Automated Measurement System Speeds PCI Express Compliance Testing

Aug. 4, 2003

The RT-EYE serial data compliance and analysis software from Tektronix (option RTE for the TDS6000 and TDS/CSA7000 oscilloscopes) and the P7350SMA differential probe can be combined to provide an uncompromised signal probing environment in both bandwidth and fidelity. These tools form a complete solution for analog validation and compliance of PCI Express. Joining this suite of compliance tools (for digital validation and debug) is the TMS817 support package, a PCI Express debug and validation solution for the company's TLA series logic analyzers.

The software package transforms the host oscilloscope into a powerful automated validation and compliance-testing platform for copper-based serial standards operating at data rates up to 3.2 Gbits/s. RTE provides software clock recovery, eye diagrams, and a full battery of standard specific parametric measurements in the amplitude, timing, and jitter domain. The RT-Eye software comes with the PCI Express Compliance Module (option PCE) and the InfiniBand Compliance Module (option IBA).

The RT-Eye RTE Software option costs $7495. The InfiniBand IBA option and the PCE PCI Express (option PCE) Compliance Modules cost $995 each. Delivery is within six to eight weeks. The P7350SMA costs $7200 with immediate delivery, and the TMS817costs between $60,000 and $70,000 (depending on configuration) with immediate delivery.

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Tektronix Inc.www.tektronix.com

About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.