Latest Test and Measurement News

Margin Test Solution for PCIe Gen 3 and Gen 4

10 October 2022 -- Tektronix announced a new product category that revolutionizes PCI Express testing, transforming time to market, cost, and accessibility. The new TMT4 Margin Tester breaks conventions of PCIe testing, delivering fast test times. Plug-and-play set up and easy-to-use interface combine to deliver in minutes results that, up until now, required hours or even days of set up and testing, often stretching costs to seven figures.

“TMT4 Margin Tester is the latest example of how Tektronix continues to develop innovative test equipment, advancing technology solutions that accelerate progress and uniquely solve real-world problems” said Chris Witt, Vice President and General Manager of Portfolio Solutions at Tektronix. “The TMT4 Margin Tester empowers engineers to realize technological advances with ever greater ease and speed.”

A Completely New Approach to PCIe Validation Testing

TMT4 Margin Tester breaks new ground as a specialized testing tool for design and validation of PCIe Gen 3 and Gen 4 motherboards, add-in cards, and system designs. While PCIe testing normally requires complex test systems and engineers with deep expertise and knowledge, the TMT4 Margin Tester enables engineers at all levels of experience to evaluate the health of transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) links faster than ever, greatly reducing time to market and cost of ownership. The platform supports the majority of common PCIe form factors, including CEM, M.2, U.2, and U.3, with testing capabilities of up to 16 lanes across PCIe presets 0-9, using a single standard connector.

Uncover Issues Earlier

The Tektronix TMT4 Margin Tester is unrivaled in its speed and versatility for PCIe testing, making it a great option to conduct earlier and more frequent evaluation of board- or system-level link health during design and validation. The TMT4 tester is intended to complement full validation and compliance testing systems consisting of oscilloscopes and BERTs, by making it possible to uncover issues earlier in the design process prior to an in-depth examination using traditional equipment.

Changing Speed and Simplicity

New technologies are more complex than ever, requiring significant time and expertise to validate them. The new TMT4 Margin Tester enables engineers at all levels of expertise to test PCIe devices across up to 160 combinations of lanes and presets in as little as 20 minutes at Gen 4 speeds. Multi-lane testing capabilities enable users to significantly improve overall testing times by reducing the number of connection changes needed to perform testing.

The Tektronix TMT4 Margin Tester is now available.

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