Tektronix updates DDR analysis software

The Tektronix DDR test solution supports all speeds of DDR, DDR2, DDR3, LP-DDR and GDDR3 and spans both PHY layer and digital domains.

Tektronix has also announced improved connectivity with a new set of Nexus Technology Ball Grid Array (BGA) Component Interposers for DDR 3 Memory designs.

The Tektronix portfolio of logic analysers, oscilloscopes and probing systems form the core of a critical test bench for design and test engineers working with DDR.

The DDR3 standard supports data rates of 800 mega transfers per second (MT/s) to 2133 MT/s, with clock frequencies of 400 to 1066MHz respectively, double the speed of DDR2 technology.

DDR3 is ideal for high-performance applications such as file servers, video on demand, encoding and decoding, gaming and 3-D visualisation.

The Tektronix DDR Analysis software (opt DDRA) for the DPO/DSA70000B Series and DPO7000 Series Oscilloscopes adds critical specification-validation measurements that are not available on competing test solutions.

The JEDEC specifications for DDR2 and DDR3 (JESD79-3C, JESD79-2E) stipulate that pass/fail limits for measurements such as setup and hold should be de-rated based on the measured slew rates of the associated signals.

Option DDRA offers slew-rate measurements and performs the de-rating calculation and automatically adjusts the pass/fail limits.

DDRA, along with an array of sophisticated probing solutions, including BGA Interposer from Nexus Technology, represents a complete solution for validation and debug of DDR designs from a PHY layer perspective.

The new BGA component interposers for oscilloscopes and logic analysers use a socketed design that offers easy installation on the customer's board and the ability to easily change the memory component for characterisation/margin testing.

This eliminates the need to send the board to a rework house, avoiding down time and reducing development cycles.

The interposer's design also delivers unparalleled signal fidelity by using embedded 100Ohm resistors on each signal line, close to the BGA balls.

When used with the Tektronix P7500 Series Tri-Mode probes and new solder tips specific to the Nexus product or the TLA7000 Series Logic Analyzer, the interposer becomes part of the probing system and delivers accurate signal acquisition up to 1600MT/s data rates and higher.