Identifying Sources of Jitter

This paper begins with a review of jitter fundamentals including a discussion of the various random jitter (RJ) and deterministic jitter (DJ) components and their possible causes. Using RJ/DJ separation and Bathtub curve analysis is typically the first step in determining if your high-speed system and/or components are comfortably meeting a particular timing budget requirement for reliable data transmission performance. But separation tables and bathtub curve extractions give no indication of the source of jitter. Knowing how to isolate jitter components with time-correlation will enhance your ability to find the root cause so that you can then proceed to "beat down" individual error components one at a time in order to improve reliable system performance.