Keysight (Agilent) N4906B Serial BERT, 12.5 Gb/s

The Keysight (Agilent) N4906B Serial BERT is a high-performance bit error ratio tester for validation of high-speed serial interfaces from 150 Mb/s to 12.5 Gb/s. This general-purpose instrument delivers cost-effective testing across telecommunications, data center, and semiconductor manufacturing environments with integrated pattern generation, error detection, and optional Clock Data Recovery (CDR) for clockless interface testing.

– Technical Specifications

Data Rate Coverage
• Option 003: 150 Mb/s to 3.6 Gb/s
• Option 012: 9.5 Gb/s to 12.5 Gb/s
• Option 102: 150 Mb/s to 12.5 Gb/s with CDR functionality

Pattern Generation and Detection
• Integrated pattern generator and error detector
• Pattern depth: 32 Mbit
• Pattern editor supporting user-defined, test, and PRBS sequences

Clock Output Specifications
• Option 003: 150 MHz to 3.6 GHz
• Option 012: 9.5 GHz to 12.5 GHz
• Option 102: 150 MHz to 12.5 GHz
• Square wave output with +0.5 V High / -0.5 V Low (typical)
• Transition times: < 20 ps (Option 003), < 25 ps (Option 012), < 50 ps (Option 102)
• Differential or single-ended interface

Error Output
• RZ format, active high
• DC coupled, 50 Ω

– Key Features

Option 101 (Enhanced Measurement Suite) includes differential input testing for LVDS and similar interfaces, BERT scan with total jitter and random/deterministic jitter separation, fast total jitter measurement, spectral decomposition, eye contour analysis, error location capture, output-level measurements, and fast eye mask testing for manufacturing pass/fail validation.

– Typical Applications

High-speed serial interface validation, component and system characterization, telecommunications device testing, data center link qualification, and semiconductor manufacturing quality assurance.

– Compatibility & Integration

Remote control via LAN, GPIB, and USB. Compatible with Agilent TestExec, Vee, Microsoft Excel, Visual Basic, and National Instruments LabVIEW. Windows-based color touch screen interface with backward compatibility for legacy remote commands.