As AI workloads drive unprecedented scale-up and scale-out architectures, data center networks are rapidly transitioning to 224G electrical lanes and 1.6T optical modules. These advances introduce significant challenges across the development lifecycle, including signal integrity at extreme data rates, tighter compliance margins and the need for efficient, repeatable testing in high-volume manufacturing.
Engineers require integrated, standards-compliant solutions that reduce test complexity while ensuring interoperability, reliability and yield as networks scale. The new Digital Communication Analyzer (DCA)-based test applications support IEEE 802.3dj electrical and optical development from early validation through production testing. Together, they enable engineers to move faster from bring up and characterization to compliance readiness, reducing design risk and accelerating time to market for next generation 224G per lane data center and AI interconnects.
Source: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
The new 1.6T optical and electrical solutions portfolio includes:
224G DCA optical transmitter conformance test software for IEEE 802.3dj
Keysight N1095DJCA is an IEEE 802.3dj-aligned optical transmitter conformance test application developed to support conformal optical measurements as designs mature. The application delivers high-fidelity, repeatable results on the DCA platform and supports the new N1093 DCA-M sampling oscilloscopes, enabling higher sensitivity and improved measurement margin for next-generation optical interfaces.
- Correlates optical transmitter quality metrics, Transmitter and Dispersion Eye Closure Quaternary (TDECQ) and TDECQ Codeword Error Ratio (TDECQ-CER), across R&D and pre-production environments.
- Reduces debug and validation time through an automated characterization workflow for 1.6T single-mode optical transceivers aligned with IEEE 802.3dj test methodology.
- Ensures standards-compliant optical performance with high-sensitivity measurements that preserve margin at 224G data rates.
- Delivers comprehensive measurement reports, transforming complex data into customer-ready reports in seconds.
224G DCA electrical transmitter test software for IEEE 802.3dj
Keysight N1091DJPA is an IEEE 802.3dj electrical validation application designed for R&D debug environments. It enables engineers to characterize transmitter behavior using half-rate clocking setups, making it ideal for early silicon, ASIC and system validation. The application is ideal for uncovering margin, isolating issues and informing design decisions quickly.
- Accelerates electrical testing by guiding users through setup and configuration with an application-driven workflow that eliminates manual complexities.
- The 224G electrical validation solution features the Keysight DCA-X wide-bandwidth sampling oscilloscope and DCA-M clock recovery modules, reducing overall test time.
224G multimode DCA-M sampling oscilloscope
The N1096 multimode DCA-M supports the high-speed demands of AI-driven data centers, offering 224 Gbps or 112 GBd PAM4 measurement capability for multimode (MM) short-reach applications for next-generation AI infrastructure.
- Accelerates 224 Gbps multimode optical development with high-bandwidth measurement capability, enabling direct waveform validation beyond previously measurable limits.
- Enables the development of next-generation multimode optical components and modules of 1.6T interconnects for AI applications.
- Expedites 1.6T multimode optical transceiver development from initial R&D to early manufacturing readiness.
Dr. Joachim Peerlings, vice president of network and data center solutions at Keysight, said: “As the industry moves rapidly toward 224G and 1.6T interconnects, customers need test solutions that span electrical and optical domains while scaling seamlessly from R&D to manufacturing. These new solutions reinforce Keysight’s commitment to enabling reliable, high-performance AI data center networks.”
