Automotive Ethernet Transmitter Test Application

Compliance Testing of Transmitters

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) connected cars and Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are transforming commercial and passenger transportation. Every leap in performance demands more and faster data, and this is driving a transition to Automotive Ethernet for in-vehicle networks.

Unlike CAN, LIN, Automotive Ethernet demands rigorous compliance verification using test cases that cover transmitters (Tx), receivers (Rx), and harness/connector assemblies. The requirements include complex measurements that, until recently, have been uncommon in the auto industry: vector network analysis with S-parameters, bit error rate (BER) testing, and electrical compliance of high-speed digital signals.

To help you save time and effort, Keysight offers solutions that automate the testing and validation across Transmitter (Tx), Receiver (Rx), and the connections between Automotive Ethernet devices. Our engineers have invested thousands of hours in learning the standards and creating automated, repeatable compliance tests. These proven applications help you ensure proper test configuration and valid measurement results. Ultimately, you’ll have greater confidence that your device is compliant.

The Keysight AE6910T/AE6920T Automotive Ethernet Transmitter Test Application lets you automatically execute physical-layer (PHY) electrical tests for transmitter compliance using IEEE and/or Open Alliance (OABR) specifications. In addition to the measurement data, the report provides a margin analysis that shows how closely your device passed or failed each test.

The AE6910T/AE6920T software performs a wide range of electrical tests required to meet the current Automotive Ethernet specifications all in one installation. The application helps you execute a wide subset of the conformance tests performed with a variety of Keysight equipment.

The AE6910T/AE6920T Automotive Ethernet Transmitter Test Application allows you to select the reference specification and the test plan depending on the selected specification and currently supports the following data rates and standards:

• 10BASE-T1S, IEEE 802.3cg and OPEN Alliance TC141

• 100BASE-T12, IEEE 802.3bw and OPEN Alliance TC11

• 100BASE-T1 ECU test and OPEN Alliance TC8 specification

• 1000BASE-T1, IEEE 802.3bp and OPEN Alliance TC121

• 2.5/5/10GBASE-T1, IEEE 802.3ch and OPEN Alliance TC151

Overview of benefits

Using the AE6910T/AE6920T software greatly simplifies testing. The Automotive Ethernet electrical performance validation and conformance software offers several features to simplify the validation of Automotive Ethernet designs:

• Automatic configuration of all the required test equipment, reducing overall test time

• Wide range of tests for standards conformance of IEEE and OPEN Alliance test cases, saving the hassle of multiple installations and licenses while reducing cost.

• Trust the results, accurate and repeatable results with Keysight oscilloscopes.

• Be confident in the test setup, with setup instructions and calibration cues for all required test equipment.

• Detailed information on each test that ran in case you need to follow up and debug.

• Automated reporting in a comprehensive pass/fail HTML format with margin analysis

Outlining the Transmitter Specifications

The AE6910T/AE6920T Automotive Ethernet Tx test software saves you time by setting the stage for automatic execution of electrical tests. Some of the difficulties of performing electrical tests for Automotive Ethernet are properly connecting to the oscilloscope, loading the proper setup files, and then analyzing the measured results by comparing them to limits published in the specification. The AE6910T/AE6920T software does much of this work for you.

The AE6910T/AE6920T software automatically configures the oscilloscope for each test and provides an informative report with results that includes margin analysis, indicating how close your product is to passing or failing the specification.

There are two governing standards bodies, IEEE and OPEN Alliance, as well as different data rates for conformance tests set by those bodies.

An oscilloscope is used as the main testing tool for the above tests. There are a few additional instruments needed for distortion, MDI return loss, MDI mode conversion loss and power spectral density (PSD) tests. The following tables identify those differences and provide an equipment recommendation. All tests require an oscilloscope, though in addition, a network analyzer will also be needed for the MDI return loss test and the MDI mode conversion loss test. An arbitrary waveform generator (or function generator) is required for transmitter distortion for 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps tests.

8 Saving time with the AE6910T/AE6920T software

The AE6910T/AE6920T Automotive Ethernet Tx test application extends the ease-of-use advantages of Keysight’s Infiniium oscilloscopes to testing Automotive Ethernet designs. The Keysight automated test engine quickly walks you through the steps required to select, set up, and perform the tests. You can then easily view the results.

The test selections available in the following steps are then filtered according to the choices made in the setup page. You can select a category of tests all at once or specify individual tests. You can save tests and configurations as project files and recall them later for quick testing or review of previous test results. Straightforward menus let you perform tests with a minimum number of mouse clicks.

Applying Configurability and Guided Connections

The AE6910T/AE6920T software provides flexibility in your test setup. It guides you to make connection changes with hook-up diagrams when the specific tests require it. Test connections are clearly identified including additional hardware and cables. When you select multiple tests where the connections must be changed, the software prompts you with a message and appropriate connection diagrams. In addition, the connection setup provides step-by-step instructions along with example signals to help make sure you are getting the intended readings.

Generating Pass/Fail Reports

In addition to giving you measurement results, the AE6910T/AE6920T software also provides a report format that shows you not only where your product passes or fails but also reports how close you are to the limits specified for a particular test. You can select the margin test report parameter, which means you can specify the level at which warnings are issued to alert you to electrical tests where your product is operating close to the official test limit defined by the specification. How close your device comes to passing or failing a test is indicated as a percentage in the margin field. A result highlighted in yellow or red indicates that your device has tripped the margin threshold level for a warning or failure.