Rambus Chooses LeCroy for Jitter Testing

LeCroy Corp. announced its LC584AXL 1GHz Digital Oscilloscope and Jitter and Timing Analysis Package (JTA) has been selected by Rambus Inc. for validation testing of high-speed clock signals produced by the Direct Rambus Clock Generator (DRCG). The validation procedures published by Rambus assure component manufacturers and system designers incorporating the high-speed clock chips into next generation products meet the jitter specifications required by Rambus memory subsystems. Utilizing LeCroy's LC584AXL Scope and the JTA package, with its high accuracy and repeatability in measuring and analyzing high-speed clock jitter, component manufacturers can verify that their clock chip designs meet the expectations of the DRCG validation program.

The DRCG provides the necessary clock signals to support a Rambus DRAM subsystem. This technology features an 800-MHz data transfer rate and requires precise control of clock jitter in PC systems and servers that incorporate it. LeCroy digital scopes, with deep memories, fast processors and fully integrated software for jitter measurements, are becoming the enabling technology for conducting proper testing and verification of high-speed signals, such as those used in Rambus systems.

JTA is a software tool that complements the deep memories and fast processors of LeCroy's digital oscilloscopes. A key feature of the package is the ability to capture long, continuous data records and to measure the distribution and full range of signal jitter during that capture window. This can be done in testing a clock generator chip, as well as non-periodic signals transmitted as a serial data stream. Such a system eliminates the effect of trigger jitter since the position and width of each pulse can be determined relative to the other pulses in the signal (without any effect or reference to the trigger edge). And since the signal (up to several hundred thousand pulses) is continuously recorded there is zero dead-time during the capture window.

LeCroy develops, manufactures and markets electronic signal acquisition and analysis products and services. The company's core business is the production of high- performance digital and analog oscilloscopes, which are used by design engineers and researchers in a broad range of industries, including electronics, computers and communications.

LeCroy Corp., 700 Chestnut Ridge Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 Phone: 800-453-2769