How to Test 400G / 800G Electrical Receiver Conformance
Using a BERT for 100 Gb/s-per-lane receiver calibration and conformance testing
400G / 800G electrical receiver conformance testing requires the application of a stressed signal, simulating the worst-case scenario from a compliant transmitter and channel. The receiver must effectively equalize and capture the signal, ensuring a bit error ratio below specified limits. Complicating the process for 100 Gb/s link receivers are the lower noise thresholds of 56 Gbaud PAM4 signals and forward error correction (FEC), which require additional tuning and testing. IEEE 802.3ck and OIF-CEI-5.0 define conformance testing standards for 100 Gb/s receivers used in 400G and 800G Ethernet networks.
Electrical receiver conformance testing begins with precise calibration of the stressed signal and system. Performance validation includes interference tolerance and jitter tolerance tests, ensuring 400G / 800G receiver conformance for all possible deployment scenarios. Chip-to-module interface testing uses the stressed-eye method, with separate calibrations for host and module inputs. For chip-to-chip, backplane, or cable interfaces, the conformance test involves tuning the link channel operating margin by means of broadband noise injection. The test setup requires a bit error ratio tester (BERT) with PAM4 pattern generation and a high-bandwidth, low-noise oscilloscope to calibrate the receiver and stress signal.
400G / 800G electrical receiver conformance test solution
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M8091CKCA Receiver Conformance Test Application for IEEE 802.3ck
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D9020JITA Jitter, Vertical, and Phase Noise Analysis Software for Infiniium 90000, V-, Z-, and UXR-Series Oscilloscopes
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M8050A 120 Gbaud High-Performance BERT
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UXR0702B Infiniium UXR-Series Oscilloscope: 70 GHz, 2 Channels
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D9020PAMA Pulse Amplitude Modulation PAM-N Analysis Software
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M809212CA – Receiver Conformance Test Application for OIF CEI 5.0
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