FMS 2026: Industry’s First USB4 Version 2.0 and Thunderbolt 5 Gen 4 Exerciser

Teledyne LeCroy, a player in USB protocol test solutions, announced the availability of the USB4 v2.0 / Thunderbolt 5 PAM3 Exerciser, a software option that supports Gen 4 link rates and enables developers to perform end-to-end testing for next generation systems and devices.The latest USB4 Version 2.0 specification introduces PAM3 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation 3-level) signaling at the physical layer and support for 80 Gbps of symmetric bandwidth and 120 Gbps of asymmetric bandwidth. These significantly higher data rates increase design complexity for chipset and products, creating new validation and interoperability challenges.

To help silicon, device, and system developers bring up and validate new designs, the Voyager M480x Exerciser software option enables script-based traffic generation that emulates real-world USB4 Gen 4 behavior. The Exerciser provides fine grained control of the entire link training, device enumeration, error injection, and recovery mechanisms, allowing developers to thoroughly validate functionality, interoperability, and timing margins. Users can systematically test a wide range of USB4 and Thunderbolt 5 configurations by customizing link parameters and automating complex validation workflows.

• Verify Compliance: The Voyager M480x can be used in conjunction with the USB Implementers Forum’s Command Verifier application. The PAM3 exerciser is critical to generate the required PAM3 traffic used with the USB-IF Command Verifier application for USB4 Version 2.0 logical, protocol, and tunneling layer compliance workflows”
• Backward Compatible: Predefined command libraries and test scripts developed for Gen 3 will automatically run at Gen 4 by changing the link configuration setting to 80Gb/s
• Automation framework: A powerful automation environment enables every aspect of exerciser operation and post-processing analysis to be controlled through scripts, supporting repeatable and highly efficient validation workflows