Agilent Technologies 86038A User manual

Agilent Technologies
Agilent 86038A
Optical Dispersion Analyzer
User's Guide

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Manual Part Number
86038-90006
Edition
Third edition, December 2004
Second edition, January 2003
First edition, October 2002
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Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition
Warnings and Notices
WARNING
To avoid the possibility of injury or death, you must observe the following
precautions before switching on the instrument.
Insert the power cable plug only into a socket outlet provided with a pro
tective earth contact. Do not negate this protective action by the using
an extension cord without a protective conductor.
WARNING
Never look directly into the end of a fiber or a connector, unless you are
absolutely certain that there is no signal in the fiber.

Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition
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Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition 5
Contents
Getting Started 9
Introduction 10
General Safety Considerations 11
Setting Up the Optical Dispersion Analyzer 16
Performance Verification 20
Navigating the Front Panel Functions 26
Quick Setup Procedure 30
Measurement Concepts 31
Introduction 32
Understanding the Attributes Being Measured 33
Description of the 86038A 41
Making Measurements 59
Introduction 60
Quick Setup Measurement Process 61
Flexible Measurement Process 62
Setup Parameters and What They Do 63
Choosing Setup Parameters for Your Device 65
Narrowband Filter Measurement 72
Fiber Measurement 77
Function Reference 87
Introduction 88
File Menu 89
View Menu 90
System Menu 91

6Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition
Setup Menu 97
Measure Menu 107
Display Menu 111
Navigating the Front Panel 121
Toolbar Functions 122
Remote Operation 125
Overview 126
Recommended Control Sequence 130
Front Panel Maps 147
Example 1: Simple Application for Controlling the ODA 154
Example 3: Control from LabView 185
Example 4: Complete application - RepeatMeas 186
Programming Commands 191
ODA Remote Programming 192
Server to Client Events 193
Client to Server Commands 198
Base Commands 201
Troubleshooting and Upgrades 253
Introduction 254
Troubleshooting Startup Problems 255
Troubleshooting GPIB Communications Problems 257
Troubleshooting Problems with Remote Programming 261
Troubleshooting Sweep and Normalization Problems 262
Troubleshooting Incorrect Data 263
Troubleshooting the TLS 265
Solving Measurement Problems 266
Software Upgrade Procedure 270
Hard Drive Backup and Recovery 271

Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition 7
Cleaning Connections for Accurate Measurements 272
Returning the Instrument for Service 282
Specifications and Regulatory Information 283
Introduction 284
Angled Connector Specifications 285
Specifications 286
Regulatory Information 290
Declaration of Conformity 291
Glossary 293
Dispersion Terminology 294
Index 301

8Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition

Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition 9
1
Getting Started
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
General Safety Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Setting Up the Optical Dispersion Analyzer. . . . . . . . . . . .16
Agilent 86038A Front and Rear Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Performance Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Navigating the Front Panel Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Defining Traces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Quick Setup Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Getting Started Introduction
10 Agilent 86038A Optical Dispersion Analyzer, Third Edition
Introduction
The 603 A optical dispersion analyzer (ODA) is designed to take you into
the future of optical dispersion measurements. It is designed specifically
for the development of a wide range of devices including DWDM
components, dispersion compensating gratings, optical fiber, amplifiers,
and systems.
Key benefits are:
• Simultaneous PMD, CD, GD, PDL, and IL measurements with a single connec-
tion and single setup reduces measurement time and test uncertainness.
• Excellent group delay repeatability, differential group delay accuracy, gain/loss
accuracy, and wavelength accuracy . Refer to Chapter , “Specifications and
Regulatory Information”.
• Extremely high speed swept measurements: CD and IL measurements of 1601
wavelength points can be obtained in less than 10 seconds.
• CD measurements are automatically corrected for PMD artifacts.
• Two port DUT testing allows simultaneous testing of two devices, two ports of
the same DUT, or simultaneous transmission and reflection measurements that
increase throughput.
• Wider operating wavelength range: 1260 to 1640 nm (O to L band)
• Specified operation: 1510 to 1620 nm
• Dynamic drift reduction provides excellent stability and accuracy when the
environmental conditions of the room or the test device are gradually changing.
• Automatic modulation frequency selection saves measurement time by auto-
matically choosing the best modulation frequency and avoiding phase wrap
errors for fiber test.
• External CDRW drive allows you to easily store data.
Proceed to “Setting Up the Optical Dispersion Analyzer” on page 16 for
complete installation instructions.
To get the most performance out of your ODA, it is recommended that you
read Chapter 2, “Measurement Concepts”, Chapter 3, “Making
Measurements”, and Chapter 4, “Function Reference”. These three
chapters cover the linkages between the different measurements that can
be made, specific devices being measured, and the setup parameters used
to make the measurements.
NOTE