News and New Products

Generator produces precise digital waveforms to 13.5 GHz

By Dan Strassberg -- EDN, 10/31/2005

Agilent has announced a serial pulse/data generator with stimulus capability to 13.5 GHZ. The Agilent 81142A, which—except for speed—is similar to a 7-GHz generator that the company announced less than a year ago, enables reliable physical-layer measurements for high-speed serial-bus designs.

Next-generation computing and communication applications, such as video-on-demand, require transferring large amounts of data at greater rates. Obtaining high-quality characterization of electronic-component performance is a key step in designing reliable, high-performance systems. In addition, researchers are now developing next-generation electrical components to operate at speeds of 10 GHz or more—currently, such speeds usually require optical communication. Accurate high-speed stimuli are crucial to ensuring signal integrity at these speeds. By providing high-precision, low-jitter signals and permitting full control of data streams for performance and characterization testing, the Agilent 81142A allows engineers to conduct reliable, accurate physical-layer tests.

“Accelerated development cycles make proprietary test approaches less suitable,” says Siegfried Gross, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Digital Verification Solutions Division. “Standard test instruments that do not compromise on signal quality, timing accuracy, or programmatic control give engineers a jump-start in high-quality characterization of new devices and systems.” Agilent asserts that the device’s combination of multiple data formats with sequencing, flexible triggering capability, and 13.5-GHz performance is unique in the market.

Superior signal fidelity and the most precise data signals are the key contributions of the 13.5-GHz serial pulse/data generator. Other features include: RZ (return-to-zero), R1 (return-to-one), and NRZ (non-return-to-zero) data formats; flexible parameters and fast transition times for high-quality waveforms and eye-diagram measurements; flexible and programmable pattern and sequence generation for high-speed serial digital buses; linear-delay modulation to 1 GHz for jitter-tolerance testing; and remotely programmable, ultrasmall pulses to trigger accurate measurements. The 81142A is available now for $108,000.

Agilent Technologies, www.agilent.com/find/High_Speed_Pulse.