Two-dimensional eye-opening monitor for serial links

A new hexagon two-dimensional on-chip eye-opening monitor that outperforms the widely used rectangular two-dimensional eye-opening monitor is introduced and its design constraints are derived. The effectiveness of the proposed eye-opening monitor is evaluated by embedding it in a serial link implemented in an IBM 130 nm 1.2V CMOS technology. Simulation results of the data link demonstrate that the proposed eye-opening monitor outperforms the rectangular eye-opening monitor by providing a tightened control of data jitter at the edge of data eyes and by eliminating unnecessary errors flagged by the rectangular eye-opening monitor.