Picosecond Pulse Enhances ResolutionPicosecond Pulse Enhances Resolution

BOULDER, Colo. -- Picosecond Pulse Labs, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-speed electronic components and instruments, announces the Model 4020 TDR/TDT Source Enhancement Module. The Model 4020 provides precision pulses with 5 ps risetime to improve the resolution of Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) and Time Domain Transmission (TDT) signal integrity measurements. This enhanced resolution reveals the details of close-spaced impedance discontinuities that impede high-speed interconnection design performance and harass design engineers. The Model 4020 is used with existing TDR and TDT measurement systems. It transforms typical TDR/TDT source pulses with risetimes of 30 to 50 ps into 5 ps signals that improve the spatial resolution of TDR analysis by a factor of ten. A TDR/TDT measurement source attaches to the Model 4020 driver unit that in turn launches the high-resolution pulse through a small remote pulse head into the device-under-test (DUT). Different pulse heads are used for TDR and TDT measurements. When used with an Agilent TDR/TDT measurement system, the Model 4020 allows the normalization of the TDT signal to an equivalent 3 ps risetime. This product was demonstrated at DesignCon 2003 in Santa Clara, CA."The design of high speed serial analog transmission links on copper pairs, computer motherboards, and system backplanes requires enhanced, state-of-the-art testing methods to characterize performance. We are confident that this new TDR/TDT product will provide significant value to these transmission system designers," said Clayton Smith, Picosecond's CTO and Vice-President of Engineering.Picosecond Pulse Labs Inc.