AN 835: PAM4 Signaling Fundamentals

ID 683852
Date 3/12/2019
Public
Document Table of Contents

3.1.1. Backplane Measurements

The following figures are the measurement results for two backplanes, one using Megtron 6 and one using Nelco 26.25-inch backplanes. The measurements that calculate FOM include:

  • Insertion loss (IL)
  • Insertion loss deviation
  • Return loss (RL)
Figure 16. Megtron 6 Insertion Loss
Figure 17. Megtron 6 Insertion Loss Deviation
Figure 18. Megtron 6 Return Loss
Figure 19. Nelco Insertion Loss
Figure 20. Nelco Insertion Loss Deviation
Figure 21. Nelco Return Loss

The bigger the FOM value, the better the quality of a channel. To pass the backplane FOM with the NRZ, NRZ with FEC, and PAM4 schemes, the channel’s quality should be at least 3 dB.