Making the most accurate measurement possible

Our view of what comprises the system may encompass a little more than you expected. We consider that all of the following elements play a critical role in your success in the lab:

M1™

M1™ is the primary "part of the system". It analyzes jitter more precisely and in more sophisticated ways than any competitive method available. Because M1 has continued to evolve as the industry requirements and directions change and as the arena of high-speed digital comes to require more sophisticated jitter analysis, ASA will continue its leadership. From clock to serial data, M1 is the Gold Standard of the industry.

The oscilloscope

At the heart of the M1™ is a real-time waveform source, such as an oscilloscope, a digitizer, or an EDA simulation tool. While M1™ determines the functionality of the overall test system, the parametric performance (precision memory depth, etc.) is determined by the actual instrument used. Our list of supported hardware should guide you to the instruments we have found best for your application.

The computer

While it obviously has no impact on the parametric capabilities of the system, a fast, reliable computer is required when using M1 outside one of the recommended scopes. With the advent of Windows-based oscilloscopes, M1 will operate internally as well as externally with the industries' best real-time scopes. Click here for a description of M1™ requirements and recommendations for computers.

The lab's electrical equipment

M1™ makes it possible to use scopes and digitizers at levels of precision that are at least two orders of magnitude tighter than they were designed to be used. To achieve the subpicosecond repeatability that your system is capable of, it has to have an electrical environment with minimum levels of conducted and radiated electrical noise. To see our site installation guidelines, click here.

Operator skill and understanding

If we gave you a Stradivarius, you might be able to hit a good top-spin forehand with it, but it is unlikely you could make the instrument perform in quite the same way a graduate of Julliard could. However, we all hold out the hope that given a level playing field, we can hold our own. Our belief at ASA is that we all have the ability to perform if the tool we are using is one that is reasonably easy to use, and will let us get down to business without having to be re-educated. Although our M1 product is considered by most to be the Gold Standard, it has been designed to allow the operator, whether novice or sophisticated user, to do the job and get the results they are looking for. M1's ability to work outside the industries' best real-time waveform sources, or inside the newest generation of Windows-based oscilloscopes, provides a versatility that is unequalled. ASA's easy-to-use ScriptBuilder lets you quickly and easily define compliance tests for any part, and the operator's ability to speak to someone who really knows about jitter, all are important reasons why M1 users quickly become power-users.

ASA's Technical Support

Our responsibility to our customers is to eliminate any potential obstacles to their being successful in their clock & timing work. This can range from providing advice as to how to best make a certain measurement, to creating special versions of M1 for special measurement situations, to even interpreting the jitter signatures of a PLL. We designed M1 to make it easy for you to share your measurement data with us for this very reason. Let us know how we can be of service to you.