Agilent Technologies Inc. announced it has expanded its Universal Serial Bus (USB) test portfolio with the automated calibration of a USB 3.0 pattern generator required for receiver test. This enhancement will significantly reduce test system setup time and is a major step toward fully automated receiver tests.

USB receiver testing jitter tolerance became mandatory with the recent release of the USB 3.0 specification version 1.0. USB 3.0 is also known as SuperSpeed USB. USB 3.0 is a new revision of the well-established, widespread standard driven by USB Implementers Forum Inc (USB-IF). The USB-IF is a non-profit corporation founded by the group of companies that developed the USB specification.

Agilent's enhanced USB test portfolio will help computer and consumer-electronics manufacturers manage USB interface challenges and speed their USB standards-based next-generation product development while meeting emerging standards.

Computer and consumer electronics companies are competing to produce and launch faster and more-advanced devices to meet consumers' demands. Without meeting the latest USB, DDR, PCI Express® or SATA requirements, they will not succeed. Agilent is enabling these companies to comply with measurement standards as they design the latest and greatest life-style electronics.

Agilent offers a USB 3.0 test solution for transmitter and receiver test, comprised of a DSA91304A Infiniium oscilloscope, a pattern checker and pattern generator based on the J-BERT N4903A/B high performance serial BERT, an N5181A MXG RF analog signal generator, 81150A pulse function arbitrary noise generator and the N5990A test automation software platform.

"Our USB transmitter and receiver test products provide the most flexible, comprehensive solution for design, characterization and debug, as well as compliance testing," said Jim Choate, USB Program Manager with Agilent's Digital Test Division. "It's important to provide not only the tools for USB 3.0 compliance test, but the test capability to support the design engineer through the entire USB development cycle, including margin test and characterization. Without automated USB pattern generator calibration, the latter are not possible."