Tektronix (www.tek.com) has announced that its validation of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) based in 8 HP silicon germanium (SiGe) BiCMOS Specialty Foundry technology from IBM (www.ibm.com) has exceeded its target specifications for the development of a new range of performance oscilloscope capable of over 30 GHz bandwidth across multiple channels while reducing noise in older chip sets.

Aiming to meet the needs of electronic designers for more precise characterization of high-speed serial data over 10 Gb/s, the company’s new oscilloscope platform will optimize optical modulation analysis of 100 GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) where complex signaling demands accurate bit capture.

“This represents our first commercial integration of 8HP technology and clearly shows the latest generation of SiGe is delivering significant performance differentiation to the industry’s most demanding oscilloscope applications,” said Roy Siegel, General Manager of Oscilloscopes at Tektronix.

“IBM’s SiGe technology has long delivered the performance and reliability our customers demand and, as our lab demonstration indicates, this will continue well into the future.”

The 8 HP technology of IBM is a 130 nanometer SiGe bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) process that provides double performance compared with its previous generation. Leveraging reliable and mature fabrication processes, SiGe BiCMOS technology offers access to high-speed bipolar transistors, enabling a circuitry that combines extreme performance with large scale integration.

“As Tektronix’s lab demonstration makes very apparent, IBM’s 8HP SiGe technology continues to deliver a winning combination of speed, accuracy and integration required for high-end instrumentation,” said Regina Darmoni, Director of Specialty Foundry at IBM.