SCIENCE

Agilent Technologies has approved Agilent's 90000 X-Series oscilloscope and E5071C network analyzer with Option TDR (time-domain reflectometry) to provide SATA Gen 3 Interoperability Program Revision 1.4 product testing and certification. The instruments cover the transmitter, return loss and cable test sections of the SATA Interoperability Program.

Serial ATA is the primary storage I/O interface used in computing systems today. The SATA Interoperability Program aims to ensure compatibility between product implementations. Companies who participate in the program can have their products included on the SATA-IO Integrators List when their products pass the testing. Companies may have their products certified at SATA-IO workshops or approved by independent test labs.

The Infiniium 90000 X-Series oscilloscope delivers industry-leading, real-time bandwidth of up to 32 GHz. With the industry's lowest noise and lowest jitter measurement floor, the scope ensures superior measurement accuracy and is ideal for transmitter and receiver characterization. Using the 90000 X-Series oscilloscopes gives engineers increased confidence in their SATA Gen 3 product performance and increases design margins.

The new E5071C ENA network analyzer Option TDR offers TDR, S-parameter and simulated eye measurement capabilities in one instrument. It offers three breakthroughs for high-speed serial interconnect analysis: simple and intuitive operation, fast and accurate measurements and more robust electrostatic discharge performance. Previously, engineers experienced long averaging and measurement times for receiver/transmitter return loss and cable testing, but with the new Option TDR's usability and the E5071C network analyzer's flexible and narrow-banded receiver, they can achieve higher accuracy results and complete their testing faster.

"When developers are working on cutting-edge SATA Gen 3 designs, having access to advanced tools helps them address potential issues early in the design cycle and get products to market faster," said Gregg Peters, vice president of Agilent's Component Test Division. "The E5071C network analyzer is already certified for cable measurements in SuperSpeed USB, HDMI and DisplayPort, and we are very excited to add it as a high-precision instrument for return loss and cable measurements to help customers accelerate SATA 6-Gbps testing."

"With their excellent measurement capabilities and performance, the Infiniium 90000 X-Series oscilloscope and E5071C network analyzer Option TDR can greatly improve measurement accuracy and efficiency in SATA Interoperability testing," said Andrew Baldman, senior technical staff member at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory.

Agilent's equipment for SATA test includes the new 86100D Infiniium DCA-X wide-bandwidth sampling oscilloscope, 81134A pulse pattern generator, J-BERT N4903B high-performance serial BERT and N5990A test automation software from Agilent partner BitifEye Digital Test Solutions.