High-speed digital test presents a variety of challenges that can be addressed by instruments ranging from oscilloscopes to bit-error-rate testers. Challenges relate to PAM4 signal measurement, DDR5 probing, USB 4.0 transmitter test, PCIe Gen5 transmitter and receiver tests, forward error correction, phase-noise analysis, and time-domain reflectometry (TDR).
For example, Anritsu Co. recently introduced a PAM4 error detector (ED) supporting 116-Gb/s bit error rate tests for its Signal Quality Analyzer-R MP1900A Series. “With the new module installed, the MP1900A is the only instrument to achieve error-free measurement of PAM4 signals at 116 Gb/s with industry-best-operation bit rates and high Rx sensitivity performance,” said Hiroshi Goto, business development manager at Anritsu. “Combined with the previously released MP1900A Series PAM4 pattern generator that supports high-accuracy BER measurements of PAM4 signals, the BERT allows engineers to accurately evaluate bit error rates of 400 GbE/800 GbE communications equipment and devices.”