Date: 11/08/2010

Agilent releases GDDR5 test application and BGA probes

Agilent Technologies has unveiled the U7245A GDDR5 test application and GDDR5 BGA probes, which Agilent claims is the industry's first graphics double data rate 5 (GDDR5) compliance test application packages and GDDR5 ball-grid array (BGA) probes for oscilloscopes. The new tools help engineers to ensure their GDDR5 device and board designs will interoperate with other GDDR5 devices.

The Agilent U7245A GDDR5 test application provides GDDR5 physical-layer compliance measurements. Compliance tests are based on the Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) JESD212 GDDR5 SGRAM specification. Signal access is provided by Agilent's GDDR5 BGA probes.

GDDR5 is four times faster than GDDR4, is used in high-performance display cards and embedded designs such as gaming consoles and computer notebooks.

"Our active involvement in developing the JEDEC standard allows us to deliver a GDDR5 compliance and characterization tool with test methodology that is widely accepted in the industry," said Jay Alexander, vice president and general manager of Agilent's oscilloscopes business. "By integrating the InfiniiScan trigger tool for read and write separation, and the InfiniiSim de-embed tool for removing probing effects, we help engineers turn on and debug their GDDR5-based systems faster and make it easier for them to make data-valid window measurements."

"Agilent's GDDR5 compliance test application can help AMD and its customers create robust systems by helping to ensure that physical-layer measurements can be taken quickly with consistent, accurate results," said Joe Macri, corporate vice president and client CTO, AMD. "The high-speed nature of GDDR5 and the GDDR5 BGA probe, combined with the Agilent Infiniium 90000 X-Series oscilloscopes, is an ideal marriage for test engineers."

Agilent says the Agilent GDDR5 compliance test application provides automated physical layer testing capability for all clock, electrical and timing tests, with 100 percent test coverage as specified in the JESD212 specification. The U7245A GDDR5 application automatically configures the oscilloscope for each test and generates an HTML report at the end of the test that is viewable with any Web browser. The report compares the results with the specification test limit and indicates how closely the device passes or fails each test.

Price: The Agilent U7245A GDDR5 compliance test application is priced at US$4,000.

Availability:
The Agilent U7245A GDDR5 compliance test application is available now