1/2/14

EE Times - Getting the most out of your twisted pair cable

Design How-To

Getting the most out of your twisted pair cable

Davor Glisic, National Semiconductor Corp.
6/14/2008 01:00 PM EDT 1 Comment
Tw eet 0 Share 1

Moving vast amounts of data between two points quickly, reliably and economically is what many designers are facing regularly when building their systems. When it comes to using copper cables as a transmission media in these data transport systems, twisted pair cables present many advantages, one of them being low cost. The low cost incentive these cables offer is very appealing, thus many designers are finding ways to employ them outside of their traditional application domain - Ethernet. Let's review relative performance bounds of twisted pair cables, explore signal conditioning solutions (i.e. pre/de-emphasis, equalization) semiconductor manufacturers offer to push these bounds out, sort out pros and cons of each solution and understand when you need to consider enhanced but more expensive cables. Know its Twists Setting performance bounds (e.g. how fast and how far one can transmit binary digital signals using these cables) for twisted pair cables requires thorough understanding of their key electrical characteristics. One of them is cable insertion loss or cable attenuation. Above approximately 1 MHz, its most dominant component is the skin effect loss which is directly proportional to the square root of the frequency. Per ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2 Category 5e standard, which defines currently the most common twisted pair cable, the insertion loss is mathematically modeled with the following equation: Insertion Loss = -{1.967 * SQRT (f) + 0.023 * f +0.05 / SQRT (f)} [dB / 100m] With this equation, you can approximate insertion loss for any CAT5e cable length at any frequency (Figure 1). It becomes very handy when you quickly want to assess what kind of loss your signal can expect.

www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1274094&print=yes

1/6

1/2/14

EE Times - Getting the most out of your twisted pair cable

Figure 1. CAT5e Attenuation per TIA/EIA-568-B.2. You can use the data from Figure 1 to estimate maximum data rate as a function of cable length. The estimates require knowing the criteria your transmitter and receiver mandate for error free operation. For example, when building RS-485 transmission networks, attenuation of 9 dB at the frequency of 1/tUI in hertz, where tUI is a unit interval at a given signaling rate, is an accepted industry guideline for determining maximum signaling rate. For networks that use interface ICs with reduced voltage swings for higher signaling rates (i.e. LVDS, CML), attenuation of 6 dB at 1/tUI hertz may be used as a general guideline when determining maximum signaling rate for a given cable length. These guidelines assume dc-balanced data, point-to-point links, zero crosstalk and pair-to-pair skew, and no external interference.

Figure 2. How Far, How Fast. Figure 2 illustrates the maximum signaling rate as a function of CAT5e cable length for RS485 and LVDS interfaces based on the 9 dB and 6 dB guidelines respectively. In Figure 2, the flat segment of each curve is determined based on the cable's ohmic losses (typically 9 ohms per 100 meters for 24 AWG twisted pair) and the assumption that the signal driver requires 100 ohm differential cable termination. The sloped segment of each curve is determined using the attenuation values given in Figure 1. Note the dashed portion of the LVDS curve. In theory, LVDS interfaces can transmit subwww.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1274094&print=yes 2/6

1/2/14

EE Times - Getting the most out of your twisted pair cable

Mbps signals over hundreds of meters of CAT5e, however, LVDS receivers can only handle +/- 1V of ground noise and as such are not suitable for a long-haul dc-coupled interfaces. Other important twisted pair cable characteristics are near-end crosstalk (NEXT) and pairto-pair skew. The NEXT is critical when considering bidirectional transmission. For unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables, the NEXT increases quickly with frequency and leaves little room for cable attenuation given the allotted signal-to-noise ration, therefore the maximum cable length for bi-directional transmission is much shorter than it is for unidirectional transmission. The cables with individually shielded or foiled twisted pairs (FTP) have much better NEXT performance (Figure 3) and allow bidirectional transmission at frequencies beyond 1 GHz.

