Characterization techniques of a terabit backplane using new figures of merit
Mike Resso · 2017
Today's internet infrastructure is composed of data and network centers that need frequent hardware updates to keep up with bit rate demands. The physical layer of this network topology requires pristine signal integrity and power integrity to fulfill its mission. The backplane is a critical component that is not easily field upgradable, so the backplane design goals must be such that guarantees a much longer lifecycle than the line cards that plug into it. To explain the new methods of backplane analysis, a high-performance terabit backplane will be used as a design case study. Channel Operating Margin (COM), PAM-4 eye diagrams, mode conversion and crosstalk are a few of the test and measurement techniques that will be discussed in this paper to show trending characterization methodologies.