CIE Components in Electronics
Agilent Technologies has introduced the next generation of optical modulation analysis software for its family of optical modulation analysers. The new software makes it easy for photonic engineers to set up tests on their optical modulation analysers, increasing test efficiency by cutting the number of steps by 50 per cent. By automating the execution of tests, the software also minimises testing errors.
Optical modulation analysers are designed to give photonic engineers insight into the real nature of signals and signal sources. Agilent’s new software provides more comprehensive analysis of complex modulated optical signals, helping engineers analyse all facets of their signals to diagnose their toughest problems.
Once the domain of research labs, 100-G transmissions are now commonly used for long-haul transmission. Consequently, more photonic engineers have to deal daily with these fast signals, using optical modulation analysers as routinely as other engineers use oscilloscopes. As a result, instrument vendors have had to make these advanced instruments easier to use.
“Agilent was the first company to introduce integrated oscilloscope-based optical modulation analysers, and it continues to innovate in this arena,” said Juergen Beck, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Digital Photonics Test Division. “The new version of our optical modulation analyser software offers a smart way to set up the instrument and integrates the hardware control of Agilent’s optical modulation analyser family.”
With this software, engineers can now set up their instruments by just entering a few parameters describing the optical input signal. Based on this information and the characteristics of the signal itself, the software determines the best settings and selects the most suitable algorithms to provide analysis results within seconds. With one more click, the status of the device under test is immediately presented, using EVM, BER or Q-factor as the indicator of quality. Additional predefined setups for 40 and 100 G further accelerate instrument setup.
Integrated hardware control offers new possibilities for setting up multiple analyzer configurations in one instrument and requires less interaction from the operator. New display options and measurements are also available and will be further extended in future releases.
