Characterization and performance evaluation of differential shielded cables for multi-Gb/s data-rates

Abstract

This paper compares several differential cable characteristics that were evaluated for multi-Gb/s data-rates for both data and clock paths for 1-10 m lengths. Time-domain measurements are shown for the unassembled and connectorized cables and for representative card-plus-cable signal paths and the performance limiting factors are highlighted. Techniques are shown for developing coupled-line models for odd and even excitations for all the components in a full chip-to-chip path in order to make realistic data-rate predictions.