Practical methods for extending ATE to 40 and 50Gbps

Practical techniques for generating test signals between 10Gbps and 50Gbps are described. An historical review shows that the problem of extending ATE to higher rates has been around for several decades, with ever-increasing speed requirements. We demonstrate, in this paper that multiplexing techniques that permitted 40-50 Mbps testing in the 1980s (then using 10-20MHz ATE) can be applied to the present problem of achieved 1000x faster rates today (40-50Gbps). Some intervening steps are shown that achieved 5-10Gbps, and recently 12-24Gbps. These are extended to demonstrate synthesis of signals between 40 and 50Gbps. The paper is intended to aid others who might face similar challenges in testing high-end products prior to the day when 50Gbps ATE becomes common-place.