LeCroy Redefines Serial Data Decode and Debugging for Oscilloscopes

CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- LeCroy Corporation today strengthened its powerful portfolio of decode options with the addition of six new serial data decoders - ARINC 429, USB 2.0, MIPI D-PHY (including CSI-2 and DSI) and DigRF 3G decoders. Additionally, a new PROTObus MAG (Measure, Analysis, Graph) Serial Debug Toolkit is also now available. PROTObus MAG augments the I2C, SPI, UART, RS-232, CAN, LIN, FlexRay, DigRF 3G, and MIL-STD-1553 decoders and contains a variety of data extraction, timing, and other measurements and graphing tools. For instance, with PROTObus MAG, customers may make common circuit validation measurements like calculating the timing between a protocol packet and an analog waveform. The toolkit also offers the only graphing capability that can extract the digital data from a supported serial data message and plot the values over time as an analog waveform representation.

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PROTObus MAG Serial Debug Toolkit

The PROTObus MAG Serial Debug Toolkit provides insight into the serial bus standards that no other analyzer or oscilloscope can provide. The package includes five timing parameters, three bus utilization measurements, and two tools to extract the encoded digital data from a serial data message and display it as an analog value or waveform representation.  These are capabilities essential for the engineer who needs to gain more insight into the serial data protocol under test and how it interacts with their other circuit elements in an embedded design.

The most powerful feature of the PROTObus MAG Serial Debug Toolkit is the ability to extract digital data from the serial data message using the Message to Value measurement. Then, by applying the Math operator, View Serial Encoded Data as Analog Waveform, the user can view a plot of the data values over time with an intuitive analog waveform representation — a view not available in any other product. Some examples of the usefulness of this capability are: viewing data from a temperature sensor or controller that is sent via an I2C or SPI bus; radio frequency I and Q modulated signal information sent via DigRF 3G; or rotational wheel speed information used by an anti-lock braking system (ABS) and sent via CAN. The ability to convert the embedded digital data in the serial data message to an analog value and view an analog waveform representation of the data is a powerful feature that makes the PROTObus MAG Serial Debug Toolkit a necessity for engineers debugging serial protocols.

PROTObus MAG also includes automated timing measurements useful for embedded design cause-effect validation, such as Message to Analog, Analog to Message, or Message to Message. These measurements provide the ability to rapidly and accurately validate embedded system operation, and then perform statistical analysis using LeCroy's powerful statistical histogram views and measurements.  For instance, a serial data message sent by an embedded controller might initiate another signal or serial data message on the same or another embedded controller. By automating the timing measurement between these two events, and allowing rapid collection and analysis of large amounts of timing measurement data, embedded system validation can be more quickly and accurately performed, and the presence and cause of timing violations quickly located.

Other included measurements, such as Bus Load, Message Bit Rate, and Number of Messages, give an overall status of the serial data message traffic to quickly learn if the bus is over utilized, and to verify the bit rate matches expectations.

ARINC 429 Symbolic Decode

ARINC 429 is a technical standard for the predominant avionics data bus used on most high-end commercial and transport aircraft. It defines the physical and electrical interfaces of a two-wire data bus and a data protocol to support an aircraft's avionics. ARINC 429 (Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated) test tools primarily consist of bus analyzers, which although powerful for simulation and capturing long records of data, lack the ability to view the physical layer waveform and require setup times much longer than on an oscilloscope.

Now, in under a minute, a user can have the oscilloscope setup to view ARINC 429 traffic, and search and zoom into areas of interest. In addition, the ARINC 429 solution offers a symbolic decode feature that loads a user-defined file to apply to the decoded values and convert the readout to a more useful format. For example, the ARINC 429 bus on a Boeing 767 will be transferring data from an air speed monitor and reporting the value back in hexadecimal format. With the symbolic decoder, the resulting decoded message will read AirSpeed = 45 knots.

The ARINC 429 Symbolic decoder uses LeCroy's popular intuitive color-coded overlays on the waveform, permitting easy visual cues to discriminate between words and sub-word formats. The table feature turns the oscilloscope into a protocol analyzer. The table lists the ARINC 429 words in a tabular format and designates a time stamp, as well as Label, SDI, DATA, SSM, Parity, and symbolic information.

The existing MIL-STD-1553 trigger and decode solution complements the ARINC 429 decoder to provide a much needed debug tool set for the commercial avionics and military industry.

USB 1.x/2.0 Decode

USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 is a specification to establish communication between devices and a host controller. LeCroy has leveraged its USB 2.0 protocol expertise from the industry-standard Voyager protocol analyzer products and put it into the oscilloscope. The USB 2.0 protocol is largely considered the ubiquitous standard in embedded systems, but it still presents challenges as it is used in new applications, such as smart phones, PDAs, and video game consoles.

The need for USB 2.0 debug and analysis is served largely by protocol analyzers for protocol debug, and oscilloscopes for physical layer and compliance testing. The USB 2.0 decode from LeCroy integrates both capabilities into one tool to greatly simplify the debug process.

The powerful table display brings all of the power of the protocol analyzer into an easy to navigate table, identifying the timestamp, device address, and Endpoint. The powerful search engine is derived from the USB protocol tools, allowing 45 search options, categorized by Events, Packets, Transactions, and Errors.

The USB 2.0 decoder also decodes the low speed (USB 1.0) and Full Speed (USB 1.1) data rates as well as the USB 2.0 (High Speed) rates.

Industry's Most Comprehensive MIPI Test Solutions

The MIPI (Mobile Industry Processor Interface) standards are driving the next generation of mobile devices—allowing for faster data transfer, lower power consumption, and higher resolution displays and cameras. LeCroy is addressing these needs with today's release of the industry's most comprehensive testing solutions for the mobile phone industry. The test solutions are specifically targeted to MIPI standards and include an automated compliance package for the D-PHY physical layer, as well as decoder solutions that solve protocol layer challenges.

For compliance testing, the QualiPHY MIPI-DPHY (QPHY-MIPI-DPHY) test solution provides automated control of LeCroy oscilloscopes. For debugging, the D-PHY decoder complements QPHY-MIPI-DPHY and decodes the physical layer (D-PHY), as well as the camera (CSI-2) and the display (DSI) layers using color-coded overlays on various sections of the waveform on up to four lanes of data. In addition, the DigRF 3G decode interface allows the user to quickly analyze the digital RF waveform, understand the protocol and data information in each packet, and characterize the timing and amplitude information while still preserving the exceptional responsiveness of the oscilloscope.

About LeCroy

LeCroy Corporation is a worldwide leader in serial data test solutions, creating advanced instruments that drive product innovation by quickly measuring, analyzing, and verifying complex electronic signals. The Company offers high-performance oscilloscopes, serial data analyzers, and global communications protocol test solutions used by design engineers in the computer and semiconductor, data storage device, automotive and industrial, and military and aerospace markets. LeCroy's 45-year heritage of technical innovation is the foundation for its recognized leadership in "WaveShape Analysis"—capturing, viewing, and measuring the high-speed signals that drive today's information and communications technologies. LeCroy is headquartered in Chestnut Ridge, New York. Company information is available at http://www.lecroy.com.

© 2010 by LeCroy Corporation. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

SOURCE LeCroy Corporation