poe i This chapter first discusses the total jitter POF and its celationship to the PDFS of its components, Then it presonts the similar relationship for the total noise PDF to the PDFs of its components, Afier that, this chapter discusses the two-dimensional joint PDF and BER CDF when both jitter and noise are considered. 41 EYE DIAGRAMS AND BER BASICS ‘This subsection is a high-level introduction to BER, eye diagrams, and their inter- relationships with timing jitter and amplitude noise. A bit error for a serial data communication system can be caused by one of the following: * Timing jitter (hat causes an edge transition to be either earlier or later refer- enced to an ideal timing tocation * Amplitude noise that can cause a voltage high level to be below the refer- ence threshold or a voltage low level to be above the reference threshold 109One way to represent the effect of both timing jitter and amplitude noise is the eye diagram, in which many data voltage levels and edge transitions are superimposed over one UI range. An eye diagram gives an overal! statistical qualitative view of the quality of the signal undei test. Figure 4.1 shows an eye diagram and its asso- ciated timing jitter and amplitude PDFs. 110 ultter, Noise, and Signal Integrity at High-Speed ¥ I | al POFs y Figure 4.1 An eye diagram and its associated timing jitter PDFs (horizontal) and amplitude noise PDS (vertical) in one view, Quantitative discussions of the interrelationships appear in the following = sections. 4.2. JITTER TOTAL PDF AND THE RELATIONSHIP TO ITS. COMPONENT PDFS This section discusses the detailed mathematical relationship between total jitter PDF and the PDFs of its components. 4.2.1 Overall Jitter PDF oe As you saw in Figure 1.11 in Chapter 1, “Introdaction,” jitter can be classified as (| deterministic jitter (DD) or random jitter (RI) at the first layer of separation. It is, reasonable to assume that DJ and RJ are independent, because they are caused by ' independent and different sources and machanisms. Recal! the theorem introduced +Een TW a EB aad 4.2 Jitter Total POF and the Relationship to Its Component PDFs .m in Chapter 2, ‘Statistical Signal and Linear Theory for Jitter, Noise, and Signal Integrity It says that the joint PDF sum of two independent variables is the conve- ution of their own PDEs (see section 2.1.2.6 of Chapter 2, equation 2.36). This gives us the following overall jitter PDF given PDPs of D) and RY: fur = Sor * as Equation 44 Hero the state variable is timing jitter At, and the PDF is for either the first zero- cross at 0 Ul ot the second zero-cross at 1 UL, as shown in Figure 4.1. In the second-layer separation, DJ can be soparated into components of DDJ, PJ, and BUI. represented by the following equation: Fou > Foon * Sos Sos Equation 4.2 Similarly, RJ can be separated into candor, Gaussian jitter (GJ) and ran- dom higher-order jitter (RHI), as represented by the following equation: Sor = Fac * Fry Equation 4.3, If we represent the overall jitter PDF in terms of its second-layer compo- nents, we have this equation: Sax = for * Tua = fea * Ses Sus * Faas ™ Fes Equation 4.4 Equation 4.4 is the same.as equation 3.45, where we gave the final results without the derivation. Equation 4.4 suggests that the overall jitter PDF equals the convo- lutions among alf its jiter components’ PDFs, )t provides the math foundation to estimate the overall jiller PDF if all components’ PDEs are known. Conversely, if the overall PDF and some of the component PDFs are known, some of the com- ponent PDFs can be. estimated via the inverse operation of convolution, called deconvolution, which we denote as 1 If the total jiter PDF f, is known, and any four of the five components’ jitter PDF are also known, the fifth component PDF is uniquely determined via deconvolution. Using Equation 4.1 as an112 diter, Noise, and Signal Integrity at High-Speec example, if the total jitter and random jitter PDF's ate known, the deterministic jit- ter PDF can be estimated as foliows: Jor? Su®" fas Equation 4.5 A similar equation can be derived for the random jitter PDF if both deterministic. and sand@m jitter PDFs ate known: ar 7 ot far ~ fa Ion Equation 4.6 42.2 Convolution for Jitter PDFs Itis helpful to demonstrate how to carry out the convolution for jitter PDFs to get the overall total jitter PDF. To conduct the convolution operation, jitter component PDK of fpy and fey Heel 60 be known