PAM4 modulation boosts throughput but adds test challenges. The Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) emerged in the 1990s as a parallel bus for connecting computer mainboards and peripheral devices. In 2003, a serial version called PCI Express (PCIe) debuted, with generation 1 offering a transfer rate of 2.5 GT/s. Over the past 20 years, successive generations […]
Oscilloscopes
Automate double-pulse testing in WBG devices
By automating double-pulse testing of wide bandgap devices such as SiC and GaN power devices, you can cut setup and analysis time. The need to reduce carbon emissions drives investments in electrical technologies, particularly in data centers and electric vehicles. In its most recent Elective Vehicle Outlook report, Bloomberg estimates a 27% increase in global […]
EE World’s 2023 T&M Handbook is now available
For 2023, the digital version features 11 technical articles that cover test from signal integrity on the bench to automated test on the production floor.
How to make fast and accurate power-integrity measurements
Today’s electronic devices with fast FPGAs, ASICs, and other ICs rely on ever-smaller power rail voltages with tight tolerances. Engineers who incorporate these ICs into their systems need to use oscilloscopes, probes, and measurement techniques that align with today’s tight voltage rail tolerances. Making an accurate ripple measurement with an oscilloscope on a 1 V […]
Measurements verify power integrity
Engineers should measure and analyze power integrity on the power and ground planes of a board’s power distribution network. Understanding power integrity is crucial when evaluating circuit power quality because it has a direct influence on performance. Power integrity is a subset of signal integrity, whose assessment ensures that signals have suitable amplitude, rise time, […]
Water-cooled probe injects disturbances onto power rails
The P2124 from Picotest let’s you inject modulation signals onto your board’s power rails for noise immunity testing.
I’ve got the measurement blues again
Back from a three-year hiatus, I’m covering test and measurement again. This time, it’s for EE World.
Software tests PCIe 6.0 on high-end oscilloscope
Teledyne LeCroy has released a beta version of software for automating serial-data analysis on PAM4 signals. Engineers can request a copy. By using PAM4 modulation, PCIe 6.0 doubles data rates to 64 GT/sec (256 Gb/sec when using an x16 configuration). The “secret sauce” in the doubling comes from PAM4, which puts four voltage levels in […]
The case for buying a used oscilloscope
Not all test labs need oscilloscopes sporting 1 GHz bandwidths and multi-million-point digital waveform recording. When the needs lean more toward the basic side, used scopes can sometimes fit the bill and do so economically. Here are a few points to consider before ponying up for a used scope. The go-to website for used equipment […]
New oscilloscopes feature super-fast 4.5 M acquisitions/sec update rate
The new R&S MXO 4 series oscilloscopes feature the world’s fastest real-time update rate of over 4.5 million acquisitions per second. Development engineers can now see more signal detail and infrequent events than with any other oscilloscope. The 12-bit ADC in the R&S MXO 4 series has 16 times the resolution of traditional 8-bit oscilloscopes at […]
