iX high-speed interconnect analyzer

  • Teledyne LeCroy’s WavePulser 40iX is designed to characterize and analyze interconnections and cables used for signal transmission using high-speed serial protocols such as PCI Express, HDMI, USB, SAS, SATA, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand, Gigabit Ethernet and automotive Ethernet.

 
According to Teledyne Lecroy, interconnection tests and validation in the time domain have so far been most often performed with Time Domain Reflectometers (TDRs) to characterize the impulse response by generating an impedance profile. TDRs have a high spatial resolution. This allows defects to be precisely located along the transmission line, resulting in changes in the impedance profile. Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs), with high dynamics, are generally used to measure the S parameters of radio frequency (RF) components. When used for high-speed interconnection tests, VNAs do not determine DC response and do not have parametric analysis tools for time domain simulation, emulation, time gating and jitter analysis. According to Teledyne Lecroy, neither of the two instruments (TDR and VNA) fully meets the need for testing and validating high-speed interconnections.

The WavePulser 40iX simplifies the process of testing and validating high-speed interconnections by providing the ability to perform characterizations in both time and frequency domains. In a single acquisition, this instrument performs frequency characterization of S parameters such as a vector network analyzer (VNA), impedance profile such as a time reflectometer (TDR), and also provides analysis capabilities. It focuses on the physical layer of the signal by characterizing serial data cables, channels, connectors, vias, backplanes, printed circuit boards, chip and SoC packages. The measured S parameters can be used for additional analyses: time gating, de-embedding of interconnects, eye diagrams, optimized equalization settings, serial-data pattern simulation, and advanced jitter analysis with breakdown into component elements.

“The WavePulser 40iX brings together time and frequency analysis capabilities in a single instrument and enables detection of impairments such as poorly-assembled connectors, mechanically damaged cables, or the location of discontinuities in the channel,” explains Eric Bogatin, signal integrity specialist at Teledyne LeCroy. “Such defects are impossible to detect based solely on the S parameters measured in the frequency domain because these effects are dispersed in the frequency response of the element under test. The WavePulser 40iX identifies and locates them with a spatial resolution of less than 1 mm. It also measures S parameters in single and mixed mode over a frequency range from DC to 40 GHz.”