Rohde & Schwarz has expanded the application field of its R&S RTO oscilloscope by adding an option to decode and analyze 8b/10b encoded interfaces up to 6.25 Gb/s. The new software option’s full autoset function configures all settings at the push of a button.
The new R&S RTO-K52 decoding option helps developers design, verify, and debug modules with 8b/10b encoded buses. At the push of a button, the R&S RTO uses the option’s full autoset function to determine the channel, decision-level, and bit-rate settings, allowing developers to quickly start measuring. All of these settings can be readjusted manually.
Decoding is based on the clock rate and 8b/10b-specific bit alignments of the captured waveform. The decoded data symbols and control symbols are displayed clearly and are color coded. A tabular list of the protocol contents is also provided. The 8b/10b decoding option’s search and navigation function enables users to quickly isolate data contents as well as error states such as disparity violations.
The R&S RTO features an up to 128-bit serial pattern trigger for precise triggering on individual bit sequences. The R&S RTO-K13 HW-CDR hardware clock data recovery option delivers accurate results for embedded clock signals.
The new test solution allows users to correlate 8b/10b encoded interface commands with other circuit signals over time, for easy isolation of critical states and fast identification of system design errors. 8b/10b encoded buses are used in the common USB 3.0 and PCIe interfaces and many other applications. The MIPI UniPro M-PHY interface in smartphones as well as display interfaces such as HDMI use 8b/10b encoding, as do base stations based on the Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).
