Tektronext helps automate testing of 400G PAM4 electrical interfaces

     Tektronech Technologies has expanded its PAM4 test solution line to provide a full range of 400G electrical interface conformance testing for the OIF-CEI-56G VSR/MR/LR PAM4 standard specification. The latest 400G-TXE software package runs on Tektronix's high-performance DPO70000SX real-time oscilloscope, a product family that includes multiple models and offers bandwidth up to 70 GHz. The new turnkey automated test solution performs PAM4 conformance testing with one click, reducing test time, providing more reliable, repeatable results, and making it easier to use.

     The data rate of the serial data channel is doubled using PAM4 encoding compared to the NRZ(non-return-to-zero) scheme. However, as a complex modulation method, it also brings some test and measurement challenges. Many of PAM4's measurement specifications are still in flux, making it difficult to align with the latest measurement techniques formalized by the standard. The time required to complete complex test procedures can be a significant challenge, as well as the need to achieve correlation between test systems and reliable results.

     "By automating PAM4 testing on the DPO70000SX oscilloscope, we provide an easy-to-use turnkey test solution to help customers move to 400G, a repeatable PAM4 standard conformance test solution for the 400G electrical interface," said Brian Reich, general manager of High Performance Oscilloscopes at Tektrontec Technologies. This further enriches Tektronix PAM4 testing tools to meet the growing testing needs of the data center industry."

     The Tektronek 400G software package allows users to evaluate electrical interface PAM4 signals against the limits specified in the specification, providing comprehensive OIF-CEI specification level conformance testing. The solution includes a digital clock recovery feature that provides trustworthy measurement results in all situations, including signals with ISI jitter or other damage. The Tektronek 400G-TXE Conformance test package performs standard required test scans in one application, reducing test time, providing more reliable, repeatable results, and making it easier to use.

     In addition to conformance testing, Tektronix offers PAM4 analysis and debugging software solutions for real-time oscilloscopes and sampling oscilloscopes, giving designers the insight they need to fully evaluate test failure conditions such as BER and eye height and eye width.

     The 400G-TXE solution runs on high-performance DPO70000SX 70GHz, 59GHz and 50GHz real-time oscilloscopes, achieving unprecedented low noise and measurement accuracy. High-speed standards such as OIF-CEI require the oscilloscope bandwidth currently provided by the DPO70000SX series.