March 16, 2005 Anaheim, CA -- Agilent recently introduced an 8X Fibre Channel measurement platform comprised of its 86105C broad-wavelength multi-rate optical module and its 83496A multi-rate clock recovery module, both components for its 86100C Infiniium digital communications analyzer (DCA-J). According to a press release, the platform is designed to enable optical and electrical component and system designers with higher measurement accuracy and increased performance margins in industry-standard compliance testing.
According to the company, with their wide range of telecom/datacom transmission rates and low intrinsic jitter, the modules, used in conjunction, provide superior test-system flexibility and coverage for new rates as they emerge. In addition, the 83496A's wideband compliant clock recovery allows designers to perform standards-compliant measurement from the start, reducing uncertainty while speeding time to market.
"The new 8X Fibre Channel capabilities in these two modules represent a solution without compromise to test 4G Fibre Channel, and many other technologies, with unprecedented confidence in measurement accuracy and repeatability," contends Siegfried Gross, vice president and general manager of Agilent's digital verification solutions division. "Agilent's new solution is also capable of testing new technologies as they emerge, such as 8G Fibre Channel."
According to the company, the 86105C module can test all Fibre Channel devices or all common data rates from 155 Mbit/sec to 11.3 Gbit/sec, over all wavelengths from 750 nm to 1650 nm. This company says this ability provides nearly instantaneous transition to new measurement set-ups when different products must be tested.
The 83496A clock recovery module can function as a Golden PLL by setting the loop bandwidth to the exact value required for any data rate within its operating range, making it a key component for standards-compliant jitter tests. According to the company, its unique, wideband-compliant clock recovery suits the module for jitter compliance tests across a wide range of industry standards. Other features of the module include:
* The ability to extract the clock and analyze complex waveforms for 1X, 2X, 4X, 8X, and 10X Fibre Channel.
* Less than 300 femtoseconds rms jitter resulting in negligible residual jitter of the output clock and precise measurements of very low levels of signal jitter.
* Tunable loop bandwidth for clock recovery from 30 kHz to 6 MHz to allow configuration as a Golden PLL with optimal loop bandwidth for accurate, industry-standard compliance testing.
The 86105C and 83496A modules are available now. The 86105C starts at $26,500; the 83496A, at $18,000. Pricing for the Infiniium DCA-J oscilloscope mainframe starts at $17,500.