Keysight PLTS 2019

• Power integrity measurements
• PAM4 enhancements (jitter injection, noise injection, CTLE equalization)
• Automatic fixture removal (AFR) mode conversion

NEW PLTS 2019 Power Integrity measurement capability

The new Physical Layer Test System (PLTS) 2019 is the industry standard for signal integrity measurements and data post processing of high-speed interconnects, such as cables, backplanes, PCBs and connectors. Many signal integrity laboratories around the world have benefited from the power of PLTS in the R&D prototype test phase. PLTS 2019 now includes power integrity measurements allowing both series-through method and shunt-through method power plane measurements. Low frequency power distribution network (PDN) measurements with the E5061B VNA are fast and easy using PLTS log-log plotting and L-C curve fitting.

PAM4 Eye Diagram Multi-Channel Simulation

Another significant enhancement to PLTS 2019 is the addition of PAM4 Eye Diagram Multi-Channel Simulation. This allows a simple user interface to simulate a PAM4 eye diagram using transmitter pre-emphasis, jitter injection and noise injection, as well as various receiver equalization techniques including continuous time linear equalization (CTLE), feed forward equalization (FFE) and decision feedback equalization (DFE). Note: this PAM4 simulation is synthesized from high dynamic range s-parameter measurements, so it is much more accurate than analysis from random models of interconnect

Automatic Fixture Removal (AFR) Mode Conversion

Another significant enhancement to PLTS 2019 is AFR Mode Conversion. Automatic Fixture Removal is the industry standard for de-embedding test fixtures from channel measurements to obtain accurate s-parameters of only your device without performance degradation of the fixture taken into account. The problem in some applications can be that many laboratories around the world have inherited imperfect test fixtures that are not well designed. These marginal test fixtures can include such undesirable effects as differential skew, reflections, and ground plane discontinuities that can easily manifest crosstalk and mode conversion. Previously, this mode conversion was not removed with earlier versions of AFR. PLTS 2019 now has the ability to increase s-parameter accuracy even further by removing mode conversion.

New Hardware Support

PLTS 2019 also supports a new best-in-class family of high-performance PXI and USB Vector Network Analyzers. These flexible, scalable and re-configurable instruments allow for a smooth transition from R&D into manufacturing. They include the M980XA and P500XA series PNA family of VNA modules up to 20 GHz and can provide up to 50-port VNA measurements within a single test platform. This can potentially characterize 12 differential interconnect channels simultaneously with full cross-bar calibration with 140 dB of dynamic range with a single box. This level of high performance s-parameter characterization has never been available before now.