Optical instrumentation extends to XFP modules

Optical instrumentation system can now test 10Gbit/s small-form-factor pluggable modules.

Yokogawa has added an XFP interface to its AQ2200 Series modular optical instrumentation system, allowing it to test 10Gbit/s small-form-factor pluggable modules.

The new AQ2200-641 expands the flexibility of Yokogawa's existing 10Gbit/s BERT (bit error rate tester), which integrates a pulse pattern generator, an error detector and a signal generator - all the essential elements in bit-error-rate measurements - in a compact module.

When combined with the new AQ2200-641 XFP interface module and an XFP module, the BERT tester provides all the facilities required for error-rate curve measurements and optical device characterisation.

Thanks to the new module and the availability of XFP devices at various wavelengths, Yokogawa is now able to support 850nm multimode 10Gbit/s measurements as well as the other standard wavelengths normally used for single-mode fibre applications.

The pulse pattern generator function in the new module can generate patterns of up to 256bit in length (optionally extendable to 64Mbit), including pseudorandom binary signals (PRBS) from PRBS7 to PRBS31, with support for multiple bit rates from 9.95 to 11.32Gbit/s, variable in steps of 1kHz.

A 64Mbit option supports SDH/Sonet frame programming.

Other adjustable parameters include output amplitude (0.5 to 2.0V peak-to-peak in steps of 10mV), offset (-2.0 to +3V in steps of 10mV), and crosspoint (30 to 70% in steps of 1%).

A trigger output is provided for oscilloscope synchronisation, as well as a port for external 10Gbit/s clock synchronisation input and 1/16 or 1/64 synchronisation input.

This makes it possible to perform an error rate test with jitter deliberately added to the data pattern.

A clock and data recovery (CDR) function extracts the clock from the data signal and performs synchronisation when a data signal is the only input.

In optical communications, the CDR function is a useful tool because the data signal is often transmitted alone.

In addition to the CDR input port, there are ports for separate data and clock signal inputs.

The AQ2200-601 can be used with Yokogawa's AQ2202 nine-slot mainframe to form a complete compact, lightweight optical measurement system that optimises the use of laboratory bench space and is easily portable.

For situations where only electrical BERT measurements required, an alternative solution is provided by the AQ2200-601 module in conjunction with the AQ2201 three-slot mainframe.

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