for the firstlayer separated jitter J) and RY, ‘This subsection assumes that RJ is a Gaussian or white. us defined by equa- tion 3.33, and ignores the higher-order random jitter efffects.As discussed in Chapter2, DJ PDF has no fixed form due fo the variety of possibilities of causing mechanisms for the DI subcomponents. However, es discussed in Chapter 3, “Source, Mechanism, and Math Medel for Jitler and Noise,” a DCD PDF is best approximated by a dual-Dirac delta model given by equation 3.7. Furthermore, a “single-frequeney P} PDF can also be approximated by a dual-Dirac delta model, Considering the fact that those practical DCD and PI component PDFs are close to a dual-Dirac delta function, 2s well as for math simplification and iJlustration purposes. we will assume that the D) PD¥ is a dual-Dirac delta function. The convolution between a DJ dual-Dirac delta PDF and ap RJ Gaussian PDF can be carried out analytically, using the property in whickythe convolu of an arbitrary function with aDirac delta function equals the linearly shilted “arbitrary fimetion itself}-Fats yields the following TJ PDF: Equation 4.7 gas Tk42 Jitter Total PDF and the Relationship to Its Component PDFs 13 D, is the DI PDF peak-to-peak vaiue, and G, is the RI sigma value. Graphically, this coavolution operation can be represented as shown in Figure 4.2. Probability Density at Figure 4.2 TJ PDF determination from iis DJ aud RJ PDUs via a convoluiion operation, Note that the TJ PDF is a bimodal distribution having even “twin peaks.” The distance bétween those twin peaks is the same as the peak-to-peak value of the DJ PDE In the tail region of the TI PDF, its shape is the same as RJ Gaussian tails. Cleary, TI PDF has some traceable characteristics of DJ and RJ PDF in this example, Chapter 5, “Jitter and Noise Separation and Analysis in Statistical Domain,” has more information about the “inverse” problem of determining DJ PDF and RJ PDF by knowing TJ PDE 42.3 Jitter POF in the Context of an Eye Diagram Figure 4,1. has two jitter PDFs: one for the UL time location, and one for the 1 Ul time location, Both correspond to the crossing point voltage, Duc to how an eye diagram is constructed, the timing jitter PDF for 0 UI crossing and 1 UL crossing is the same. In this context, the overall jitter PDF is two identical PDEs, as defined by equation 4.7, separated by | UL time distance. The overall timing jitter PDF has this form: D, = be ie 2 L 26, Beart Equation 4.814 Jitter, Nolse, and Signal Integrity at HighSpood \ ‘Graphically, this TJ PDF in the context of an eye diagram looks like Figure 4,3, wopee By Probability Density Figure 4.3 TI PDF that is composed of the identical TJ PDV's at the first 0 crossing and the ; second 0 crossing, a Clearly, the eye opening critically relies on the shape end characteristics of the TT. PDF and UI value. 4.3 NOISE TOTAL PDF AND THE RELATIONSHIP TO ITS COMPONENT PDFS This section focuses on the amplitude noise PDF at a given sampling time (, with « 0 delta, and that RN is a Gaussian, yielding Equation 4.15, D, is the DN PDF peak-to-peak value, and 6, is the RN sigma value, The shape of the PDF defined by this equation is similar to that defined by equation 4.4 for the timing jitter, as shown in Figure 4.4. Probability Density Figure 4.4 TN PDF determination from its DN and RN PDFs via a convolution operation, This TN PDF has characteristics similar to those of a TY PDF, as we have discussed. 4.3.3 Noise PDF in the Context of an Eye Diagram In the context of the cye diagram shown in Kigure 4.1, ampiitule noise PDFs do not _necessarily havelthe symmetry property, for its logical | icyel and logical 0 leved, “hntike the PDFS for ihe timing jittery This is especially truc for fiber-optic communi- cation, where the logical level is proportional to the optical powes,resulting in a dif forent noise level and distribution for logical high and lop. Due to this broken symmetry, we have (o introduce two different jitter PDFs for logical } and logical 0.i at Bc a asa a 4.3 Noise Total PDF and the Relationship to Its Component PDFs 47 ‘We will assume that DN PDF is a dual-Dirac delfa function and that RN PDF is a Gaussian. Then, for the logical 1 level, the total noise amplitude PDF is as follews: D 2 2 20, nl at +e £5, Pee, e e Equation 4.16 D,, ts the DN. PDF. peak-to-peak, and 9, is the RN sigma value, for the logical 1 Simifarly, the noise PDF for the logical 0 may take