Agilent Technologies 83481A User manual

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User's Guide
Agilent 83481A
Optical/Electrical
Plug-In Module

Agilent part number: 83481-90021
Printed in US
AApril 2000
Notice
.
The information contained in this document is subject to change
without notice
.Agilent T
echnologies makes no warranty of any kind
with regard to this material, including but not limited to
,the implied
warranties of merchantability and tness for aparticular purpose
.Agilent
T
echnologies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or
consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance
,or use
of this material.
Restricted Rights Legend.
Use
,duplication, or disclosure by the U
.S
.
Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c) (1) (ii)
of the Rights in T
echnical Data and Computer Software clause at DF
ARS
252.227-7013 for DOD agencies
,and subparagraphs (c) (1) and (c) (2) of the
Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights clause at F
AR 52.227-19 for
other agencies
.
c
 Copyright Agilent T
echnologies 2000
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, adaptation, or translation without prior
written permission is prohibited, except as allowed under the copyright laws
.

Certication
Agilent Technologies certies that this product met its published specications
at the time of shipment from the factory
.Agilent T
echnologies further
certies that its calibration measurements are traceable to the United States
National Institute of Standards and T
echnology
,to the extent allowed by
the Institute's calibration facility, and to the calibration facilities of other
International Standards Organization members
.
iii

W
arranty
This Agilent T
echnologies instrument product is warranted against defects in
material and workmanship for aperiod of one year from date of shipment.
During the warranty period, Agilent T
echnologies will, at its option, either
repair or replace products which prove to be defective
.
F
or warranty service or repair
,this product must be returned to aservice
facility designated by Agilent T
echnologies
.Buyer shall prepay shipping
charges to Agilent T
echnologies and Agilent T
echnologies shall pay shipping
charges to return the product to Buyer
.However
,Buyer shall pay all shipping
charges
, duties
,and taxes for products returned to Agilent T
echnologies from
another country
.
Agilent T
echnologies warrants that its software and rmware designated by
Agilent T
echnologies for use with an instrument will execute its programming
instructions when properly installed on that instrument. Agilent T
echnologies
does not warrant that the operation of the instrument, or software
,or
rmware will be uninterrupted or error-free
.
Limit
a
tion of W
arranty
The foregoing warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from improper
or inadequate maintenance by Buyer
,Buyer-supplied software or
interfacing, unauthorized modication or misuse
,operation outside of the
environmental specications for the product, or improper site preparation
or maintenance
.
NO OTHER W
ARRANTY IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED
.A
GILENT
TECHNOLOGIES SPECIFICALL
YDISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED W
ARRANTIES
OF MERCHANT
ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR AP
ARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Ex
clusive Remedies
THE REMEDIES PRO
VIDED HEREIN ARE BUYER'S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE
REMEDIES
.A
GILENT TECHNOLOGIES SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR
ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT
, SPECIAL, INCIDENT
AL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES, WHETHER B
ASED ON CONTRA
CT
, TORT
, OR ANY OTHER
LEGAL THEORY
.
iv

Assistance
Product maintenance agreements and other customer assistance agreements
are available for A
gilent T
echnologies products.
Agilent Technologies has sales and service oces located around the world
to provide complete support for Agilent T
echnologies products
.T
oobtain
servicing information or to order replacement parts
,contact the nearest
Agilent T
echnologies Sales and Service Oce
.In any correspondence or
telephone conversation, refer to the instrument by its model number
,serial
number
,and option designation.
Before returning an instrument for service
,call the Agilent
Technologies Instrument Support Center at [phone],
visit the Test and Measurement W
eb Sites by Country page at
http://www.tm.agilent.com/tmo/country/English/index.html, or call one of the
numbers listed below.
v

Agilent T
echnologies Service Numbers
Austria 01/25125-7171
Belgium 32-2-778.37.71
Brazil (11) 7297-8600
China 86 10 6261 3819
Denmark 45 99 12 88
Finland 358-10-855-2360
France 01.69.82.66.66
German
y0180/524-6330
India 080-34 35788
Italy [phone]
Ireland 01 615 8222
Japan (81)-426-56-7832
Korea 82/2-3770-0419
Mexico (5) 258-4826
Netherlands 020-547 6463
Norwa
y22 73 57 59
Russia [phone]
Spain (34/91) 631 1213
Sweden 08-5064 8700
Switzerland [phone]
United Kingdom 01 344 366666
United States and Canada [phone]
vi

