Team Effort Yields High-Accuracy Jitter Measurements For Scopes

Oct. 27, 2003

A joint licensing agreement has borne fruit with what's considered one of the industry's most accurate and repeatable jitter oscilloscope measurement systems for high-speed serial buses. The agreement merges Amherst Systems Associates'...

Roger Allan

A joint licensing agreement has borne fruit with what's considered one of the industry's most accurate and repeatable jitter oscilloscope measurement systems for high-speed serial buses.

The agreement merges Amherst Systems Associates' (ASA) software with Agilent Technologies' 6-GHz real-time Infiniium oscilloscopes and 7-GHz InfiniiMax probes, giving semiconductor, computer, communications, and aerospace and defense engineers rapid insight into subtle timing anomalies of high-speed signals for accurate design characterization.

"Accurately measuring jitter is one of the top issues facing designers of high-speed computer and communications systems," says Ron Nersesian, general manager of Agilent's Design Validation Division. "By integrating ASA's M1 jitter analysis software with the industry's leading probes and oscilloscopes from Agilent, we have provided our customers a complete measurement package that offers the accuracy they need."

The Agilent E2690A time-interval and jitter analysis software includes a comprehensive set of tools for investigating a wide range of timing behaviors in designs. It separates random and deterministic jitter to help identify the sources of jitter in high-speed digital systems. The InfiniiMax differential probe technology reduces measurement system jitter when combined with the Agilent high-performance Infiniium oscilloscopes. Design engineers now get more accurate timing measurements, such as total jitter and eye openings.

Under the agreement, Agilent will develop timing and jitter analysis tools in collaboration with ASA. Available now, the Agilent E2690A costs $7500.

Agilent Technologieswww.agilent.comAmherst Systems Associateswww.amherst-systems.com

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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.