November 26, 2002--As the manufacturers of LiNbO3 modulators have improved (lowered) the Vπ of their devices, SHF Communication Technologies AG (Berlin)has taken this development into account and consequently developed a new amplifier, the SHF 810. The SHF 810 provides 6.5 Vpp, 30 dB of gain, and a bandwidth of >40 GHz with smooth roll off. The jitter has also been improved - it is now specified as: Jitter RMS <700 fsec, even when the amplifier is driven in saturation.
A great plus point of the high gain of the SHF 810 is that very low signals can be amplified up to a level suitable for driving modulators. The SiGe multiplexers, for
example, have a low output and usually require a preamplifier to the driver amplifier. Using the SHF 810 means that only one amplifier is needed between the multiplexer and modulator, which makes the system easier to set up and maximizes performance. For more information, visit the company's Web site, www.shf.biz.