Equalization Overview: Review Checklist

Review checklist

Review Checklist for Equalization Overview focuses on eye opening, BER vs EQ setting, adaptation convergence. The goal is to connect observed symptom to boundary mechanism, ownership, and signoff risk.

• Boundary assumptions are versioned and signed.

• Mode matrix (power/clock/reset/stress) is explicit.

• Physical context (floorplan/package/power) is included where relevant.

• Metric and artifact references are reproducible.

• Waivers have owner, expiry, and mitigation.

• Owners signed: SI owner, SerDes owner, validation engineer.

Sign-off ownership

OWNERSHIP MAP — Equalization Overview

artifact                  owner
----------------------    -----------------------------
integration artifact    SI owner
implementation artifact SerDes owner
signoff artifact        validation engineer

Every boundary issue needs a named owner before fixes start.

AMS deep dive

SerDes closure requires protocol, training, and SI evidence together.

Concept diagram

SERDES FLOW

training -> equalization -> lane margin -> protocol stability

Metric graph

BER VS EQ

BER
 ^
 |  high  low  high
 +-----------------> EQ setting

Reports and artifacts

• lane BER

• training state transitions

• EQ sweep report

• link retry counters

Mini case study

Link looked protocol-clean but lane margin collapsed under thermal sweep.

Debug branches

• Correlate LTSSM and lane metrics

• Check SI margins

• Review firmware timeout assumptions

Senior review question

Ask: what boundary condition proves this topic is actually closed?

Key takeaways

• State boundary, mode, and evidence tag with every claim.

• Always align analog, digital, and physical owners before signoff decisions.

Common pitfalls

• Fixing averages while tails still fail.

• Skipping package/supply evidence in jitter or SerDes issues.

• Shipping with waivers that lack owner and expiration criteria.

Principal AMS review addendum

TX pre-emphasis and RX equalization compensate ISI and channel loss; over/under-equalization shifts noise sensitivity and error distribution.

Metric: eye opening, BER vs EQ setting, adaptation convergence