New Tektronix DisplayPort Type-C Transmitter Test Solution Slashes Compliance Test Times

11/22/2016

Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of measurement solutions, announced a new DisplayPort Type-C Transmitter Test solution that significantly reduces compliance test times compared to both previous Tektronix DisplayPort solution and those available from competitors. According to real-world field evaluations, the highly optimized solution for use with Tektronix high-performance oscilloscopes allows engineers to complete the full suite of DisplayPort Type C compliance tests in less than 6 hours compared to competitive offerings that require up to 16 hours to complete -- a remarkable execution speed.

One of the biggest challenges for DisplayPort compliance testing has been long test times with engineers needing to spend a great deal of time in front of the test setup monitoring the execution in progress. Adding to this difficultly has been the need to also integrate testing for DisplayPort Type-C, which is supported as one of the alternative modes under USB 3.1 specification. In addition to full automation and shorter test times, the new release of the Tektronix DisplayPort test solution also integrates support for the Type-C specification including automated test setup and timer pop-ups to help users perform hands-free testing.

"For engineers facing pressure to bring new designs to market on schedule and on budget, saving time during test and measurement can be an important factor in their ultimate success," said Brian Reich, general manager, Performance Oscilloscopes, Tektronix. "With this solution, we are giving our customers working on DisplayPort designs time back in their day. They can now simply select the test they want to run and work on other tasks while the tests are running."

One of the key features of this release is the introduction of the DPOJET measurement library which helps in characterizing silicon and debug. If any of the tests fail during compliance testing, users can tap into the DPOJET DisplayPort measurement library for a deeper dive into the failures such as eye diagram mask hit failures and look at the relation between pre-emphasis level vs. voltage swing tests to perform root cause analysis. The solution also gives users the flexibility to configure measurements at different settings, make configuration changes in existing measurements on the fly and run tests in single-shot or free-run repetitive modes.

The DisplayPort TX automated solution supports the compliance tests per DisplayPort 1.2 Type-C Spec and CTS using the TekExpress framework, a state-of-the-art tool designed for automation. The backend automation engine is based on Iron Python which uses socket based programming and .Net remoting. Socket-based scripting interface is a de-facto standard that allows engineers to integrate an automated Tektronix solution into their automation environments. 

TekExpress framework provides a simplified user experience with a single panel for device under test (DUT) configuration. It now includes DUT automation support using an Unigraf DPR-100 reference sink auxiliary controller. Enhanced reporting options let users generate reports in .html, .mht, .pdf and .csv formats. Data logging in .csv format helps users to collect results and analyze system behavior in depth, with both live and offline waveform analysis available. 

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Company profile:  Tektronix