Last Updated: Oct 2018 Product: PAM4 Analysis Version: 10.6 This readme is best viewed in a fixed-width font such as Courier New. Contents of this Readme File: 1. System Requirements 2. Contents of Distribution 3. What's new in this release? 4. Release Notes 5. Known Problems and Limitations 6. Contact Information ================================================================================ 1. System Requirements - The PAM4 Analysis application runs on the following oscilloscopes. DPO/DSA/MSO73304DX DPO73304SX DPO75002SX DPO75902SX DPO77002SX DPS73308SX DPS75004SX DPS75904SX DPS77004SX - To operate this application, your scope will require: * the Electrical option key (PAM4) if you wish to run electrical measurements * the Optical option key (PAM4-O) if you wish to run optical measurements * the DPOJET Jitter + Noise application (DJAN) and its option key * an option key for SDLA Essentials, SDLA Advanced or SDLA Visualizer (although the SDLA application itself doesn't need to be present). If any required option key is not installed, it may be possible to use free trials. Alternatively, you can work with your Tektronix Account Manager to get a floating license for evaluation. - You must be running Tekscope version 10.5.0 or later. - You must be running DPOJET version 10.0.6 or later. ================================================================================ 2. Contents of Distribution PAM4.exe PAM4.ctf PAM4_Launcher.exe PAM4_Analysis.chm PAM4_Analysis.pdf Presets_IEEE_802d3_Draft3d3.xml Presets_IEEE_802d3_Final.xml Presets_OIF_CEI_Gen1.xml Presets_OIF_CEI_Gen2.xml SRM.xml Readme.txt (this file) ================================================================================ 3. What's new in this release? - V10.6.0 adds the following features * Revised TDECQ measurement methodology to align with the latest IEEE 802.3bs/cd * Display and enable users to input TDECQ FFE tap values * Set optical probe frequency response to flat to maximum bandwidth when Bessel-Thomson filter is enabled and optical measurement is selected in PAM4 analysis - V10.5.0 adds the following features * Support for optical probes and measurements (OMA, ER, AOP, TDECQ) * A measurement selection tree allowing measurements to be enabled or disabled individually * Support for the 802.3bs CTLE Presets (also now used by OIF-CEI) * Improved resolution and color depth in eye diagrams * IEEE 802.3bs jitter measurements (J4u, Jrms, etc) * Ability to export a table of specific symbol errors, via GPIB * Ability to manually control FFE, DFE taps (in addition to auto-adapt) * Ability to specify the expected symbol pattern via a file (in addition to auto-detect) * The default waveform source was changed from Ref1 to Ch2 * Fixed a defect with Bessel-Thomsom filter configuration in V10.4.0 - V10.4.0 adds the following features: * Automatic detection of data rate for most signals * 3-pole, 2-zero CTLE design to support recent versions of OIF-CEI standards * UUGJ, UBHPJ and EOJ measurements per recent versions of OIF-CEI standards * Choice of absolute or normalized time units (seconds or Unit Intervals) * Improved SNDR measurements and improved FFE tab adaptation * More flexible Bessel-Thomson filter * Population statistics for Rise and Fall measurements * GPIB support for export of images, detected pattern, and EQ tap values - V10.3.0 adds the following features: * Feed-Forward Equalizer (FFE) * Error-tolerant pattern detection * Error Navigator for visually analyzing individual symbol errors * SNDR, Pmax, sigma measurements and associated plots - V10.0.0 adds the following features: * Noise analysis (EW6, EH6, VEC) per OIF-CEI contribution oif2014.230.07.pdf (Dated June 10, 2016) * Adjustable BER target (Use 1e-6 to be compliant with OIF-CEI) * Fast high-population eye rendering, when Noise Analysis is enabled * Interactive eye diagrams (resizable, cursors, BER contours, export options) * Population controls (stop on # of symbols, # of acquisitions, or stop if the center eye becomes closed) * Automatic skew alignment, in case the eyes are not at the center of the unit interval (as determined by clock recovery). * Optional logging of the results of every sequencing cycle to a .csv file. * A greatly expanded command set for remote control. ================================================================================ 4. Release Notes - On SX-model scopes, if greater than 20M record length is used, only the first 20M samples will be analyzed. On DX-model scopes, the limit is 8M samples. - Some of the waveform analysis requires repeating patterns. For jitter analysis (RJ, DJ, TJ@BER) a minimum of 50 pattern repeats are needed. For correlated-pattern analysis, a minimum of 3 repeats are needed. - The application reserves Math2 - Math4 and Ref2 - Ref4 for internal use. This leaves Ch1 - Ch4, Math1 and Ref1 available as input sources. Not all the reserved sources are used, depending on the PAM4 configuration, but those that are needed are overwritten without warning. - The Flt3 user-defined arbitrary