Scope Option Measures Jitter From 50 Mbits/s To 40 Gbits/s

Jan. 19, 2004

The industry's first jitter subcomponent-analysis option, the 86100C Infiniium Digital Communications Analyzer with Jitter (DCA-J), accurately measures all types of jitter from 50 Mbits/s to 40 Gbits/s. Random, deterministic, data-dependent, and...

Roger Allan

Developed by Agilent Technologies, the 86100C DCA-J combines four measurement functions in one case: automated "eye diagram" measurements, full-function time-domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements for impedance analysis, a full-function oscilloscope with bandwidth in excess of 80 GHz, and an innovative and accurate jitter analyzer for electrical and optical signals.

"The speed of the DCA-J is impressive. Data-dependent jitter measurements that used to take hours have been reduced to less than a minute," says Steve Hibbens, a silicon evaluation specialist at Texas Instruments and DCA-J user.

"This is a major leap forward in equivalent-time sampling oscilloscope technology, setting a new standard for jitter measurements," claims Sigi Gross, Agilent Technologies' vice president and general manager for the Digital Verification Solutions Division.

The DCA-J's modular architecture is backward-compatible with all Agilent plug-in modules, such as the 86100A/B, 83480A, and 54750A. The 86100C DCA-J is available now for $31,000. Base price for the 86100C sampling oscilloscope is $17,500.

Agilent Technologieswww.agilent.com

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About the Author

Roger Allan

Roger Allan is an electronics journalism veteran, and served as Electronic Design's Executive Editor for 15 of those years. He has covered just about every technology beat from semiconductors, components, packaging and power devices, to communications, test and measurement, automotive electronics, robotics, medical electronics, military electronics, robotics, and industrial electronics. His specialties include MEMS and nanoelectronics technologies. He is a contributor to the McGraw Hill Annual Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. He is also a Life Senior Member of the IEEE and holds a BSEE from New York University's School of Engineering and Science. Roger has worked for major electronics magazines besides Electronic Design, including the IEEE Spectrum, Electronics, EDN, Electronic Products, and the British New Scientist. He also has working experience in the electronics industry as a design engineer in filters, power supplies and control systems.

After his retirement from Electronic Design Magazine, He has been extensively contributing articles for Penton’s Electronic Design, Power Electronics Technology, Energy Efficiency and Technology (EE&T) and Microwaves RF Magazine, covering all of the aforementioned electronics segments as well as energy efficiency, harvesting and related technologies. He has also contributed articles to other electronics technology magazines worldwide.

He is a “jack of all trades and a master in leading-edge technologies” like MEMS, nanolectronics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, military electronics, biometrics, implantable medical devices, and energy harvesting and related technologies.