What this LVDS fanout buffer does on the board
The Texas Instruments SN65LVDS104PWG4 is a 1:4 LVDS buffer and multiplexer that takes one differential LVDS input and fans it out to four LVDS outputs. It is designed for clock and data distribution over controlled-impedance backplanes or cables, where signal integrity at multi-hundred-megabit rates depends on maintaining the differential swing and common-mode range. The 1 x 1:4 topology means a single input drives four independent output channels, useful for splitting a high-speed serial stream to multiple destinations without adding a separate redriver per leg. Each channel supports up to 400 Mbps, and the propagation delay through the buffer is 3.1 ns, which must be budgeted in source-synchronous timing paths. The 3 pF input capacitance is low enough that it does not load the upstream driver significantly at 400 Mbps.