the following form: Equation 4.17 D,gis the DN PDF peak-to-peak, and Gy is the RN sigma value, for the logical 0. ‘The overall noise PDF considering both logical | and 0) is as follows: ne Equation 4.18 418 the mean voltage difference between logical £ and logical 0. Graphically, this ‘TIN PDF in the context of an eye diagram looks like Figure 4.5.Probability Density Figure 4.5 EN PDF that is composed of the two PDFs for logical 0 and logical 1. Clearly, the voltage eye opening critically relies on the shape and character- istics of the TN PDF and V,, value. Moreover, (oo much ¢,, and d,, can case not only the voltage inner eye closure, but also a too-lacge outer eye, « manifestation of overdsiving a device. 4.4 THE JOINT POF OF TIMING JITTER AND AMPLITUDE NOISE Sections 4.2 and 4.3 discussed timing jitter PDF and amplitude PDF separately, ignoring the potential contelation between timing jitter anc amplitude noise PDF: This section extends the discussion to cover the general case in which timing jitter and amplitude noise can be correlated. 4.4.1 Generic Two-Dimensional PDF For serial data communication, a BER can be caused by cither timing jiter or amplitude noise or both. So the timing jitter PDF et a given amplitude or voltage threshold, or the amplitude PDF at a given sampling time, is only pact of the. math description of the entire statistical problem, A complete description of the PDF is two-dimensional or two-variable problem and must be described with multiple variable statisticat PDF. Furthermore, timing jitter and amplitude noise are not independent in gencral, particularly in the edge transition regions. ‘We will describe the PDF for both timing jitter At and amplitude noise Av as f(Av, At), One way 10 estimate f(Ay, At) is through its conditional PDF and independent PDF relationship of the following: FAW, AD) = faye (AV | ADF (AD > fuga A LAW (AY) Equation 4.1945 BER and Jitter/Noise Relationship 119 ~ancLone. independent PDF. In the case wherefthe jitter mechanism is due to the _amplitude modulation via the edge rate, and il ihe slew rate of voltage ‘with tine ay is known, the joint PDF can.te éstimated with equation 4, " , Equation 4.19 converts a two-dimensional moi a product of one conditional 4.4.2 Two-Dimensional (2-D) Gaussian Distribution One of the commonly encountered problems in practice is thal, when both timing my jitter and amplitud et they are correlated, what is the joins distribution?! It turns out that such a.joint distribution, also cailed bivari- ‘ale Gaussian distribution, is givon by the following equation:? : Equation 4.20 U, and G, are mean and standard deviation for the timing jitter, 1, and o, are mean and standard deviation for the amplitude noise, and 9 is the correlation cocfficient between timing jitter and amplitude noise. As mentioned in Chapter 2, when. p= tl, timing jitter and amplitude noise ate linearly correlated. When p= 0, they are not correlated aad thus ere independent, 5 ‘The application of the 2-D Gaussian distribution of equation 4.20 toward the problem of binary digital seria! communication, particularly in the context of the oO so-called “eye” PDF contour, is not straightforward, The complication cccuss Ss because mean and standard deviation are unlikely to be constant, especially dur- ° ing the edge transitions, 4.5 BER AND JITTER/NOISE RELATIONSHIP The. mechanisms for cither timing jitter or amplitude noise to cause a bit error tate are very sirailar, bat not exactly t the same. |A bit error occurs when the relative Cim- ing rel t “expected ranges A similar conclusion | is true forlgplitude noise and bil error rela : tionship when the relative levels between the amplitude noise and sampling volt age are out of the expected range} However, there is a difference, Timing jitter m: Cause a bit error only when there is an edge transition, while ainpliuude noise may cause a bit error at any time,dn olber words, amplitude noise is a constant function. We will first consider the timing jiler PDI? and BER CDF relationship, and then120 sitter, Noise, and Signal Integrity at High-Speed the amplitude noise BER CDF relationship. After those two steps, we will discuss the BER CDF under the influence of both timing jilter and amplitude noise. 