Anritsu Co., a leader in high-speed test instrumentation, announced its MP1800A BER Tester was part of a live demonstration of 25-28 Gb/s CDR retimers designed to support emerging 100 Gb/s networking applications that was being conducted by Gennum Corp., a supplier of high-speed optical, analog and mixed signal semiconductor solutions. The demonstration, held during this year's DesignCon show, featured Gennum’s GN2425 and GN2426 25 Gb/s reference-free clock and data recovery ICs, and Anritsu’s MP1800A, showcased excellent jitter performance and low power in a 4 x 25 G active copper cable configuration involving zQSFP+ connectors, a 3 m cable assembly and extended host PCB reach.

The MP1800A was selected for the demonstration, in part, because it is a modular BERT with a built-in Pulse Pattern Generator (PPG) that supports output of high-quality, low intrinsic jitter signals, as well as a built-in Error Detector (ED) with high input sensitivity of 10 mV. It supports signal analyses, including bathtub and Q measurements.

Designed to support the next-generation 4x25 Gb/s eco-system, the GN2425 and GN2426 feature industry-leading jitter performance. By resetting the jitter budget inside the cable connector, these small, low-power devices enable robust and cost-effective active copper cables for intra-rack and inter-rack applications. On the host side, Gennum’s CDRs compensate for losses in the host PCB and cable connector, exceeding the requirements currently specified for OIF CEI-28G-VSR retimed interfaces.