Test and measurement vendor Keysight Technologies today announced a 4-level pulsed amplitude modulation (PAM-4) capability for the EEsof EDA Advanced Design System (ADS) Channel Simulator.
Keysight’s ADS PAM-4 capability, as part of enhancing its position in the IBIS-AMI SerDes channel simulation market, will enable system designers to use PAM-4 IBIS-AMI models within the industry standard ADS Channel Simulator.
The ADS Channel Simulator provides a bit-by-bit simulation engine for PAM-4. The new technology enables system designers to compare the various design tradeoffs between non-return-to-zero (NRZ) and PAM-4 signaling technologies.
“Our software solution relies on our measurement expertise and leadership in IBIS-AMI SerDes channel simulation,” said Stephen Slater, product manager for Keysight EDA.
System designers utilize PAM-4 signaling technology for SerDes links over electrical backplanes that are attempting to deliver a data rate of more than 56 Gbps per lane. Simulation accuracy during serial-link design is a challenge for system designers.
Though traditional EDA software simulations consider 2-level signaling, PAM-4 signals are affected by conventional impairments like jitter, noise, channel loss and inter-symbol interference in unconventional ways.
System designers look for understanding how each of these variables influence specific design trade-offs for PAM-4 links with the assistance of a channel simulator with the ability to handle PAM-4 IBIS-AMI models from SerDes vendors.
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