TDR scope analyzes 12.5 Gbps data paths
-- Test & Measurement World, 10/5/2006 7:19:00 AM
Digital designers have moved from time-domain reflectometer (TDR) to vector network analyzer (VNA) based measurements for characterizing signal paths of multigigabit data paths. To reverse that trend, Tektronix developed the DSA8200 digital signal analyzer, which characterizes paths for digital data streams up to 12.5 Gbps. This sampling scope with TDR function boasts 15 ps reflected TDR rise time, 50 GHz TDR and S-parameter measurements, and 600 µV noise floor at 50 GHz. With the DSA8200, you can characterize data paths for serial buses such as Infiniband, PCI Express, Serial ATA, Fibre Channel, and 10 Gbit Ethernet.
The DSA8200 consists of a mainframe and slots for four differential optical and electrical pairs. Two TDR heads reside at the end of 2-m cables that connect to the plug-in modules. Thus, you can keep the TDR head close to your DUT and you can characterize up to four differential pairs at a time.
Because the DSA8200 is a Windows-based instrument, you can use the company's IConnect software to measure return loss, reflections, eye diagrams, jitter, and crosstalk on samples up to 1 Mpoints. A command-line interface lets you automate measurements through scripts.
Prices for the DSA8200 mainframe begin at $20,900. TDR modules start at $27,100, sampling modules start at $22,000, IConnect software packages start at $7,900. Tektronix, www.tektronix.com.
