Maximum time interval error (MTIE) is the maximum error committed by a clock under test in measuring a time interval for a given period of time. It is used to specify clock stability requirements in
telecommunications
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
standards. MTIE measurements can be used to detect clock instability that can cause data loss on a communications channel.
Measurement
A given dataset (clock waveform) is first compared to some reference. Phase error (usually measured in nanoseconds) is calculated for an observation interval. This phase shift is known as time interval error (TIE). MTIE is a function of the observation interval. An observation interval window moved across the dataset. Each time the peak-to-peak distance between the largest and smallest TIE in that window is noted. This distance varies as the window moves, being maximal for some window position. This maximal distance is known as MTIE for the given observation interval.
Plotting MTIE vs. different observation interval duration gives a chart useful for characterizing the stability of the clock.
See also
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Allan variance
The Allan variance (AVAR), also known as two-sample variance, is a measure of frequency stability in clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meetin ...
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Clock drift
Clock drift refers to several related phenomena where a clock does not run at exactly the same rate as a reference clock. That is, after some time the clock "drifts apart" or gradually desynchronizes from the other clock. All clocks are subject to ...
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Instantaneous phase
Instantaneous phase and frequency are important concepts in signal processing that occur in the context of the representation and analysis of time-varying functions. The instantaneous phase (also known as local phase or simply phase) of a ''comple ...
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Jitter
In electronics and telecommunications, jitter is the deviation from true periodicity of a presumably periodic signal, often in relation to a reference clock signal. In clock recovery applications it is called timing jitter. Jitter is a significa ...
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Phase noise
In signal processing, phase noise is the frequency-domain representation of random fluctuations in the phase of a waveform, corresponding to time-domain deviations from perfect periodicity (jitter). Generally speaking, radio-frequency engineers ...
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Plesiochronous digital hierarchy
The plesiochronous digital hierarchy (PDH) is a technology used in telecommunications networks to transport large quantities of data over digital transport equipment such as fibre optic and microwave radio systems. The term ''plesiochronous'' is ...
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Time deviation Time deviation (TDEV), also known as \sigma_x(\tau), is the time stability of phase ''x'' versus observation interval ''τ'' of the measured clock source. The time deviation thus forms a standard deviation type of measurement to indicate the time in ...
References
Measurement
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