1. Are isolation capacitors on the Tx lines a must? What is the motivation behind the DC isolation?
- Yes, These capacitors are must. In PCIE system, This is few lines from Spec
"The PCI Express add-in card and system board shall incorporate AC coupling capacitors on the
Transmitter differential pair. This is to ensure blocking of the DC path between the PCI Express
add-in card and the system board. The specific capacitance values are specified in the PCI Express
Base Specification, Revision 2.0. "
I am exactly not sure about How much is common mode voltage allowed? Some references say AC common mode voltage of 0.3V.
Bottom line " If you are sure that in Your PCIE system, no common Mode voltages exist b/w TX and RX you can remove them" Ex: DMI interface B/W CPU and Controller HUB(PCH/ICH) of intel Architecture. they will follow PCIe signalling, but they won't use AC coupling. Because they are sure about the interface common mode voltage requirtements.
For the Other 2 Qtns:
Even though we can't download the PCIe Spec, there are so many app notes PCI-SIG which gives details abt Electrical signalling, Mecahnical formfactors etc.
Refer pci-sig.com
few app notes....
1.
PCIE 1.1 CEM
2. **broken link removed**
3. **broken link removed**
4. PCI Express System Architecture Book
5. **broken link removed**
6. **broken link removed**