Safety Symbols
The following safety symbols are used throughout this manual. F
amiliarize
yourself with each of the symbols and its meaning before operating this
instrument.
CAUTION
The
caution sign denotes a hazard to the instrument. It calls attention to a
procedure which, if not correctly performed or adhered to
,could result in
damage to or destruction of the instrument. Do not proceed beyond a
caution
sign until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.
WARNING
The
warning
sign denotes alife-threatening hazard. It calls attention to a
procedure which, if not correctly performed or adhered to
,could result
in injury or loss of life
.Do not proceed beyond a
warning
sign until the
indicated conditions are fully understood and met.
Instruction
Manual
L
The
instruction manual
symbol. The product is marked with this symbol when it is necessary
for the user to refer to the instructions in the manual.
vii

General Safety Considerations
WARNING
Before this instrument is switched on
,make sure it has been properly
grounded through the protective conductor of the ac power cable to a
socket outlet provided with protective earth contact.
Any interruption of the protective (grounding) conductor
,inside or
outside the instrument, or disconnection of the protective earth terminal
can result in personal injury
.
WAR
NING
There are many points in the instrument which can, if contacted, cause
personal injury. Be extremely careful.
Any adjustments or service procedures that require operation of the
instrument with protective covers removed should be performed only by
trained service personnel.
WARNING
If this instrument is not used as specied, the protection provided by the
equipment could be impaired. This instrument must be used in anormal
condition (in which all means for protection are intact) only
.
CAUTION
Before this instrument is switched on,
make sure its primary power circuitry
has been adapted to the voltage of the ac power source
.
F
ailure to set the ac power input to the correct voltage could cause damage to
the instrument when the ac power cable is plugged in.
CAUTION
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) on or near input connectors can damage circuits
inside the instrument. Repair of damage due to misuse is
not
covered under
warranty
.
Before connecting any cable to the electrical input, momentarily short the
center and outer conductors of the cable together
.Personnel should be
properly grounded, and should touch the frame of the instrument before
touching any connector
.
viii

Contents
1. The Instrument at aGlance
Ordering information ................
1-4
Men
uand Key Con
v
en
tions ........... . . .
1-5
The Agilen
t83481A Optical/Electrical Plug-In Mo dule ..
1-7
The purpose of the plug-in mo dule .........
1-8
F
ron
tpanel of the plug-in mo dule ...... . . . .
1-8
Getting the best performance ........... .
1-11
Installing the plug-in mo dule ............
1-11
Firm
w
are requiremen
ts ..............
1-11
Trigger . . ....................
1-12
Ligh
t
w
a
v
eConnector Care ........ . . . . . .
1-14
In
tro duction ............... . . . .
1-14
Cleaning and handling ...............
1-16
Cleaning non-lensed ligh
t
w
a
v
econnectors .......
1-17
Cleaning ligh
t
w
a
v
eadapters ............
1-18
Cleaning lensed connections ............
1-18
Storage ............ . ........
1-19
Making connections ............ . ...
1-20
Summary ............. . .......
1-21
Inspection .......... . . . . . .....
1-21
Optical performance testing .......... . .
1-22
2. Channel Setup Menu
Displa
ying the Channel Setup Men
us .........
2-5
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Display
........... . . . . . .....
2-5
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Scale
..... . . . . . . . ..........
2-6
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Offset
. . . . . . ...............
2-7
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Bandwidth/Wavelength. ..
. . .........
2-8
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Channel autoscale
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2-9
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
External scale . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2-11
Contents-1

3. Calibration Overview
F
actory Calibrations ............ . . . . .
3-4
Mainframe Calibration ...............
3-4
O/E F
actory W
avelength Calibration ..........3-6
User Calibrations|Optical and Electrical .......
3-7
O/E User-W
a
v
elength Calibration ....... . . .
3-9
Plug-in Mo dule V
ertical Calibration ....... . .
3-11
Oset Zero Calibration .......... . . . . .
3-12
Dark Calibration ........... . . . . . .
3-14
Channel Sk
ew Calibration ......... . . . .
3-15
Prob eCalibration .......... . . . . . . .
3-16
External Scale ......... . . . ......
3-18
Complete Calibration Summary ............
3-20
4. Specications and Characteristics
Specications .. . . . . . . . ...........
4-3
V
ertical specications ...............
4-4
En
vironmen
tal specications ............
4-8
P
o
w
er requiremen
ts ................
4-8
W
eigh
t......................
4-8
Characteristics ...................
4-9
Trigger input c
haracteristics ............
4-9
Declaration of Conformit
y..............
4-10
5. In Case of Diculty
If Y
ou Ha
v
eProblems .... . . . .........
5-3
If the mainframe does not op erate ... . . . ....
5-3
If the plug-in does not op erate ...........
5-4
Error Messages . . . . . . .............
5-6
Index
Contents-2

