Best in Test Finalists 2010: Bit-error-rate testers (BERTs)

-- Test & Measurement World, 12/22/2009 12:00:00 PM

Return to the entire list of Best in Test finalists for 2010.

--BERTScope CR 25000A, SyntheSys Research
--J-BERT, Agilent Technologies
--PCB12500, Centellax
--PeRT³, LeCroy

 

BERTScope CR 25000A
SyntheSys Research
www.bertscope.com

The BERTScope CR series of clock-recovery instruments, which have applications in semiconductor R&D, offer flexibility in bit rate, loop bandwidth, and peaking adjustability. The BERTScope CR 25000A is a 26-Gbps model that is aimed at high speeds, such as 25.78-Gbps Ethernet rates and the Optical Internetworking Forum's CEI (Common Electrical I/O) interoperability agreement rates.

What sets the CR 25000A apart, according to SyntheSys Research, is the inclusion of a user-controllable linear equalizer on the input. With bandwidth limitations appearing as severe ISI (intersymbol interference) on signals above 10 Gbps, the CR 25000A is able to derive a clock signal from eyes completely closed by ISI, in a linear, predictable way. This enables users of scopes, BERTs, and BERTScopes to make BER, jitter, and other signal-integrity measurements where signals are seriously impaired and at rates from 150 Mbps to 26 Gbps.

Price: $59,000.

 

J-BERT
Agilent Technologies
www.agilent.com

The J-BERT N4903B high-performance serial BERT provides complete jitter-tolerance test for embedded and forward clocked devices. The N4903B is the next generation after the J-BERT N4903A. It adds test capabilities for half-rate clocked devices, improved jitter-injection capabilities, better output signal performance, and variable output levels on trigger and auxiliary data outputs.

Agilent says the tool is ideal for R&D and validation teams that must characterize and stress chips and transceiver modules that have serial I/O ports up to 7 Gbps, 12.5 Gbps, or 14.2 Gbps. The J-BERT characterizes a receiver's jitter tolerance and also tests compliance of serial bus standards such as PCI Express, SATA/SAS, DisplayPort, USB SuperSpeed, Fibre Channel, QPI, and HyperTransport; memory buses such as the fully buffered DIMM2; and backplanes such as CEI; 10-Gbit Ethernet XAUI, XFP/XFI, and SFP+.

Base price: $135,000.

 

PCB12500
Centellax
www.centellax.com

The PCB12500 platform offers what Centellax calls "any-UI" per-channel phase delay for multichannel synchronization and deskew and a suite of jittered and unjittered clocking options. The tool supports high-I/O applications such as BER-based multi-aggressor NEXT/FEXT crosstalk analysis, DisplayPort sink testing, and QSFP and CXP/CFP receiver testing..

Centellax is developing new software tools to run jitter-tolerance tests, perform sensitivity analysis, and run report-generating manufacturing tests. The company says the low-cost PCB12500 multichannel tester offers an option to customers who have previously been restricted from multichannel testing because of the high cost.

Price: controller—$20,000; head—$8500.

 

PeRT³
LeCroy
www.lecroy.com

The PeRT³ (Protocol-enabled Receiver and Transmitter Tolerance Tester) fills the space between physical layer test and protocol test for performance testing of receivers and transmitters. Designed to meet the test needs of engineers working with serial data transceivers and other high-speed serial data communication systems, the PeRT³, according to LeCroy, is not just a new instrument; it is an entirely new instrument class.

The PeRT³ system combines the functions and features of a signal generator, a BERT, a protocol editor, and a data-analysis system in one instrument. This combination lets the instrument fully automate testing of transceivers and electronic systems in a comprehensive manner that not only measures adherence to specifications, but also examines the entire performance envelope of the system under test.

Price: $79,895.