LeCroy WaveExpert 100H, First Sampling Oscilloscope to Virtually Probe Second Generation PCI Express, Serial ATA, XAUI and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y. -- LeCroy([R]) Corporation introduces WaveExpert([R]) 100H, the first sampling oscilloscope capable of acquiring, measuring and processing signals that cannot be physically probed. It completely addresses the analysis and compliance requirements of the long serial data patterns required by standards such as second generation PCI Express, serial ATA, XAUI and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The modular architecture of the Wave Expert supports up to four optical or electrical channels with bandwidths up to 100 GHz, as well as clock recovery and serial pattern generation up to 13.5 Gb/s.

LeCroy's Wave Expert 100H SDA option includes Eye Doctor[TM], a new analysis feature which merges the signal and channel responses to accurately measure receiver tolerance and to further view equalized signals as they appear inside the receiver.

The Wave Expert 100H comes standard with TDR analysis software, including reference plane calibration and full differential 2-port S-parameter measurements. These features allow characterization of cables, connectors, backplanes and other devices. The measured S-parameters can be combined with the Eye Doctor analysis to perform stressed eye pattern analysis and measurements on equalized receivers. The integration of jitter, waveform analysis, TDR/s-parameters, Virtual Probing, and equalizer emulation provides a complete end-to-end solution for design and verification of serial data links, making the WaveExpert 100H a complete signal integrity work station.

Probing That Which Is Physically Impossible

Receiver inputs typically cannot be accessed with traditional probing methods. LeCroy's Virtual Probing(TM) (available with the WaveExpert 100H SDA option) enables accurate measurement of stressed eye patterns at a receiver input while the equalized receiver emulation provides a "receiver's eye" view of the signal after receiver equalization.

"The transfer rates of next-generation serial data standards will require signal compensation in order to provide the desired performance at the lowest possible cost," says Michael Schnecker, Product Marketing Manager, Signal Integrity Products. "LeCroy's WaveExpert 100H performs the type of analysis that has previously only been available on real-time sampling oscilloscopes."

Accurate Jitter Analysis and Ultra-long Waveform Acquisition

Accurate jitter measurements rely on large data sets but conventional sequential sampling oscilloscopes are limited in the data sets that they can acquire. The spectrum-based methods those instruments use to allow measurements on small data sets can over-estimate jitter in cases where crosstalk or other uncorrelated jitter sources are present. The new high-stability coherent interleaved sampling time base (HCIS) in the Wave Expert 100H, however, provides capture rates that are hundreds of times faster than current sampling oscilloscopes for long data patterns, with a 230 fs jitter noise floor and automatic pattern locking. In addition, the innovative Q-scale jitter analysis used on the Wave Expert 100H provides the most accurate measurements regardless of the jitter source.

Deep Eye Pattern Measurements

Eye patterns are a common measurement of serial data signal integrity and they display the frequency of occurrence of amplitude and time values of a serial data signal. For eye patterns, their depth can be defined as the number of times a particular amplitude-time measurement is taken within a given time period. The high throughput of the HCIS time base delivers unprecedented "depth" to eye pattern analysis rivaling only bit error rate test sets in its ability to detect and measure low probability events. More measurements at each point provide higher statistical confidence. Conventional sampling oscilloscopes are capable of capturing only 40 K samples per second. The fast coherent time base in the Wave Expert 100H captures 2.5 M samples per second or 60 times faster. That means while traditional sampling oscilloscopes take over an hour to capture a waveform error that occurs with a frequency of 10e-6, the same measurement can be made in less than three minutes using the Wave Expert 100H's HCIS time base.

Modular Plug-Ins Suit Wide Range of Applications

A range of plug-in sampling modules is available for different applications. Optical modules support standards ranging from Fibrechannel to SONET/SDH while electrical modules with bandwidths up to 100 GHz support measurements on electrical signals for such standards as PCI Express, XAUI and SATA. The CDR-E135 clock recovery module provides a reference clock for the HCIS time base for bit rates up to 13.5 Gb/s. The PPG-E135 is an electrical pulse pattern generator with differential outputs which can be used for general receiver testing with standard PRBS data patterns up to 13.5 Gb/s.

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Engineers and technicians who would like to know more can contact LeCroy at 1-800-5LeCroy (1-800-553-2769) or visit www.lecroy.com

About LeCroy

LeCroy Corporation is a worldwide leader in serial data test solutions, creating advanced instruments that drive product innovation by quickly measuring, analyzing, and verifying complex electronic signals. The Company offers high-performance oscilloscopes, serial data analyzers, and global communications protocol test solutions used by design engineers in the computer and semiconductor, data storage device, automotive and industrial, and military and aerospace markets. LeCroy's 40-year heritage of technical innovation is the foundation for its recognized leadership in "WaveShape Analysis"--capturing, viewing, and measuring the high-speed signals that drive today's information and communications technologies. LeCroy is headquartered in Chestnut Ridge, New York. Company information is available at http://www.lecroy.com.

(c) 2007 by LeCroy Corporation. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice.