1. Statistical Analysis of High-Speed USB-C Signaling Performance
Shivani Iyer
Mentor: Xu Chen Professor: Jose Schutt-Aine
Motivation and Goals
Goal: To quantify the effect of random noise from nearby electronics and electromagnetic radiation on the USB-C link.
What is USB-C?
USB-C is a serial high speed link that can tolerate very little noise as it can operate up to 10 GT/s. This noise can be either unintentional (from random electronics) or intentional (electronic warfare). Studying this link is imperative because it can aid in defense against electronic warfare as well as in learning how to disrupt other signals.
How do you quantify signal performance?
Plots called eye diagrams help define signal performance. In an eye diagram, all the periods of the signal are overlapped, which yields a diagram like the one below.
What is the value of this research?
Modifying the given schematic of USB-C to include noise sources around the receiver will enable the group to simulate large data files with thousands of values for noise parameters. The information gathered can then be used for Monte Carlo and stochastic colocation.
Work Completed
Ran simulation with different transmission line (TL) lengths and obtained eye diagram parameters
Took electrical design parameters and translated them into physical design parameters (defining strict rules for trace lengths)
Took a passing design at the upper limit and put in the effect of electromagnetic radiation to see if the noise causes the link to fail
Below is the model given for the USB-C with the added noise sources (shown in the red box) around the receiver TL
Chosen design: transmitter TL length = 3000 mils, receiver TL length = 4000 mils
The eye diagram specifications are shown below:
Results
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my mentor, Xu Chen, for his constant support along with his advisor, Professor Schutt-Aine, for integrating me into his research group. I would also like to thank Raytheon and Synclesis for sponsoring this research. Finally, I would like to thank PURE for giving me this opportunity.
References
[1] "Advanced Design System Manual", Advanced Design System, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 02- Dec- 2016].
[2] How to Correlate USB Type-C Simulation and Measurement, 1st ed. Keysight Technologies, 2016, p. 7.
[3] "USB 3.1 Specifications", Usb.org, [Online]. Available: [Accessed: 02- Dec- 2016].
Future Work
Learned about eye diagrams, ADS automation using the Data Access Component (DAC)
Generalize this design to use on designs beyond USB-C
Use this to do more Monte Carlo studies to analyze the effect on the link
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program office and the U.S.Army Research Office under Contract No. W911NF-16-C Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S Army Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program office and the U.S.Army Research Office.