You know, I have always wondered how companies test USB 3.0 connectivity. You know, to see if the connector is compliant in terms of speed and functionality with the USB 3.0 standards. Agilent Technologies has recently introduced a new USB 3.0 testing setup that's so compact and fantastic that everyone who’s anyone in the USB market will want to try it out. Ok, I'm kidding, it is just a compact USB 3.0 Test Setup. How good it is? Well, how about we see for ourselves?

But first a little something from Jim Choate, USB program manager with Agilent’s Digital Test Division, “This live demo of the compact USB 3.0 transmitter and receiver test setup continues Agilent’s phased introduction of its USB solution portfolio. […] With our first solution, introduced earlier this year, we successfully supported early adopters. With this new, compact setup, we are facilitating widespread adoption of USB 3.0 compliance testing.”

The Agilent USB 3.0 transmitter and receiver test will offer complete and most importantly accurate transmitter and receiver design and characterization, as well as offering an array of test fixtures and the support of automated compliance tests. As for the pricing, Agilent’s DSO91304A Infiniium oscilloscope USB 3.0 transmitter test solution starts at 102,819 USD while the USB SuperSpeed receiver tolerance test is worth 137,000 USD.

Alexander Schmitt, co-founder of the Agilent partner company BitifEye, said that “By supporting J-BERT N4903B high-performance serial BERT, the test automation software N5990A provides even more value to customers. […] With J-BERT B’s built-in jitter sources, system calibration is significantly reduced. This saves customers time and enhances productivity. With J-BERT B and N5990A, test parameters such as the random or sinusoidal jitter can be modified on the fly over a wide range, without the need for calculating and loading synthesized waveforms. This is especially important for characterization and troubleshooting.”


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