D-PHY Transmitter Test, Receiver, and Protocol Solutions

Tektronix D-PHYTX, D-PHYXpress, SR-DPHY, and Moving Pixel D-PHY Protocol solution provides one stop comprehensive solution for conformance and characterization of Transmitter, Receiver, and Protocol test requirement as per MIPI standards. Tektronix D-PHYTX automated solution provides easy way to debug and characterize D-PHY data links. D-PHYTX allows you to select all the electrical and timing measurements defined in MIPI D-PHY, up to v1.2 specification. The D-PHYXpress software enables flexible and intuitive receiver testing of D-PHY v1.2 specification designs with AWG70000 Series Arbitrary Waveform Generator.¹

¹See the host system requirements in the Ordering Information section.

Key features

Transmitter testing:

• Test time
  • Fully automated solution: Performs D-PHY transmitter test with single-button click, seamlessly across High Speed (HS), Low Power (LP), Low Power-High Speed (LP-HS) and Ultra-Low Power State (ULPS) sequences in the D-PHY signal.
  • Allows to select individual test or group-wise tests through the tree structure.
  • RF Switch support to handle multi-lane test with zero manual intervention.
• 100% test coverage as per D-PHY v1.2, CTS v1.2 
  • Performs all fully-automated tests, including Bus Turn Around (BTA) and Ultra-Low Power State (ULPS) measurements, as per D-PHY specifications up to v1.2.
• Debug features
  • Modify limits of test parameters in TekExpress for debug and characterization.
  • Provides DPOJET based setup files to debug the root cause analysis of failures.
• Measurement accuracy
  • D-PHYTX application handles multitude scenarios like Continuous or Burst mode, Termination variations, and varying idle time.
• Transmitter conformance test and beyond
  • Custom limits to perform margin testing
  • Performs characterization by running TekExpress application in continuous mode and collect the data.
• Signal access
  • P7700 Series High Impedance TriMode probe (D-PHY Essentials only) designed especially for MIPI application, that requires low loading, single-ended/differential measurements.
  • Provides TekFlex™ accessories for flexible probing
• Offline/Remote analysis
  • Analyze live or pre-acquired waveforms
  • Allows remote execution of tests

Receiver testing:

• Simplified Receiver test setup

  • Single setup to generate signal for D-PHY and C-PHY
  • Easy to calibrate and provide repeatable result
  • Direct synthesis method helps to create all types of stress with single box.

• Test Coverage

  100% Test coverage: D-PHYXpress application allows you to create D-PHY standard conformant test signals as per MIPI D-PHY v1.2 and v2.0 specifications.

• Signal Fidelity

  Best in class AWG70000 Series with sampling rate of 50 GS/s with 10 bit vertical resolution, to provide best signal fidelity for D-PHY signal generation.

• Ease of Use

  D-PHYXpress provides batch processing to create multiple test scenarios for rigorous test requirements.

• Receiver conformance test and beyond

  • D-PHYXpress application provides a platform for you to create wide range of stimuli to test the device beyond specification.
  • You can program Data to Clock timing, Rise time and Fall time of Data/Clock, Program ESC, LP Command along with Programmable Stress as mentioned below:

    • HS mode stressors

    • Random Jitter and Deterministic Jitter

    • Embed Insertion Loss and De-emphasis

    • Spread Spectrum Clocking

    • Dynamic Skew (D-PHY)

    • LP mode stressors

    • e_Spikeand Minimum Pulse T_MIN-RX

    • Set up/hold time tolerance

    • Real-time skew control

• Offline signal generation

  D-PHYXpress application can work in offline mode or from PC to control AWG remotely and generate D-PHY signals.

Scope based DSI-1 and CSI-2 Protocol Decode:

• Decodes DSI and CSI-2 buses in Low Power and High Speed states.

• Decodes both short packets, long packets and communications types such as Bus Turn Around (BTA), Escape Mode Commands, and Low Power data.

• Decodes the DCS command, ECC, checksum, data type, packet data, and others.

• Displays event table, search, and error indicators.

• Indicates missing sync, ECC, and checksum errors.