4.5.1 Timing Jitter and BER. The timing jitter PDF and BER CDF telationship can be easily illustrated by Figure 4.6, a binary digital transmission system, Jt shows the logical 1 bit surren~ dored by 2 0 bits with O-to-1 and 1-lo-0 transitions. We will first study the BER CDF due to the 0-to-1 edge transition, As shown in the figure, the cause-and-” consequence relationship for jitter and BER is closely related to the sampling tim ing location t] For the 0-to-1 transition jitter POR, any edge transitions occurring fhe right side of the sampling time t, cause a bit error, Tho BER CDF function ll the edge transitions with their jitter values larger than sampling time t. “Graphically, the BER CDF is the area with jitter larger than the sampling time T ander the jitter PDF curve, as shown by the shaded area in the figure, Mathemati- cally, this corresponds to the integration of 0-to-1 transition PDF from t, to ». a 7 . Treeshowd ‘Uring jitter AL Figure 4.6 An illustrative relationship beoween digital 0 and 1 bits, jilter PDF, and BER CDF as a fonction of sampling time t,. The tuning jitter PDF ata given voltage vp is denoted as, “F(A The proba- bility or the (ransition density for 0-to-| transition is Py,. The BER CDE duc to the 0-to-I edge transition jitter PDF is as follows: Fy =P J fyb wt, Equation 4.244.5 BER and Jitter’Noise Relationship 124 oS “Clearly, this 0-to-1 edge transition coresponding to BER CDF is a nonde- { creasing function as the sampling time t, moves toward the voltage-crossing time locations from the center of the bit UL. m By analogy, the BER CDF due to the logicat 1-to-0 edge transition jitter j PDF can be readily estimated. in this case, all the edge transitions happening ear- Tier thao the sampling time t, cause a bit ertor, and the BER CDF is the integral of ali these edge transitions. If we denote the PDF at a given voltage vy as [j(AQ) in i this case, and the probability for I-10-0 edge icansition as Pyo, BER CDF due to the 1-to-0 edge transition jiller PDF is as follows: f Comoe 0 f® ' Prvlaa titty os Pandas } s ¢ pie. Tig fia pyble . Equation 4.22 Cone: The overall BER. CDF. is made, up of contributions from both 0-4-1 and_ 1to-0 edge. tunsitions. This is the summation of equations 4.21 and 4.22, as given by the following equation: Eyl) = Pf kanndber, f fanhdae Equation 4.28 Because BER CDF is a nondecreasing function with sampling time ty. its shape generally looks like Figure 4.7. BER CDFts) { ' opening i we A owe 1a Y te:samplig ine (UD y Figure 4.7 Jiter-induced BER CDF as a function of sampling time,122 Jitter, Noise, and Signal Integrity at High-Speed Because the shape of the BER CDF resembles « bathtub, it is sometimes called a BER bathtub curve, 4.5.2 Amplitude Neise and BER Like tinaing jitter, the amplitude noise and BER relationship can be illustrated by Figure. 4.8. It is similar to Figure 4.7, except that now we ate dealing with the amplitude noise PDF. As shown in Figure 4.7, the cause and consequence rela- tionship for amplitude noise and BER is closely related to the sampling voltage Isvel y,, For the logic | noise PDF, any logic 1 level occuring below the sainpling logic level v, causes a bit J to be detected as a bit 0, resulting in a bit emor{The BER CDF dte to the amplitude noise at a givén sampling time threshold are atl, the logic. | levels with their noise values being below saauligs voltage v-}Graph=” cally, the BER CDF is the area with amplitude noise @ivalt ‘Malco than sampling volt- age ¥, under the amplitude noise PDF cutves as shown by the shaded area. Mathiematically, this corresponds to the integration of PDF from 1 Amplitude ncise 4¥; ean Noise FOF BEACDFF, Proboblity Figure 4.8 The relationship between digital 0 and 1 bits, logic 1 amplitude noise PDF, and BER CDF as a function of sampling amplitude v,.4,5 SEH and Jiter/Noise Relationship 123 The logic 1 amplitude noise PDF ats given time &, is denoted as f (Av). The probability for 1 bit transitions is P,, The BER CDF due to logic 1 Jevel amplitude noise PDI is as follows: Red-B f fdvydav Equation 4.24 Amplitude noise PDF induced BER CDF is a nondecreasing function a¢ the sampling voltage v, moves toward the logic 1 or logic 0 mean values at a sam- pling time t, at the center of the bit data celkand along the amplitude or vertical axis. By analogy, lhe BER CDF due to the logic 0 associated noise PDF can be estimated. In this case, all the 0 bits happening at levels above the sampling amplitude v, cause a bit 0 to be identified as bit 1, causing a bit etror, and the BER CDF is the integral of all these bits. If we denote the logic 0 associated