Teledyne LeCroy announced the addition of fully automated transmitter testing for 56-Gb/s, PAM4-based interfaces. The new QPHY-56G-PAM4 option adds standards-specific measurement capabilities to a measurement portfolio that already includes the PAM4 signal analysis capabilities pioneered by Teledyne LeCroy in recent years.

PAM4 signaling has become a critical enabling technology for next-generation communications links. PAM4 links operating at 28 Gbaud enable a 56-Gb/s raw data rate on each lane, with multi-lane configurations offering aggregate throughputs of 100G, 200G, and 400G. These interfaces are seeing rapid standardization by OIF and IEEE, defining a challenging set of specific test requirements for designers and test engineers working in this ecosystem.

Teledyne LeCroy’s QPHY-56G-PAM4 simplifies and automates testing to the OIF CEI-56G-PAM4 and relevant PAM4-based IEEE 802.3 interface standards. Measurements include (but are not limited to) eye diagrams, eye widths and heights, linearity, signal to noise and distortion (SNDR), transition time, linear fit pulse peak, and equalizer measurements.

QPHY-56G-PAM4 will initially be available with transmitter test coverage for the OIF CEI-56G-VSR-PAM4 interface standard (both host- and module-output test points). Coverage will expand shortly to include –MR and –LR variants of OIF-CEI-56G-PAM4, as well as IEEE 802.3bs and 802.3cd Ethernet standards.

Teledyne LeCroy will demonstrate automated testing to the OIF CEI-56G-VSR-PAM4 standard at booth 733 at DesignCon 2017 in Santa Clara, California, on February 1-2.

Teledyne LeCroy’s QualiPHY automated compliance test solution platform is designed to reduce the time, effort, and specialized knowledge needed to perform compliance testing on high-speed serial buses. QualiPHY guides the user through each test setup with easy-to-follow connection diagrams, performs each measurement in accordance with the relevant test procedure, compares each measured value with the applicable specification limits, and fully documents all results.

Pricing and Availability

QPHY-56G-PAM4 will be available on LabMaster 10Zi-A oscilloscopes (note an instrument of at least 50 GHz bandwidth is required for compliance to some tests). Contact Teledyne LeCroy for pricing and availability.

For more information, visit Teledyne LeCroy's website at teledynelecroy.com.