Moving Pixel D-PHY Protocol Generator and Decoder:

• D-PHY Protocol Generator
  • Supports up to D-PHY v1.2, CSI v1.2, and DSI v1.2 protocols.
  • Standalone instrument with simplified setup and operation.
  • Supports MIPI D-PHY signaling up to 2.5 Gbps-per-lane, for 1-4 lanes.
  • Provides automated video sequence construction according to the user-defined frame timing.
  • Supports command insertion during looping video upon user command.
  • Provides extensive scripting and macro-capability (macros can now contain video mode frames).
• D-PHY Protocol Decoder
  • Monitors MIPI D-PHY traffic up to 2.5 Gbps-per-lane, for 1-4 lanes.
  • Standalone instrument with simple setup and operation
  • Provides Sniff Mode (high-Z) and Receive Mode (SMA, terminated) interfaces.
  • Supports acquisition of contiguous D-PHY traffic using 1 GB capture memory.
  • Provides Protocol Packet triggering, LP sequencing and State triggering, and ECC/CRC/Burst Error triggering.
  • Provides real-time statistics: Bus activity, measured bit-rate, packet counts, and ECC/CRC error counts, etc.
  • Acquires, decodes, and displays CSI2 v1.2, DSI v1.2 protocol packets and D-PHY 1.2 signaling states (earlier standards are also supported).
  • Provides extensive search and display filtering capabilities.
  • Provides extensive RPC remote-control capability.

Applications

D-PHY testing for:

• Automotive camera and display
• Mobile camera and display
• D-PHY interface design
• DSI-1 or CSI-2 verification
• System validation and integration
• Manufacturing test

Transmitter testing

D-PHYTX application

Single-button fully automated D-PHY testing

The Tektronix TekExpress® (TEKEXP) Automated Test software runs on Windows 7 operating system.

TekExpress software ordered with Option D-PHYTX provides an automated, simple, and efficient way to test D-PHY Transmitter interfaces and devices consistent to the requirements of the D-PHY Conformance Test Specification revision up to v1.2.

Automated testing – save time and resources

D-PHYTX allows you to select the desired tests to run and test the multiple lanes that to be tested. The automated solution, allows you to focus on design and debug of the measurements.

Setup test execution and reporting of measurements

Setup and test execution is simple with the TekExpress D-PHYTX software. The oscilloscope is controlled through the TekExpress automation framework. The TekExpress software provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and provides an intuitive workflow through setup and testing. D-PHYTX application provides GUI to select Test specification, Tree structure of HS, LP, HS-LP tests as per specifications, and Configuration for test condition.

Setting up the bench

You can view the schematic of the selected test with a push of a button. It also displays graphical representation of the test connection to avoid human errors.

Pass/fail report

The report tab provides a view of test results along with pass or fail status, test margin, and images supporting the test results for each lane of the DUT.

Pass/fail report

Beyond conformance - D-PHY Transmitter testing with D-PHY Essentials

DPOJET software with Option D-PHY provides the essential set of D-PHY Transmitter measurements with greater flexibility in the test setup. This option allows engineers to test device beyond conformance.

The following table outlines the key benefits from the DPOJET Option D-PHY and the TekExpress Option D-PHYTX software solution.

P7700 probe (D-PHY Essentials only) for MIPI D-PHY

MIPI D-PHY application needs special type of probing as it operates in different impedance mode in High Speed and Low Power mode. In High Speed mode, D-PHY signals operate in terminated mode with differential signaling. In Low Power mode, D-PHY signal is operated in unterminated mode with single-ended signals. MIPI D-PHY has two main requirements for probing:

• Provide high impedance
• Differential and single-ended mode

P7700 Series probe (D-PHY Essentials only) provides active buffer tip designed for Low Probe loading few millimeters from end of tip to provide best signal fidelity for MIPI D-PHY application along with flexible connectivity options.

With TriMode probing, probe setup makes differential, single-ended, and common mode measurements accurately. This unique capability allows you to work more effectively and efficiently, switching between differential, single-ended and common mode measurements without moving the probe's connection points.

You can be confident in the signal fidelity of your measurements. The innovative new probe design uses SiGe Technology to provide the bandwidth and fidelity needed today and in the future.

The P7700 Series probe (D-PHY Essentials only) architecture provides:

• An active buffer amplifier on the tips with the probe input only 3.2 mm from the input

• Excellent step response and low insertion loss up to 20 GHz

• Low-DUT loading with 100 kΩ (DC) and 0.4 pF (AC) performance

• High CMRR

• Low noise

Switch Matrix support

The D-PHY application supports Switch Matrix option which enables fully automated testing for multi-lane D-PHY Transmitter test.

DPHY TEKXpress - Switch configurator

Advantages of Switch Matrix for D-PHY application:

• Multilane Testing: Switch Matrix eliminates reconnection and reduces errors through automating test setup for each lane of a multilane D-PHY bus.
• De-embed loss of Switch using S-Parameters to perform accurate measurements.

Test coverage

D-PHYTX application provides 100% test coverage as per D-PHY v1.2. For more details, refer to theTransmitter test specificationtable.

