With the new K58 option for its oscilloscopes R&S RTO and R&S RTP, Rohde & Schwarz now offers a triggering and decoding solution for 1000BASE-T1 automotive ethernet.
Similar to the existing 100BASE-T1 or CAN bus analysis and decode capability, OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers can now analyse and decode the latest bus speeds in automotive digital design.
The flexibility of automotive ethernet suits the simple twisted-pair network technology to a range of in-vehicle networks. To verify, commission and troubleshoot designs based on an automotive ethernet communication link, it is important to have an instrument that can measure and verify compliance to the standards, as well as decode the messages and reliably triggering on them.
The new K58 option for the R&S RTO and R&S RTP oscilloscopes allows users to debug and verify their in-vehicle networks and engine control unit implementations.
The decoded data can be displayed in a table as well as in the usual honeycomb diagram. Parameters such as Idle, MAC or error frames are defined by colour codes.
With the R&S RT-ZF7 probing fixtures, both the forward and reverse data streams can be decoded simultaneously. In addition, the oscilloscopes support simultaneous decoding of up to four serial buses.
The search functions are intended to simplify analysis of long signal sequences while specific message types, content and errors can be isolated quickly. All detected events are shown in a table with timestamps and the user can then examine the individual events in a zoom window, with the proper timing correlation, and navigate between the events.
The combination of the new trigger and decode functionality with the K35 bus measurements option, in-depth measurements, such as the error frame rate and number of consecutive frame errors, help to quickly determine link stability. Rohde & Schwarz states that this “unique combination” allows for more extensive analysis of bus timing, such as the delay between frames or between trigger event and the subsequent bus frame.
