HFAN-04.0.2: Converting between RMS and Peak-to-Peak Jitter at a Specified BER

Abstract

There are several ways to quantitatively state the amount of random jitter within a system. The discussion addresses the differences between two conventions. The first method is to give a standard deviation of the jitter distribution (or equivalently the RMS value). The second method is to select a bit error rate (BER) threshold and define the random jitter as a peak-to-peak value. This application note gives a mathematical basis for converting between RMS jitter and peak-to-peak jitter measurements. Read full article.