Adventures in measurement

In many digital systems, the path that high-speed electrical signals must travel can be very complex. This complexity is commonly driven by cost constraints, technology limitations, increasing performance demands, and the number of functions that must be supported by the system. For the past 15?20 years, the technology advancements in most components of digital systems (as in many other areas dealing with high-speed electrical signals) have been substantial, however, all components have not seen equal degrees of advancement. As a result, design margins have continued to shrink over time.