Figures
1-1. Front panel of the plug-in module
.............1-9
1-2. Block diagram of the plug-in module
............1-10
2-1. Optical Channel Setup menu. ...............2-3
2-2. Electrical Channel Setup menu. ..............2-4
2-3. A typical Cal Status display
................2-13
3-1. Current Frame 1T
emp condition ............. 3-5
3-2. Plug-in calibration menu .................3-10
3-3. Oset Zero Calibration .................. 3-13
3-4. Dark calibration menu ..................3-15
3-5. Electrical Channel Calibrate Menu .............3-17
3-6. External Scale Menu ...... .. ...........3-19
T
ables
3-1. F
actory Calibration Summary .......
..
..
....3-4
3-2. Optical and Electrical Channel User Calibration Summary ..3-8
3-3. Miscellaneous User Calibration Summary . ..
..
.....3-9
3-4. Complete Calibration Summary .. .. .. ........3-20
Contents-3

Contents

1
The Instrument at a
Glance

The Instrument at a Glance
What you'll nd in this chapter
This chapter describes:

options and accessories

the ke
yconventions used in this manual

the front panel, rear panel and ke
ys that do
not
displa
ymenus on the screen

lightwave connector care
Understanding the information in this chapter will help you successfully operate the instrument.
CAUTION
The input circuits can be damaged by electrostatic discharge (ESD).
Therefore
,avoid applying static discharges to the front-panel input
connectors
.Before connecting any coaxial cable to the connectors
,
momentarily short the center and outer conductors of the cable together
.
A
void touching the front-panel input connectors without rst touching
the frame of the instrument. Be sure that the instrument is properly
earth-grounded to prevent buildup of static charge
.
The Agilent 83481A optical/electrical plug-in module incorporates two
measurement channels
,one optical and one electrical. The electrical channel
has two selectable bandwidth settings
.In the lower bandwidth modes of
12.4 GHz, oscilloscope noise performance is excellent, while the 20 GHz
mode allows greater delity for high speed signals
.The calibrated, integrated
optical channel has over 2.85 GHz bandwidth.
The integrated optical channel reduces mismatch loss variation by eliminating
signal distorting cables and connectors associated with the use of external
receivers in order to accurately characterize optical waveforms
. The optical
channel is calibrated to provide both accurate display of the received optical
waveform in optical power units and measurement of the signal's average
power. In addition, the User Cal feature provides for consistent accuracy at
1-2

The Instrument at aGlance
any wavelength between 1000 nm and 1600 nm using asource and power
meter
.
The Agilent 83481A optical/electrical plug-in module also is acalibrated
SONET/SDH reference receiver that is measured to comply to ITU-TS
(formerly CCITT) G.957 and Bellcore GR-253-CORE frequency response
requirements for transmitter compliance testing. By either pressing a
front-panel button or issuing aGPIB command, aBessel-Thomson lter (either
fourth order or fth order
,depending on the option installed) is inserted into
or removed from the measurement channel by avery repeatable Agilent
T
echnologies microwave switch. The switch removes the potential variability
and the time wasted by manually inserting and removing the lter when
alternating between high-delity waveform characterization and SONET/SDH
compliance testing.
The electrical measurement channel may be used to perform measurements
on tributary electrical signals
,to evaluate receiver performance in transceiver
testing, for measurements with Agilent Technologies' wide range of external
optical receivers
,or for general purpose measurements.
The Agilent 83481A optical/electrical plug-in module provides:

