Microwave Journal
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Agilent Announces MIPI M-PHY Transmitter Compliance Test Software

September 30, 2011

Agilent Technologies Inc. announced the industry's first MIPI M-PHY compliance test software package for transmitter validation. Agilent’s U7249A software, designed to run on the company's Infiniium 90000 Series oscilloscopes, provides a wide range of tests to meet the physical-layer requirements of the MIPI Alliance's M-PHY Specification v1.00 and M-PHY Conformance Test Suite v0.65. The software supports M-PHY speeds of up to 5.8 Gbps and will enable R&D design teams to address their start-up debug and validation needs.

“Collaboration with customers developing early M-PHY designs has enabled us to provide this industry-first package,” said Roland Scherzinger, Agilent's MIPI Program Manager. “Working closely with the MIPI workgroups and sharing our high speed testing experience with them, helps ensure robust M-PHY testability.”

The new compliance test software provides design and validation engineers with a fast, easy way to validate and debug embedded M-PHY data links. The software supports:

• A wide range of tests to meet MIPI Alliance's M-PHY Specification v1.00 and M-PHY Conformance Test Suite v0.65.

• M-PHY testing for Gear 1, 2 and 3 speeds of up to 5.8 Gbps.

• Electrical tests for DigRF v4, UniPro and LLI protocols, which runs M-PHY physical layer.

• Automated scope measurement setup and programming for increased accuracy and repeatability in test results.

• Automated margin analysis and pass/fail conformance reporting.

Agilent's U7249A MIPI M-PHY runs on the Infiniium 90000 X-Series oscilloscope, which delivers industry-leading, real-time bandwidth of up to 32 GHz with the only available 30 GHz probing system. With the lowest noise and lowest jitter measurement floor performance, the scope ensures superior measurement accuracy. Used together with N2809A PrecisionProbe software, the 90000 X-Series oscilloscope gives engineers increased confidence in their MIPI M-PHY product performance and increases design margins.

Accurate and automated MIPI M-PHY receiver testing is also supported by Agilent's high performance BERTs ParBERT 81250A for multi-lane and J-BERT N4903B for single-lane testing. Although the MIPI M-PHY receiver test specifications are not yet final, both BERTs will be usable for accurate receiver tolerance testing together with N5181/2A, E4438C, 81150A signal generators.

Agilent's N5990A-165 MIPI M-PHY/ DigRF v4 receiver test automation software saves significant R&D engineering time by automatically calibrating stress conditions and performing automated receiver tolerance tests by controlling all test equipment in the setup.

Agilent's MIPI M-PHY-based N5343A and its N5344A DigRF V4 exerciser and analyzer offer new insights that reach from individual digital bits to IQ-modulated RF signals. The N5343A allows engineers to work in the domain (digital or RF) and abstraction level (physical or protocol layer) of their choice to quickly characterize RF-ICs and rapidly solve cross-domain integration problems.

Recognizing the need for innovators to quickly characterize their RFIC devices using the N5343A DigRF V4 exerciser, Agilent has made a new software option available. Software option 001 gives developers even more speed and flexibility in the start-up and characterization of their designs. By enabling users to extract IQ data directly from the RFIC without any other software framework, Agilent is demonstrating its continued commitment to DigRF customers and the specification. This M-PHY-based DigRF exerciser and analyzer solution is the first in a continuing commitment to support MIPI M-PHY protocols at all levels.