Samtec and Keysight Implement 224/448 Gbps Test Platforms
DesignCon 2026 placed strong emphasis on the influence that evolving AI infrastructure has on hardware design. The event underscored a transition from component-centric design to AI-driven system-level optimization for data centers, high-speed interconnects, test and measurement, and packaging.
To that end, both Samtec and Keysight presented new products and technologies to address the next-generation bandwidth requirements for AI.
In the video above, Mike Resso (Keysight Technologies) and Matt Burns (Samtec) discuss Keysight’s new 250 GHz VNA and Samtec’s BE130, both 224/448 Gbps Test Platforms.
Mike explained that digital engineers performing signal integrity analysis want the best time domain resolution between adjacent impedance discontinuities. As they move to higher frequencies (in the frequency domain), this VNA provides 150-micron resolution in the time domain.
Mike points out that this is especially important when analyzing very small features, such as co-packaged optics, IC package characterization, or BGA packages.
Mike asked if Samtec had a DUT capable of 250 GHz. The connector industry isn’t there yet, but the latest product in our BullsEye® high-performance test system, the BE130, reaches 130 GHz and beyond.
When looking at the results from the new Keysight 250 GHz VNA, you see that the BE130 has a clean insertion loss beyond 130 GHz. The IL chart above left shows the BE130 on a PCB. What’s impressive is that, when you look at the return loss of this new system nose-to-nose, it’s greater than 10 dB beyond 150 GHz.
Samtec’s goal was to have a clean interconnect system at 130 GHz. With Mike’s help and Keysight’s 250 GHz VNA, we observed a cleaner response beyond the target frequency of 130 GHz. The combination of Keysight test and measurement capabilities with Samtec’s interconnect technology offers a validated test platform for next-generation testing, especially at 448 Gbps over copper or optics.
Here are a few other links showing Samtec 224, 448 Gbps product solutions; several of these are from DesignCon 2026:
