The Keysight M8040A is a 64 GBaud high-performance Bit Error Rate Tester engineered for physical layer characterization and compliance testing of serial communication standards. It generates and analyzes NRZ, PAM3, and PAM4 signals across symbol rates from 2 Gbaud to 64 Gbaud, supporting data rates up to 128 Gbit/s. The instrument delivers true error analysis in real-time, enabling accurate BER and SER measurements without signal splitting—critical for optimizing performance margins in high-speed digital systems.
Technical Specifications
Signal Generation
• Symbol rate range: 2 Gbaud to 64 Gbaud
• Line coding: NRZ, PAM3, PAM4
• PAM4 error detection capability: up to 58 Gbaud
• De-emphasis: up to 5 taps
• Jitter injection: RJ, PJ1, PJ2, SJ, BUJ, clk/2
• Equalization (analyzer): 13 dB at 32.4 Gbaud NRZ; 5.5 dB at 29 Gbaud PAM4
• Pattern types: PRBS (algorithmic and memory-based), QPRBS13-CEI, QPRBS31, SSPRQ, user-defined, pattern sequencer
• Second pattern generator channel for crosstalk emulation
• FEC encoding support with IEEE 802.3cd A400 sync
Error Analysis
• Real-time BER and SER measurement for NRZ and PAM4
• Error distribution analysis for burst error debugging
• Sampling point resolution: 0.1 ps (automatic and manual adjustment)
• Decision threshold: full input voltage range with 1 mV resolution
• PAM4 Gray coding and custom symbol-to-bit mapping
• Adjustable PAM4 levels for linearity testing
Interfaces
• Remote head architecture (M8057A) with 1.85 mm connectors
– Key Features
• True error detection without signal splitting
• Fast signal transitions with low intrinsic jitter for clean NRZ and PAM4 output
• Sub-picosecond timing resolution enables precise sampling point optimization
• Integrated jitter injection and equalization for link emulation and margin analysis
– Typical Applications
400/200 GbE, 800G Ethernet, OIF CEI-56G and CEI-112G, PCIe Gen 5/6, USB4, Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 2.1, 64G/112G Fibre Channel
– Compatibility & Integration
Supports FEC decoder testing via integrated FEC encoding. Pattern sequencer enables multi-pattern test automation.