Receiver testing

The D-PHYXpress plugin creates D-PHY signals for High Speed, High Speed Burst, and Low Power content with worst-case impaired input signals.

Receiver test solution follows the below steps:

• Generate test signal to emulate the transmitter including channel and noise impairments.

• Calibrate the signal as per the CTS requirement.
• Setup the Device for the receiver test.
• Determine the Bit Error Rate in the given test condition.

The D-PHYXpress application addresses the capabilities in the following step 1 and step 2:

Step 1: Generate test signal to emulate the transmitter including channel and noise impairments

The D-PHYXpress supports waveform generation for High Speed, Low Power, and Low Power-High Speed (LP-HS) mode as per D-PHY specification up to v2.0.

High Speed mode: The D-PHY v2.0 specification data rate is up to 4.5 Gbps in High Speed mode. As per CTS, you need to emulate the channel effect in High Speed mode. D-PHYXpress application allows you to edit the data rate, rise time, pattern type, voltage level, and impairments to emulate the channel effect.

High Speed

In High Speed mode, you can add various channel effect such as: Periodic Jitter (Pj), Random Jitter (Rj), Dynamic Skew, Sine Noise Amplitude, Data to Clock Skew, De-Emphasis, S-Parameter file of Channel for Data and Clock, and SSC on Clock signal.

High Speed Jitter - Jitter

High Speed Jitter - De-Emphasis

High Speed Jitter - Embed Channel

High Speed Jitter - S-Parameter

High Speed Jitter - Spread Spectrum Clocking

Low Power mode: The D-PHY v2.0 specification data rate is up to 100 MHz in Low Power mode. The D-PHYXpress application allows you to edit data rate, rise time, pattern type, voltage level, and impairments to emulate the channel effect.

Low Power

The D-PHY v2.0 specification requires Sine/Square noise with eSpike noise.

LP-HS mode: The D-PHYXpress allows you to add Sync Word as per the specification with timing parameters for Data and Clock.

LP-HS mode

Step 2: Calibrate the signal as per CTS requirement

Calibration of signal impairments provides calibration routines that are D-PHY standard specific. The objective of calibration is to compensate the patterns for specific jitter parameters. The typical parameters are Random, Periodic Jitter, and Amplitude. The procedure sequences through all the patterns and each pattern is calibrated independently. These values are used for the Jitter controlled generation of patterns and are injected into the DUT during loopback.

Test coverage

For more details, refer to theReceiver test specificationtable.

Batch mode

Batch mode allows you to create a library of compiled waveforms with incremental Jitter value with a single click.

High Speed Batch mode

Scope-based decode for DSI-1 and CSI-2

The SR-DPHY application option enables decoding of DSI-1 and CSI-2 buses. SR-DPHY displays all the decoded components of short packets, long packets, and other communications types such as Bus Turn Around (BTA) and Escape Mode commands. In addition, DCS packets decode the DCS command.

MSO70000C display of decoded digital-channel of a packed pixel stream, 24-bit RGB 8-8-8 format packet

MSO70000C display checksum error of decoded analog-channel of a packed pixel stream

Low-power states: High Speed (LPS HS), Escape (LPS escape), and Bus Turn Around (LPS BTS).

High Speed: Start-of-Transmission (SoT), Short Packets (SP), Long Packets (LgP), and End of Transmission (EoT).

Escape: Escape command (Low-Power data, Ultra-Low Power, Reset trigger, Tearing effect, and Acknowledge) and Low-Power data – will decode as packet data (SP/LgP).

Short packets: Data Type, Virtual Channel, Packet data byte 1, Packet data byte 2, and Error Correcting Code.

Long packets: Data Type, Virtual Channel Word Count, Payload (decoded as pixels or bytes depending upon data type), and Error correcting code.

In addition to decoding DSI-1/CSI-2 acquisitions, SR-DPHY also searches through long acquisitions to find all occurrences of the following packet types:

• Short Packets (specify VC, DT, direction, and packet data values)

• Long Packets (specify VC, DT, direction, WC, and data payload including pixel values)

• Start-of-Transmission (SoT), Stop, End-of-Transmission (EoT), Bus Turn Around (DSI-1 only), Escape mode, ECC warning, ECC error, and Checksum error.

Moving pixel protocol solution

For more information on Moving Pixel solution, refer tohttp://www.movingpixel.com/main.pl?about.html.

Required equipment for D-PHY Transmitter and Receiver testing

For a complete list of required equipment, visithttp://www.tek.com/mipi-0.