filter slot in the scope's math system is reserved for use by the PAM application, and may be overwritten without warning. - When present, the Correlated Waveform represents the signal at the input to the FFE and DFE equalizers rather than at the output, whether the equalizers are enabled or not. In contrast, the accumulated eye is after any EQ. - The eye diagram associated with the TDECQ measurement only represents the first 60k to 120k symbols in the waveform. Thus, it may appear more open than the full accumulated eye (which may include 2.5M or more symbols). ================================================================================ 5. Known Problems and Limitations - If a Device-Under-Test sends one or more incorrect symbols in an otherwise repeating pattern, the application will treat the eye as closed even though it is open visually. In particular, this can trigger the "Halt on closed center eye" feature. This feature can be disabled on the Preferences panel. - If a modal dialog (FFE or DFE configuration) is opened via the graphical user interface and then a processing cycle is initiated via the programmable interface while the modal dialog is open, the application will end up in a corrupted state and will need to be closed and re-opened. - When the Error Navigator is used with an FFE with manually-configured taps, it incorrectly identifies which bits are in error. - In the measurement selection tree, if you double-click the very top row, the rest of the tree will become invisible. Double-clicking the top row a second time will restore the rest of the tree. - An analysis cycle occasionally fails with the message "Unable to transfer wfm from scope". The analysis succeeds on a second try. - If the oscilloscope is accessed via Remote Desktop, the background color of the header rows of the measurement result tables is sometimes washed out, making the column headings difficult to read. If this causes problems, VNC may be a reasonable alternative for remote access. - The programmable interface cannot respond to commands while sequencing. This renders the 'status' query unusable, and the 'stop' command has been disabled. Instead, the user must poll the "pam4" variable as described in the manual. When the variable is returned as "OK", sequencing has completed and communications re-established. Since 'Run' mode cannot be interrupted via the programmable interface, remote users should either enable population limits (so that Run mode is terminated automatically by the application), or use a sequence of Single commands instead of Run mode. - Sometimes the eye diagram and direct eye measurements like EW6 and EH6 show an open eye but extrapolated jitter measurements (RJdd, DJdd, TJ@BER) are large enough to suggest a closed eye. This is because the conventional jitter analyzer uses only timing (edge) information rather than amplitude information, and fails to properly account for some unique aspects of PAM4 eye diagram behavior. When this occurs, the eye diagram and direct measurements should be considered more reliable. - Rarely, the PAM4 application can fail to launch right after installation or update, due to Windows UAC controls. This can be resolved by lowering UAC to the lowest level and launching the application one time. After this, UAC can be raised to its former level, and the application should continue to work. - If the FFE is configured with more than 20 taps, an attempt to read the tap values through the remote interface will fail. - The SNDR measurements produce no results if the sample rate is < 100Gsps. - When results are exported to .csv, measurement names containing greek letters or subscripts are corrupted. ================================================================================ 6. Contact Information - MyTek - One way to receive timely information on new software updates, new products from Tektronix and other useful information is to join MyTek. Visit www.tektronix.com/mytek to become a member. - Product Support - For application-oriented questions about a Tektronix measurement product, in North America call 1-800-833-9200 option 3, Monday-Friday, 6:00AM - 5:00PM Pacific Time or contact us by email at techsupport@tektronix.com. For service support call 1-800-833-9200 option 2, Monday-Friday, 5:00AM-5:00PM Pacific Time or contact us by email at meas-svc-feedback@tektronix.com Outside of North America: please contact your local Tektronix Sales or Distributor office. Refer to our web site at www.tektronix.com for listings of those offices. For all other information call 1-800-833-9200, visit our web site at www.tektronix.com, or write to us at: Tektronix, Inc. P.O. Box 500 Beaverton, OR 97077 ================================================================================ 7. Auxiliary Licenses The following license applies to the 3rd-party binary function 'findjobj' which is incorporated into the PAM4 Analysis application: Copyright (c) 2015, Yair Altman All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. ---End of File---