Tektronix unveils oscilloscope-based solution for MIPI C-PHY

Tektronix Inc. has introduced what it describes as the industry's first commercially available oscilloscope-based solution for MIPI C-PHY physical layer transmitter characterisation and debugging. According to the company, the solution allows engineers developing next-generation camera technologies using the C-PHY 1.0 interface to conduct in-depth analyses of their designs.

The Tektronix C-PHY Essentials, an analysis and debugging software solution for C-PHY testing, claims to fully support the demanding C-PHY test requirements. Among the early implementers of C-PHY is OmniVision Technologies Inc. Its OV23850 and OV21840, both being 20+MP image sensors designed for the next generation of flagship smartphones, have implemented the C-PHY interface under the current specification. Using the C-PHY Essentials analysis software, OmniVision and Tektronix were able to successfully validate and characterise the C-PHY interface used on the two sensors.

While the C-PHY Essential software is designed for TX characterisation, it can also be used by designers for receiver calibration. For receiver calibration, a user needs the ability to make various rise and fall time measurements and calibrate to a stressed eye with different impairments such as DCD as recommended by the C-PHY compliance test specification. As such, C-PHY TX analysis software can assist designers with receiver calibration through use of the eye diagram analysis function.

Working with solution partner The Moving Pixel Company, the Tektronix C-PHY solution includes a four-lane C-PHY traffic generator, single-lane oscilloscope based C-PHY protocol decoder and C-PHY termination board. The traffic generator can be also used for functional validation of the receiver. The protocol decoder is the industry's first C-PHY decoder that runs on an oscilloscope. The Moving Pixel Company also offers a four-lane termination board that supports C-PHY and D-PHY, the industry's first with support for both of these PHYs on the same board.

The Tektronix C-PHY solution is available worldwide.