What is the difference between TIE and MTIE?
A9. TIE, short for time interval error, is defined as the phase difference between a measured clock edge and the ideal clock edge locations. These values are typically measured in nanoseconds. When plotted over a given amount of time, the TIE values can show how a given signal can shift in both phase and frequency to an ideal reference, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4. TIE measurement against an ideal source. Figure 5. Typical TIE plotted over time. MTIE stands for maximum time interval error. This is a positive number that shows a maximum value of wander for a particular signal over a given amount of time. This value is useful when graphed, and may be plotted on a logarithmic scale over time. The plot in Figure 6 can provide insight as to how a particular signal will behave. MTIE plots often have to fit in a specific mask to meet certain specifications, depending on the application. Figure 6. Typical MTIE graph with an MTIE mask.
