Signal Integrity Characterization Techniques

783 Pages·2009·9.109 MB·English

by  Mike Resso, Eric Bogatin

Signal Integrity
Characterization Techniques
Executive Editors
IEC
Chicago, Illinois
© 2009 by Professional Education International, Inc. All rights of
reproduction, including that of translation into foreign languages, are
reserved. Requests for republication privileges should be addressed to
Publications Department, International Engineering Consortium, 300
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All opinions expressed in Signal Integrity Characterization Techniques
are those of the authors and are not binding on Professional Education
International or the International Engineering Consortium.
ISBN: 978-1-931695-93-0
International Engineering Consortium
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About the Executive Editors
Mike Resso is the signal integrity application scientist in the component
test division at Keysight Technologies and has over twenty-five years
of experience in the test and measurement industry. His professional
background includes the design and development of electro-optic test
instrumentation for aerospace and commercial applications. His most
recent activity has focused on the complete multiport characterization
of high-speed digital interconnects using time domain reflectometry
and vector network analysis. Mike has authored over 30 professional
publications in such diverse fields as infrared detector probe systems,
linearly variable optical filters and electrically conductive antireflection
coatings. He has been awarded one U.S. patent and has twice received the
Keysight “Spark of Insight” Award for his contribution to the company.
Mike received a B.S. degree in electrical and computer engineering from
University of California in 1983.
Eric Bogatin is signal integrity evangelist at Bogatin Enterprises, which
specializes in training for signal integrity and interconnect design. His
company offers a complete curriculum in short courses and training
materials to help accelerate engineers and managers up the learning
curve to be more effective in fields related to signal integrity. He has
held senior engineering and management positions at such companies as
AT&T Bell Labs, Raychem Corporation, Advanced Packaging Systems,
and Sun Microsystems. For 20 years, he has been involved in various
aspects of signal integrity and inter-connect design, from the materials
side, manufacturing, product design, measurements and, most recently,
education and consulting. Eric has written four books on signal integrity
and inter-connect design, over 200 papers, and most recently wrote a
book entitled Signal Integrity-Simplified published in 2004. Eric received
his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1980
and his B.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1976.
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Preface
Today’s emerging high-speed digital applications require a special kind
of design engineer who understands the subtle signal integrity issues at
hand. Although a classical electrical and computer engineering education
is helpful, it is the high-frequency microwave effects that normally cause
the most problems within telecommunications and computer systems,
channels, and components. Reflections from impedance discontinuities,
crosstalk, intra-line skew, and a multitude of other problems can
immediately stop a system from working properly.
Clearly, there is a gap in the college electrical engineering courses
between the traditional digital and microwave curricula. This is why
learning never stops for signal integrity engineers. This book addresses
this gap with a focus on a practical and intuitive understanding of signal
integrity effects within the data transmission channel. High-speed
interconnects such as connectors, printed circuit boards (PCBs), cables,
integrated circuit (IC) packages, and backplanes are critical elements of
differential channels that must be designed using today’s most powerful
analysis and characterization tools. Both measurements and simulation
must be done on the device under test, and both activities must yield data
that correlates with each other. Most of this book focuses on real-world
applications of signal integrity measurements.
Since the most intuitive measurements for digital engineers are usually
done in the time domain, this book starts with a fundamental understanding
of single-ended and differential time domain reflectometry (TDR)
measurements in chapters 1 and 2. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 complete the
first major section of this book by describing vector network analyzers
(VNAs) and S-parameters (including 12-port S-parameters).
Section 2 of this book delves into the longest, densest, and highest-
bandwidth application for interconnects: the backplane. While many
high-speed PCBs exhibit difficult signal integrity problems, none can
compare with the typical backplane for design challenges.
The sheer number of layers and signal channels in a backplane create
a design challenge most microwave engineers would find daunting. In
section 2, we describe a methodology for characterizing even the most
complex backplanes.
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Signal Integrity Characterization Techniques
Section 3 of this book advances the discussion of linear passive
device characterization with the implementation of sophisticated error
correction techniques. One of the main advantages of using a VNA is
the ultra-precise calibration and de-embedding capabilities. Hence, we
cover this information in great detail in this section of the book.
Section 4 covers various jitter measurements, including such diverse
topics as laser transmitter driver circuitry jitter and a novel statistical
jitter measurement methodology called STATEYE.
New measurement technologies co-evolve with design and technology
innovation within the engineering communities, so the authors wanted to
inspire some new thinking in sections 5 and 6. Analyzing some of these
new technologies can provide valuable insight into the future direction
that our fast-paced world takes us. Solving today’s problems can teach us
valuable lessons indeed, but investigating the future trends is sometimes
akin to viewing a crystal ball. Our hope is to trigger inspiration to learn
more about signal integrity and the high-speed technology around us.
Second Edition Additions
An additional section at the end of the book entitled, “Future Technology
Trends” has been added. This includes such interesting topics as
microprobing, new calibration methods and de-mystifying PCB
channel design. Some new authors are introduced that should enhance
the education value of the book by bringing new insights into the
characterization of signal integrity phenomena.
New graphics were added to reflect newer test equipment brought to
market after the publishing of the first edition. Examples of this are the
N1930B Physical Layer Test System 2015, the M9375A 32-port 26.5
GHz PXI Vector Network Analyzer and the N1055A 9 picosecond Time
Domain Reflectometry module. These novel test systems have industry-
leading performance and therefore merit the addition of their capabilities
into today’s signal integrity reference books.
A few chapters have become outdated due to the previously mentioned
advancements of technology, so these were deleted from the second
edition printing. They have been replaced with appropriate technology
topics that should stimulate the thinking process of the reader even
further than the first edition chapters. At least, that is the hope and desire
of the authors.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the professional help from colleagues
who have assisted in the creation of this signal integrity book. The list of
authors reads like a “who’s who” of signal integrity, so it is with much
thanks that we publish these individuals’ names:
Heidi Barnes Crescencio Gutierrez
Michael Baxter Abraham Islas
Shelley Begley Haw-Jyh Liaw
Orlando Bell Jim Maynard
Osvaldo Buccafusca Tom McCarthy
William Burns Will Miller
Jack Carrel Roland Modinger
Jinhua Chen José Moreira
Antonio Ciccomancini Gary Otonari
Michael Comai Gautam Patel
Steven Corey Stephen Reddy
John D’Ambrosia Jason Roe
Bill Dempsey Anthony Sanders
Jay Diepenbrock Edward Sayre
Dave Dunham Hong Shi
Vince Duperron Dina Smolyansky
John Goldie Laurie Taira-Griffin
Thomas Gneiting Francisco Tamayo-Broes
Kevin Grundy Ming Tsai
A special thanks to Bob Schaefer for his extensive work on chapter
5 that entailed many months of experiments for comparing detailed
measurement data of TDRs and VNAs.
Mike Resso
Keysight Technologies
Eric Bogatin
Bogatin Enterprises
July 2015
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