News and New Products

Scope-based tools support complete debugging and compliance testing of Superspeed USB 3.0

By Dan Strassberg, Contributing Technical Editor -- EDN, 6/2/2009

Tektronix’s new DPO (digital-phosphor-oscilloscope)/DSA (digital-signal-analyzer) 70000B family is now available with a USB-TX option, which, with the press of a button, allows you to automatically and rapidly validate USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.0 Superspeed transmitters. These devices transmit data more than 10 times as fast as high-speed devices that conform to the previous (2.0) version of the USB standard. Tektronix has added the option—a comprehensive tool set for characterizing, debugging, and automating compliance testing of Superspeed devices—to its TekExpress oscilloscope-based serial-data-test framework, which also supports several other ultra-high-speed serial buses. In addition, the manufacturer has introduced a full set of USB 3.0 fixtures that enable you to perform transmitter, receiver, and cable tests that the company says are the industry’s most complete and accurate.

The increased bandwidth of the Superspeed mode brings with it critical signal-fidelity challenges that require highly accurate and versatile test approaches. Tektronix points out that, whereas other industry offerings provide only normative measurements in accordance with the USB-IF (Implementers’ Forum) electrical-test specification, the USB-TX option supports all measurements, including normative and informative tests, such as SSC (spread-spectrum clocking), slew, and voltage levels. A unique plug-style fixture enables probing as close as possible to the silicon to provide a true representation of the signal. The comprehensive capabilities enable customers to have full confidence in their design-validation procedures. The list price for the USB-TX option is $5000. Prices for the DPO/DSA 7000B scopes begin at $53,300. The test fixtures will be available this summer.