4 Explanation of TI's PCIe Compliance Tool

TI's PCIe Compliance Tool can be found within TI's TICS Pro Software. To access the tool, first download TI's TICS Pro Software. Under the Tools tab, select PCIe Report Generator (steps shown in Figure 4-1). After a few seconds, the tool appears, as shown on Figure 4-2, which can then be used to analyze frequency domain traces (such as Figure 4-3) and time domain traces (such as Figure 4-4) to determine PCIe compliance.

Figure 4-1 TICS Pro Steps to Access the PCIe Reference Clock Analysis Tool

Figure 4-2 PCIe Tool Home Page

For frequency domain data analysis, the tool runs frequency domain input traces through PCIe filters, taking other parameters such as PCIe generation, clock architecture, noise fold, and presence of SSC into considerations to determine if the trace meets PCIe requirements. Then, the tool assign a PASS, FAIL, or N/A status based on the results.

For time domain data analysis, the tool runs time domain input traces, and takes into account Vcross, period, duty cycle, and other parameters specified by PCIe standards to determine and assign a PASS/FAIL to the traces being analyzed.

Figure 4-3 Example of PNA Plot

Figure 4-4 Example of Time Domain Plot