[UPDATED] Tektronix, Inc. has announced the first new product derived from its acquisition of optical modulation analyzer vendor Optametra (see "Tektronix buys Optametra for optical modulation analyzer technology"). The new member of the OM4100 family, the OM4106D Coherent Lightwave Signal Analyzer, has been optimized to work with the Tektronix DPO70000D series oscilloscopes to meet the needs of coherent technology developers and evaluators who require 33-GHz bandwidth support.
Optical modulation analyzers are the instruments of choice for technicians developing or evaluating products that use coherent-enabled modulation formats such as dual-polarization quadrature phase shift keying (DP-QPSK) for serial 40- and 100-Gbps applications. The analyzers must be paired with oscilloscopes to perform properly.
In its initial days as a startup focused on developing optical modulation analyzers, Optametra had engineered its instrument to work with a variety of real-time oscilloscopes. Now, the ability to tightly couple the OM4106D with the DPO70000D series enables industry-leading performance, Tektronix asserts.
"In the world of long-haul optical transmission technologies, capacity and performance is the name of game," said Brian Reich, general manager, Performance Oscilloscopes, Tektronix. "By tightly integrating the OM4106D with DPO70000D series oscilloscopes, we deliver the accurate, confident test results optical researchers and engineers need to design more capable optical systems and quickly bring them to market."
[UPDATE] The OM4106D/DPO73304D pairing offers 33-GHz real-time bandwidth and 100-GS/s sample rate across two channels or 50 GS/s across four channels. The optical modulation analyzer also has the ability to support dual-oscilloscope operation. Meanwhile, a new DataStore Public Interface between the oscilloscope and the OM4106D provides up to 2X the previously available data throughput from digitizers to the MATLAB application processing the OM4106D algorithms for analysis, Tektronix adds.
[UPDATE] The DataStore Public Interface, in fact, is the the OM4106D's only method of communication with the oscilloscope, which means it won't work with oscilloscopes from other vendors. However, Tektronix will continue to offer the OM4106B, which is compatible with other real-time scopes, including those from vendors other than Tektronix, through a VISA interface. The B model does not offer the same level of speed and efficiency as the new D model, Tektronix sources told Lightwave in an email. For example, the DataStore Public Interface offers 20X more communications speed than typical VISA communications, the source wrote.
The OM4106D offers coherent modulation analysis software that supports Q Plot, eye diagrams, and effective bit error rate (BER). It also supports robust levels of debugging and a diverse set of plots/results to help identify the root causes of performance shortcomings.
Tektronix also offers a complementary calibration and evaluation system for third-party receivers.
The OM4106D is available worldwide starting at $166,000 US MSRP. Orders placed today will be shipped in Q4 of 2011.
Tektronix will present a webinar entitled “Testing of coherent optical transceivers: R&D, production, and deployment” to the Lightwave audience Tuesday, November 8, at 12 PM EST. More information is available elsewhere on the Lightwave website.