2.85 GHz, 155 Mb/s and 622 Mb/s selectable optical channel
 12.4 GHz and 20 GHz electrical channel

Switchable SDH/SONET lters for transceiver compliance testing

2.5 GHz trigger channel input to the mainframe
1-3

Ordering information
Options
Option 0B
W
A
gilent 83481A Service Guide
Option 0B1 A
dditional set of user documentation
Option 0B0 Deletes the user documentation
Option UK6 Measured performance data
Option 001 Latest version of operating rmware for the Agilent 83480A
Option 002 Latest version of operating rmware for the Agilent 54750A
Option 012 FC/PC connector adapter
Option 013 DIN connector adapter
Option 014 ST connector adapter
Option 015 Biconic connector adapter
Option 017 SC connector adapter
Option 040 F
ourth order lter response
,155 Mb/s and 622 Mb/s
Option 050 Fifth order lter response
,155 Mb/s and 622 Mb/s
Option 052 Two (2) 155 Mb/s lters
,one fourth order
,one fth order
Option 062 Two (2) 622 Mb/s lters
,one fourth order
,one fth order
Optional accessories
Agilent 54006A 6GHz divider probe
Agilent 54008A 22 ns delay line
Agilent 54118A 500 MHz to 18 GHz trigger
Agilent 10086A ECL terminator
Connection devices
SMA (f-f) adapter
,Agilent part number 1250-1158
APC 3.5 (f-f) adapter
, Agilent part number 1250-1749
Agilent 81000AI Diamond HMS-10 connector interface
Agilent 81000FI FC/PC/SPC/APC connector interface
Agilent 81000KI SC connector interface
Agilent 81000SI DIN 47256/4108.6 connector interface
Agilent 81000VI ST connector interface
Agilent 81000WI Biconic
1-4

Menu and Key Conventions
The keys labeled Trigger
,Disk, and Run are all examples of front-panel keys
.
Pressing some front-panel keys accesses menus of functions that are displayed
along the right side of the display screen. These menus are called softkey
menus
.
Softkey menus list functions other than those accessed directly by the
front-panel keys
.T
oactivate afunction on the softkey menu, press the
unlabeled key immediately next to the annotation on the screen. The
unlabeled keys next to the annotation on the display are called softkeys
.
A
dditional functions are listed in blue type above and below some of the
front-panel keys
.These functions are called shifted functions. To activate a
shifted function, press the blue front-panel Shift key and the front-panel key
next to the desired function.
Throughout this manual front-panel keys are indicated by abox around the
key label, for example
,
4
Timebase
5 .Softkeys are indicated by shading on the
key label, for example
,
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Mask Align
.The softkeys displayed depend on
the front-panel key pressed and which menu is selected. Shifted functions
are indicated by the front-panel
4
Shift
5
key followed by the shaded shifted
function, for example the Local function (above the
4
Stop/Single
5 front-panel
key) will be shown as
4
Shift
5 ,
4
Lo cal
5 .
A softkey with On and O in its label can be used to turn the softkey's
function on or o. T
oturn the function on, press the softkey so On is
highlighted. T
oturn the function o, press the softkey so O is highlighted.
An On or O softkey function will be indicated throughout this manual as:
NNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Test On.
1-5

The Instrument at aGlance
Menu and Key Conventions
Asoftkey such as
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Sweep Triggered Freerun
oers you a choice of
functions
.In this case you could choose Triggered by pressing the softkey
until Triggered is highlighted, or choose Freerun by pressing the softkey until
Freerun is highlighted. Achoices softkey will be indicated throughout this
manual as:
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Sweep Triggered Freerun
Triggered
.
When some softkeys
,such as
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Calibrate probe
,are pressed the rst
time
,ameasurement will be made and the result will be provided. Some
softkeys, such as
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Offset ,require the entry of anumeric value
.T
oenter or
change the value
,use the general purpose knob located below the front-panel
Measure section.
1-6

The Agilent 83481A Optical/Electrical Plug-In
Module
The Agilent 83481A optical/electrical plug-in module is one of several plug-in
modules available for the Agilent 83480A, 54750A mainframes
.Its main
features are:

Integrated, calibrated optical channel.

Optical channel includes switchable SONET/SDH lters
.

Electrical measurement channel.

2.5 GHz trigger channel.

Electrical measurement channel has user-selectable bandwidths of 12.4 or
20 GHz.
 Optical channel has 2.85 GHz unltered bandwidth.
 3.5 mm (m) connectors on electrical measurement channel and trigger
channel.

One probe power connector
.

One auxiliary power connector
.

Optical channel has an Agilent T
echnologies universal adapter for 9/125

m
single-mode ber input.
NOTE
If you wish to use the Agilent 83481A optical plug-in module in an Agilent 54750A digitizing
oscilloscope
,armware upgrade must rst be installed. Order the Agilent 83480K communications
rmware kit and follow the installation instructions.
1-7