noise PDF at a given time {, as f,(Av) in this case, and the probability for a 0 bit is Py, the corresponding BER CDF is as follows: F,) = Pf Foloudav Equation 4.25 ‘The overall BER CDF is made ap of contributions of noise associated with both 0 and 1 bits. This is the summation of equations 4.24 and 4.25, as given by the following equation: Flv d= Py fi tAvdv +P f fdv)aby Equation 4.25 Just like timing jiter-induced BER CDE, amplitude noise-induced BER CDF is a nondecreasing function versus sampling voltage v,. Its shape generally looks like Figure 4.9.124 dither, Nolse, and Signal Integrity at High-Speed BER ODF(v,) 08 opening Vo vy yeisampling amplitude Figure 4.9 Jitter-induced BER CDF as a function of sampling amplitude. 45.3 BER Due to Both Jitter and Noise Iu a practical communication system, BER can be caused by both timing jitter and amplitude noise, not just either one, Thus, to get an accurate and complete estimation of BER CDF, both timing jitter and amplitnde noise need to be consid~ ered in a consistent and coherent manner, In other words, a complete BER CDP is, at iéast, 2 two-variable function. Furthermore, those two variables may not be independent, particularly within the time-amplitude zone of edge transitions Dur, ing the edge. transition time, window, amplitude noise and the timing jitter can be ted, depending on the. exact correlation, [For example,.a random amplitude “hoise can cause ¢ random timing jitter through a “slew rate” perturbation effect ‘ing the.cdge transition period! as mentioned in Chapter 1, In contrast, timing jitter in the clock causes only timing jitter of the data in a sequential logical sys- ‘tera (a flip-flop); it docs not cause amplitude noise for logical | or 0 amplitnde Jevels at its bit center. At the bit center region, where edge transitions either have already settled down or have not yet started, and the amplitude noise is the domi- nant cause of the BER, the correlation between amplitude noise and jitter is weak or close to zero, Figure 4.10 shows those different types of correlations at differ- ent zones of an eye diagram.1, an Sis “take “8 win 4.8 BER and Jitter/Nolse Relationship 125 Loss-ltely av and at Correlation Zones av at Likely ay and at Correlation Zones, Figure 4.10 Graphical and quelitative showing for the tiring jitior and amplitude noise conelation. If we define a joint PDF for both amplitude noise Av and timing jitter At as (Al, Av}, Av and At are related in general, while no correlation can be found in certain cases, as shown in Figure 4.10. Combining equations 4.23 and 4,26'and replacing the single varlable timing jiuér PDF and amplitude noise PDF with their joint two-variable PDF, the BER CDF es a function of sampling time t, and. volt- age v, is given by the following: @ 1, Frank ¥,)~ Pop J FOL any| dhrePg f Hasdo)l, -» deer 's s « % AL fALdol, | dats hy f(At, Av} y, z “0 Equation 4.27 Note that the 2-D BER funetion ean, in fuct, have more than wo dimen- sions, For example, BER CDE is also paitem- or coding scheme-dependent, It closely depends on parameters such as transition dausity aad probabilities of 1 and 0 bits of the pattern. To illustrate this fact, Table 4.1 shows those parameters for some commonly used testing patterns for data communication126 alilter, Noise, and Signal Integrity at High-Spead Table 4.1 Examples ef Testing Patiorns and Corresponding Probabliities Pattern P, P, Pot Pig K25.5 50% 50% 26.3% 211% Kis.) 50% 50% 10.0% 5.0% PRBS 2? — | 50% 50% 24.4% 25.2% Extrem: cun-lengih pattern 90% 10% 10.0% 5.0% Table 4.1 demonstrates several key points: + Dy, and Pj, can be different. + By, and P,q generally are smaller than 25%. + P, aud P, are not necessarily 50%. This example reveals details of some of the patterti-related shortfalls with the tra- ditional method that assumes a 50% transition density and 50% 1 or 0 bit occur- rence probability. Equation 4.27 overcomes shortfalls in most of the BER analysis methods. It provides the most aecutale method of determining BER when both liming jitter and amptitade noise present in a communication system. To illustrate BER CDF in 2-D BER contour and threc-cimensional (3-D) BER view, we assume that At and Ay are independent, Figure 4.11 shows the eye contour with corresponding BER tevels, The zone with a smeller BER contour level represents the optimal sampling zone for a receiver. Also, BER contour gives a quick view and estimation of the