Tektronix makes with two new additions in DDR test and validation portfolio

BEAVERTON, USA: Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, today announced enhancements and upgrades to its market-leading DDR test and validation portfolio.

New interposers being introduced for the Tektronix TLA7000 Series Logic Analyzers provide engineers with bus capture and analysis for the latest DDR3-1867 standard. The new interposers bring a cost effective test set up to the TLA7000 Series, making memory bus capture accessible to more designers.

Tektronix is also announcing the industry’s first electrical test verification for LP-DDR2 – a new energy efficient version of the popular DDR standard. These new offerings add to the comprehensive, integrated DDR memory solution from Tektronix which provides insight into validating and improving designs of engineers.

DDR3-1867 is the latest generation of double-data-rate memory technology and is now included in the latest release of the DDR3 standard specification from JEDEC, the standards organization for DDR memory. Designed to meet the increasing demand for faster performance in such applications as PC gaming, servers, super-computing, notebooks and high-definition television, DDR3-1867 offers such advantages as a higher data rate and lower power consumption.

The Tektronix TLA7000 series of Logic Analyzers, along with the new interposer solutions from Nexus Technology, Inc. and supporting software give designers a complete set of debug and validation tools for DDR3, including high-speed DDR3-1867. Nexus Technology is the embedded solutions tool partner of Tektronix.

“Memory system validation and debug requires instruments with superior signal capture, measurement accuracy, powerful triggering and high performance probing,” said Dave Farrell, General Manager, Logic Analyzers Product Line, Tektronix, Inc. “By working with Nexus Technology we are able to offer our customers a way to gain easy, cost-effective access to DDR3 signals and deliver support for higher data rates and clock frequencies.”

“By working closely with Tektronix, our DDR3 solutions deliver unrivaled analog and digital validation of DDR3 Memory at affordable price points,” said Robert Shelsky, President, Nexus Technology.

Ultra-High Sampling Resolution
The TLA7000 provides the performance and features engineers require for fast, reliable DDR3 design and validation. For instance, MagniVu ultra-high sampling resolution of 20ps on the TLA7BBx modules allows design engineers to troubleshoot difficult problems as well as verify timing margins across hundreds of channels.

The iCapture Analog Mux on the TLA7BBx modules enables the use of an external oscilloscope to view the analog character of a signal using a single probing configuration for both the logic analyzer and oscilloscope, saving time and minimizing setup complexity – a capability unmatched by any other logic analyzer vendor.

The Nexus memory solutions come with a set of software components to help design engineers quickly and easily setup the logic analyzer to reliably capture DDR3 bus data. The software also provides a decoded view of the DDR bus activity and information about any violations in the DDR bus protocol.

First LP-DDR2 test support
LP-DDR2 is the latest low-power variant of DDR memory technology that offers significant power savings for portable and handheld devices, such as smartphones.

Tektronix is the first test equipment vendor to offer a solution for LP-DDR2 electrical validation and test based on the JEDEC specification JESD209-2A. The new version of Tektronix DDR Memory Bus Analysis software (Option DDRA) for Tektronix real time oscilloscopes such as the DPO7000 Series and the high performance DPO70000 Series now includes support for LP-DDR2.

Tektronix DDR Memory Bus Analysis software enables engineers to automatically identify DDR1, LP-DDR1, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR3 and now LP-DDR2 reads and writes and to clearly see and analyze how analog anomalies are affecting DDR memory. It is the ideal tool for electrical verification of DDR standards.

The new NexusDDR3-1867 Interposers will be available in December 2009.