Figure 3. Cables with Individually Shielded Twisted Pairs Have Minimal NEXT beyond 1 GHz. The pair-to-pair skew is a parameter that should not be overlooked when timing relationship between signals being transmitted on the same twisted cable is critical. Novice CAT5e users find themselves surprised when they discover that the pair-to-pair skew can be as high as 45 ns (typically 25 ns) per 100 meters (TIA/EIA-568-B.2). It is a high number of nanoseconds when dealing with signals that run at hundreds of megabits per second. Sort Out Available Signal Conditioners We just reviewed the three major twisted pair cable parameters that paint the cable's performance boundaries: cable attenuation, near end crosstalk and pair-to-pair skew. While cable manufacturers provide relatively economical solutions to the NEXT and skew problems (cables with individually shielded twisted pairs for the first and cables with tightly controlled pair-to-pair skew for the latter), the semiconductor manufacturers focus on "correcting" cable attenuation and provide solutions known as signal conditioners. Some of
www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1274094&print=yes 3/6

1/2/14

EE Times - Getting the most out of your twisted pair cable

them come in form of either signal buffers with built in pre-emphasis or de-emphasis circuits; others are available as fixed, variable or adaptive equalizers. All these solutions "compensate" for certain amount of cable attenuation within a certain frequency band. How these solutions accomplish the "compensation" is what differentiates them. Understanding the basic principles of their operations is critical for making the optimal use of them, so let's review each solution and see when it makes sense to employ them with twisted pair cables. Pre-emphasis is a feature of an IC that boosts the magnitudes of high frequency components of a signal with respect to the magnitudes of low frequency components of the signal. On the other side, a de-emphasis circuit decreases the magnitudes of low frequency components of a signal with respect to those of high frequency components. The idea behind is that the frequency response of either of these circuits when combined with the response of a transmission medium will yield a response which is close to a flat one. A network with a flat frequency response does not cause inter symbol interference (ISI) which results in so called ISI jitter, a type of signal jitter caused by cables, printed circuit board (PCB) traces or any other passive network with a similar frequency response. For system designers, an important parameter of either pre-emphasis or de-emphasis circuits is the boost it provides. The higher the boost, the more attenuation the circuit can compensate for and ultimately transmit over a longer cable. As an example, Figure 4 illustrates an output signal from a driver with four pre-emphasis levels and the signal's time domain characteristics. The signal is a pattern starting with one bit high (H), followed by one to N bits H, followed by one bit low (L), followed by one to N bits L, followed by a H and a L. Note the signal's nominal amplitude of VOD_L and three distinct boost amplitudes (VOD_H1-3). The boost is simply the ratio of the VOD_H and VOD_L expressed in dB. It is also important to note that the duration of the boost pulse (tVOD_H) should optimally be 75% to 100% of the unit interval (tUI) with an approximate useful range from 50% to 125% of the tUI.

Figure 4. Pre-emphasis or De-emphasis Circuit is the Most Useful When the Boost Pulse Duration (tVOD_H) is between 75% and 100% of the UI. To illustrate how you can utilize interface devices with integrated pre-emphasis or deemphasis circuits to push the performance boundaries of twisted pair cables out, let's consider a need for transmitting three 1 Gbps LVDS data signals and one 100 MHz LVDS clock signal over a single CAT5e cable and assume that we have at our disposal a four channel LVDS buffer with integrated pre-emphasis drivers. Let's also assume that each pre-emphasis driver provides a 6 dB boost with the boost pulse duration of 750 picoseconds. Using the 6 dB criteria for LVDS and the CAT5e attenuation curve, it is easy to determine that the maximum cable length is approximately 7m for a 1 Gbps signal transmission. With the aid of the 6 dB pre-emphasis boost, the maximum transmission distance may be doubled. In addition, the 750 ps boost pulse duration reveals
www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1274094&print=yes 4/6

