Software analyzes jitter from real-time oscilloscopes.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. Feb 04, 2005

Press Release Summary:

Available for Infiniium DSO80000 and 54850 series oscilloscopes, software separates random and deterministic jitter components. Agilent E2690A time interval and jitter analysis software incorporates AutoMeasure capability and analyzes repetitive and random signals. Agilent N5400A analyzes repetitive signals and uses wizard-based approach to set up jitter display. Both identify sources of jitter and illustrate shapes and contents of jitter signals.

Original Press Release:

Agilent Technologies Announces Jitter Analysis Tools for High-Performance Real-Time Oscilloscopes

Software Separates Random and Deterministic Jitter Components for High-Speed Serial Link Compliance Testing

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 31, 2005 -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced the release of two jitter analysis software packages for its high-performance Infiniium DSO80000 series 10, 12 and 13 GHz real-time oscilloscopes and the Infiniium 54850 series 2.5, 4, 6 and 7 GHz real-time oscilloscopes. The Agilent E2690A time interval and jitter analysis software was developed for Agilent by Amherst Systems Associates Inc. (ASA) and analyzes repetitive and random signals. The Agilent N5400A jitter analysis software is based on Agilent technology and analyzes repetitive signals. Both separate random and deterministic jitter (RJ/DJ) components, as required for compliance by many high-speed serial bus electrical-layer specifications such as PCI Express, Ethernet and Fibre Channel.

The Agilent E2690A and N5400A allow high-speed serial bus designers to quickly analyze the reliability and interoperability of high-speed serial transmitters and links. The software helps to identify sources of jitter in these designs due to faulty parts, impedance discontinuities and data pattern dependencies. They provide the measurement insight to illustrate the shapes and contents of the jitter signals that are distorting the data or clock.

"Agilent continues to provide our customers with leading-edge solutions for signal integrity and margin analysis measurements, enabling a faster time to market," said Mike Gasparian, vice president and general manager for Agilent's Multi-Industry Business Unit. "The introduction of these jitter analysis tools demonstrates our ability to partner with industry leaders and provide consistency across product lines."

As serial bus speeds increase, the needs for higher data bandwidth and smaller data bus form factors have forced many design engineers to forgo their previous parallel bus designs and switch to multi-gigabit serial buses, often in differential pairs. These new bus layouts present greater challenges, including limited channel bandwidth on existing FR-4 copper traces, additional noise from crowded circuit paths and high-frequency transmitters.

The Agilent E2690A represents version 4 of ASA's M1 jitter analysis product. The E2690A is Agilent's most comprehensive and primary software tool for characterizing and debugging jitter measurements with a real-time oscilloscope. It offers a comprehensive set of new tools to analyze random or repetitive signals. The AutoMeasure capability automatically detects the oscilloscope, assesses which inputs have signals, autoscales those signals and determines which standards the signals are using. It provides immediate, accurate and detailed results. For jitter analysis, several RJ/DJ decomposition techniques are available, as documented by the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) T11.2 methodologies for jitter and signal quality (MJSQ) specification task group, plus a new ASA proprietary technique, SEEj, which is based on neural network analysis. The TestScript capability allows users to quickly automate repetitive measurement sequences, systematically run them and easily share applications such as compliance tests.

The Agilent N5400A jitter analysis software is based on Agilent's proprietary RJ/DJ separation algorithms for analyzing repetitive signals, first introduced last February with the Agilent Infiniium 86100C Digital Communication Analyzer with jitter analysis (DCA-J). The INCITS T11.2 MJSQ task group has approved these algorithms. The N5400A is integrated with the Infiniium 86100C DCA-J software and uses a wizard-based approach to help users set up the jitter display.

More information about the Agilent E2690A is available at www.agilent.com/find/e2690a. More information about the Agilent N5400A is available at www.agilent.com/find/n5400a. Product photos are available at www.agilent.com/find/e2690a_n5400a_images.

U.S. Pricing and Availability

The Agilent E2690A software version 4 is available for order now at a price of $6,495 and is expected to begin shipping with Agilent real-time oscilloscopes in March 2005. Customers who already have the Agilent E2690A software may upgrade to version 4 by purchasing the software subscription service for $3,000. Customers who have purchased the E2693A software subscription service will receive the upgrade for free. The E2692A, a subset to the E2690A that includes basic time interval and jitter analysis software, is available for order now at a price of $2,690.

The Agilent N5400A jitter analysis software is available for order now at a price of $8,000 and is expected to begin shipping with the Infiniium DSO80000 Series oscilloscopes in February 2005 and the Infiniium 54850 Series oscilloscopes in March 2005. Customers who already have the Agilent E2681A jitter analysis software may upgrade to the Agilent N5400A by purchasing the N5401A upgrade software for $5,000.

About Amherst Systems Associates Inc.

Amherst Systems Associates Inc. (ASA) is an engineering/technology company focused on clock and timing engineering and related measurement science. As an innovator and a leader in this field for the past 23 years, ASA has helped forge how clock and timing is done today, as well as contributing significantly to what future clock and measurement technologies will look like. By combining unique know-how and experience with industry-leading measurement products, ASA is in a unique position to deliver significant and genuine value worldwide. Information about Amherst Systems is available on the Web at www.amherst-systems.com.

About the International Committee for Information Technology Standards

The INCITS organization is responsible for interface standards for high-performance and mass storage applications. More information about INCITS and the results of the T11.2 MSJQ task group is available on the Web at www.incits.org and www.t11.org.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.