The GB1400 is a general-purpose 1400 Mb/s bit error rate tester (BERT) built to meet the exacting standards of design engineers who need to verify and characterize high-speed serial data transmission circuits, interfaces and systems. While primarily a lab instrument, the GB1400’s compact design, full computer programmability and relatively light weight also enable it to serve in manufacturing ATE and field test applications.
The quality of a digital link depends on many factors, but everything comes down to the issue of whether the circuit exhibits a satisfactory BER (bit error rate) and has sufficient margin to function under stress conditions.
The GB1400 has all of the features you expect in a general-purpose BERT, and some you expect only in more expensive instruments, such as automated eye- width measurements at a specified BER, and the ability to accept an external real-time data stream for bit error testing. Also, the GB1400 has options to add advanced features, such as Burst Mode (which also extends external clock range down to 150 kb/s), and a 1-Mbit programmable pattern memory option.
| Key Features |
| Test digital data transmission up to 1400 Mb/s |
| Set Data Rate with 1 kHz resolution |
| Vary Clock and Data timing with 5 ps resolution |
| Phase-Synchronous Clock and Data Edges Tracking |
| 1-Mbit data pattern memory |
| Measure Eye-Width at Specific BERs Automatically |
| Auto-Synchronization Rx/Tx Lock-up |
| Front panel or computer control operation |
| Applications |
| Development of Gigabit LAN/Data Comm Devices |
| High-Speed Fibre Channel, Ethernet |
| Digital Video (MPEG, SDV, HDDV) |
| Wideband Satellite Data Links |
| SONET/SDH Network Devices up to OC-12e/STM4e |
| High-speed GaAs/ECL/E/O device testing |
| Test Clock Recovery Circuits |
| Parallel-to-Serial Analysis with Tektronix MB100 |
| Testing of High Speed Fibre Channel links up to 1,063 Mb/s |
| Gigabit Ethernet at 1,250 Mb/s. |
| Testing of optical busses (Opto Bus, Opto Bahn) at 800 Mb/s per channel. |
| Satellite system testing and TDMA (Burst Mode) at 400, 800 Mb/s |
| GaAs, ECL and optical component testing |