1/2/14

EE Times - Getting the most out of your twisted pair cable

that this particular pre-emphasis driver is only useful within the 670 (0.5/ 750 ps) to 1670 (1.25 / 750 ps) Mbps range, therefore, the 100 MHz clock signal does not benefit much from the pre-emphasis driver. However, the CAT5e cable attenuation at 100 MHz is only about 2.2 dB per 10m, therefore the clock signal can reach enough distance before it runs out of amplitude. Also, recall that the CAT5e pair-to-pair skew is typically 25 ns / 100m, therefore 7m cable has up to 1.75 ns of pair-to-pair skew which may still be acceptable portion of the 10 ns clock period. Doubling the cable length doubles the skew which now becomes a large portion of the clock period. While the pre-emphasis and de-emphasis circuit design constraints limit the maximum boost to about 16 dB, commercially available cable equalizers can provide equalization boost as high as 40 dB. The cable equalizers are typically devices with integrated peaking filters whose frequency response curve from the center frequency, fC, to some lower frequency on the left from the fC is closely matched to the inverse of cable's frequency response or attenuation curve. As an example, Figure 5 shows a frequency response of a peaking filter with a center frequency at 1 GHz and an inverse of a loss characteristic of a 10m CAT5e cable. Both responses are closely matched up to about 600 MHz. At this frequency, the equalization gain is approximately 6 dB. An equalizer with 6 dB of gain doubles the transmission distance of the driver without any signal conditioning.

Figure 5. Response of a Peaking Equalizer with the Center Frequency at 1 GHz Closely Matches the Inverse of a 10 m CAT5e Response I. Equalizers can be fixed, variable or adaptive. Fixed equalizers have fixed frequency response and may be employed in applications where transmission media have known fixed length. Variable equalizers may have several equalization boost settings, providing more flexibility with the interconnect length. The most flexible are adaptive equalizers that automatically determine the transmission media loss and apply optimal equalization boost. When using adaptive equalizers, it is important to realize that most of them are designed around specific cables, bit rates and assume specific signal characteristics at the transmit side of the cable (e.g. amplitude, rise time, etc.). Knowing this information, you can quickly determine whether the equalizer is a fit for your transmission medium.
www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1274094&print=yes 5/6

1/2/14

EE Times - Getting the most out of your twisted pair cable

When using equalizers, especially the ones with high gain capabilities, one needs to be very careful with the system noise. High gain, wide bandwidth equalizers can compensate for interconnect losses that are as high as 40 dB. However, a signal that is attenuated by 40 dB is extremely susceptible to noise. Maintaining 10-15 dB of signal-to-noise ratio means that you need to keep noise at 50-55 dB levels or better around the equalizer and the transmission lines connecting to the equalizer inputs. This requirement may easily be violated if not careful enough. To illustrate the gains one can realize with high gain adaptive equalizers, let's now consider a need for transmitting a single 500 Mbps LVDS data signals over a single twisted pair of a CAT5e cable and assume that we have at our disposal an equalizer that provides 30 dB at 1/tUI hertz. Using the CAT5e attenuation curve, it is easy to determine that the cable length that attenuates a sinusoidal signal by 30 dB at 1/tUI hertz is about 55m. This means that an equalizer with 30 dB boost at 500 MHz can enable about 55m longer transmission distance over CAT5e than what a circuit without the equalizer can. A real world example that shows how to realize long transmission distances over CAT5e cable is described in National Semiconductor application note AN-1826 (http://www.national.com/an/AN/AN-1826.pdf). Also, recall that the CAT5e pair-to-pair skew is typically 25 ns / 100m, therefore transmission of two or more synchronous 500 Mbps signals would require either a cable with much tighter pair-to-pair skew or some type of skew compensation mechanism. Conclusion There are three major twister pair cable parameters that paint the cable's performance boundaries: cable attenuation, near-end crosstalk and pair-to-pair skew. If the near-end crosstalk and pair-to-pair skew are the limiting factors for achieving necessary transmission distances, you need to look for enhanced cabling solutions. If it's cable attenuation, there are multiple commercially available semiconductor solutions available. Knowing the principles of operation of the signal conditioning solutions and how well they match twisted pair cable attenuation characteristics, the transmission distance up to 100 meters may be achieved. About the Author Davor Glisic is Senior Applications Engineer at National Semiconductor Corp.
EMAIL THIS PRINT COMMENT Copyright 2014 UBM Electronics, A UBM company, All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1274094&print=yes

6/6