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The unit interval is the minimum time interval between condition changes of a data transmission signal, also known as the pulse time or symbol duration time. A unit interval (UI) is the time taken in a data stream by each subsequent pulse (or symbol).
When UI is used as a measurement unit of a time interval, the resulting measure of such time interval is dimensionless. It expresses the time interval in terms of UI. Very often, but not always, the UI coincides with the bit time, i.e. with the time interval taken to transmit one bit (binary information digit).
The two coincide in fact in NRZ transmission; they do not coincide in a 2B1Q transmission, where one pulse takes the time of two bits. For example, in a serial line with a baud rate of 2.5 Gbit/s, a unit interval is 1/(2.5 Gbit/s) = 0.4 ns/baud.