total jitter and total noise margin at a given BER level, such a3 10°, ‘Sampling Valtage (Vs} Sampling Time (ts) Figure 4.114 two-dimensional contour diagram showing various BER “zones.”4.5 BER and Jitter/Noise Relationship 427 Figure 4,12 shows a 3-D BER function or “bathtub curve” surface plot. Tl contains significantly more information than the traditional “sliced” view of a ming jitter bathtub curse, Total timing jitter for a given voltage and BER level can be determined. Similarly, total amplitude noise for a given.time and BER level can also be determined. SER values 0 Amplitude camping 8 5. Timing sampling Figure'4.12 A three-dimensional surface plot of BER as a function of sampting timing and amplitude, ‘We have demonstrated the more-than-iwo-dimensional PDF function (At, Ay) and BER function Fyaa(l,, v,) in their higher-level variable dimensions of timing jitter/sampling time, umplitude noise/sampling amplitude, time, and implicit pattern characteristics. However, the n-dimensional nature of PDF and BER (or cumulative PDF) can also he looked at from other low-level dimensions: APB ae + PDF/BER for a particular wansition or transitions for a pattern, or a PDPYBER CDF for a pattern without a particular {ransition or transitions + Data rate of the transmitting/receiving signals + ‘Transition density oc maximum cun length of the testing pattern + Baseline wander, environmental variation/drifting + Timing jitter/amplitude noise components of duly cycle distortion (DCD), intersymbol interference (151), data-dependent component, periodic compo- nent, deterministic component, thermal component, 1/f" component, shot noise component, random component ean esi128 ditter, Nolse, and Signal Integrity at High-Speed * Reflection, crosstalk, tiaging, ground bouncing; unwanted modulation, interference «Chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization mode dispersion (PMD), wave- length sbifting/tiroadening; nonlinear scaiterings, four-wave mixing, chirp, crosstalk for fiber-optic commiuniéation These cxtended examples suggest thal PDF and BER functions are truly n- dimensional? Multidimensional PDF arid BER CDF is’an increasingly important topic due to increasing data rates and associated eye diagram degradation. Much has been publistied on the detailed math. treatment of this topic, For example, Sanders, Resso, and D’ Ambrosia? present some high-level and rather abstract math on multidimensional eye diagram and BER CDF estimation, from the perspectives of link signaling modeling, with assumption for a link archilecture, transmitter, medium, and receiver. 4.6 SUMMARY ‘This chapter started with a high-level introduction to the relationships between. eye diagrams, BER, jitter, and noise. It then moved to timing jitter PDF and its selationship to the component jitter PDF such as DJ, and RJ af the first-layer sep- aration, and DDJ, PI, and BUJ at the second-layer separation for DJ, as well as Gaussian and higher-order Gaussian for random jitter, The key is using convolu- tion to get the total jitter PDF from the component PDFs and deconvolution to get PDF from the total PDF and some component PDF. This chapter extended a similar handling for amplitude noise total PDF lo PDFs of its componcats, After that, this chapter introduced the joint PDF in multipic dimensions, including state variables of timing jilte¢ and amplitude noise, as well as how to estimate the joint PDF from jitler and noise PDFs. It then moved on to the BER CDF due to timing jitter and its relationship with jitler PD, followed by BER CDF due to amplitude noise and its relationship with noise PDF. Last, this chapter intro- duced BER CDF in multiple dimensions from its corresponding jitter and noisc PDFs and their correlation. These fundamentals for PDF and BER CDF due to timing jitter and amplitude noise will be used extensively in the forthcoming chapters.Endnotes 129 ENDNCTES: i. A. ¥, Oppenheim, A. S. Willsky, and S. H, Nawab, Signals & Systems, Prentice Hall, 1996. 2. S,. Kotz, N. Balakrishnan, and N, 1. Johnson, “Continuous Multivariate Distributions.” vol. 1, Models and Applications, John Wiley & Sons, lnc., 2000. 3. M. Li, J. Wilstrup, and J. Hafnre, “N-dimonsional determination of Bit-error ratcs,” a pending U.S. patent application, filed in January 2004. 4. A, Sanders, M, Resso, and J. D’Ambrosia, “Channel Compliance Testing Utilizing Novel Statistice! Eye Methodology,” IEC, DesignCon, 2004.