BEAVERTON, Ore., June 19, 2012 – Tektronix, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of oscilloscopes, today announced the availability of a fully automated transmitter (Tx) compliance testing solution for Thunderbolt technology that provides the industry’s fastest test execution and time to answer. Tektronix also announced availability of setups to speed up Thunderbolt receiver (Rx) testing tasks.
Thunderbolt is a transformational I/O technology that provides a leap in performance and flexibility over current I/O technologies. It provides two 10 Gbps bi-directional, channels on a single cable and simplifies the end-user experience with support for PCI Express and DisplayPort protocols. For engineers facing time pressure to finalize Thunderbolt-enabled designs and deliver products to consumers, Tektronix delivers the testing tools they need to minimize test setup and runtimes while also offering deep insight into design issues.
The new automated Thunderbolt Tx test solution for Tektronix DSA70000 Series oscilloscopes is the first in the industry to offer state control for the device under test (DUT) and to support two-lane testing. Compared to other offerings which only support one lane at a time, the Tektronix solution significantly shortens test times and boosts engineering productivity. On the Rx side, Tektronix has released detailed setups for the 12.5 Gbps BSA Series BERTscope for faster and more consistent receiver side testing.
Another advantage of the Tektronix Thunderbolt test solution, particularly for physical layer debug challenges, is support for separation of bounded uncorrelated jitter or BUJ. This form of jitter is usually the result of crosstalk that occurs across adjacent high-speed lanes such as those used in Thunderbolt. Other jitter decomposition models incorrectly place BUJ in random jitter, making it difficult for designers to isolate crosstalk issues.
With this Thunderbolt solution, Tektronix rounds out its deep level of support for display technology standards including DisplayPort and Dual Mode DisplayPort. This allows designers to use the same testing tools for ensuring interoperability across multiple display standards.
“With its combination of speed and compatibility with existing I/O technologies, we see Thunderbolt as the type of breakthrough technology that only comes along once a decade or so,” said Brian Reich, general manager, Performance Oscilloscopes, Tektronix. “We have been working closely with Intel since the inception of Thunderbolt to develop a broad portfolio of best-in-class tools to help our customers efficiently bring Thunderbolt products to market.”
Availability
The Tektronix automated Tx test solutions and Rx test setups for Thunderbolt are available now worldwide. More information can be found at www.tek.com/technology/thunderbolt.
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About Tektronix
For more than sixty years, engineers have turned to Tektronix for test, measurement and monitoring solutions to solve design challenges, improve productivity and dramatically reduce time to market. Tektronix is a leading supplier of test equipment for engineers focused on electronic design, manufacturing, and advanced technology development. Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Tektronix serves customers worldwide and offers award-winning service and support. Stay on the leading edge at www.tektronix.com.
