PHY monitor analyses signal integrity in high speed designs
The APIX3 PHY Monitor tool enables users to analyse system jitter quickly and conveniently, says Inova Semiconductor. It is designed for high speed designs where ensuring signal integrity is one of the main challenges. Digital transmission in the range of several Gbits per second is characterised by the introduction of jitter and noise into the signal. What appears at the receiving end does not match the intent at the transmission end when there is any degree of jitter and noise. This applies to amplitude, frequency and phase. When developing high-speed connectivity systems, engineers have to analyse the signal quality to ensure robust and error-free data links. The APIX3 PHY Monitor tool combines a powerful eye tracer algorithm with a user-friendly graphics user interface (GUI).
The eye diagram – the superposition of transmitting signal viewed within a particular interval – is a preferred tool to evaluate channel noise and jitter. A traditional eye diagram is measured by connecting the signal (output from transceiver TX) to an oscilloscope, giving results at the pins of the device. Customers can use the APIX3 PHY monitor to print the real-time eye of the signal inside the receiver (RX). The colour coding of the eye diagram (different colours for all hit, no hit and the ranges between) provides a convenient and fast way to check the signal quality. Finally, the PHY Monitor enables a more intuitive view that how the signal quality is inside the receiver device.
In addition to scan an eye diagram of the receiver in real-time, the user can read the status of some relevant registers for calibration and can configure the FIR filter (amplitude and delay) of the transmitter. Other tool functions are the generation of test patterns, enable/disable upstream, get/set replica gain and the check of bit errors (of internal and external source).
The APIX3 PHY Monitor tool consists of the GUI and the eye diagram algorithm. The GUI will be provided by Inova so customers are able to install it on their own PC. The eye tracer algorithm is already implemented into the latest version of the device.
APIX (Automotive Pixel Link) is a multi-channel SerDes technology developed by Inova for high-resolution video applications in motor vehicles, especially in the growing segments of infotainment and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The latest-generation, APIX3, can host multiple display connections with bandwidths of up to 12 Gbits per second and supports high definition (HD) and ultra HD (UHD) displays. The APIX3 devices are backwards-compatible with the APIX2 predecessor family. All offer compensation functions for cable ageing and temperature fluctuations.
Inova Semiconductors is a fabless semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Munich, Germany. The company was founded in 1999 and specialises in the development of products for Gigabit/s serial data communication. Besides its APIX products, Inova offers technology solutions for LED lighting in automobiles and other industries based on the ISELED technology.
Inova Semiconductor’s IC products are manufactured at leading foundries in Asia and sold through a worldwide sales network.
