Optical BERT ups its jitter specs
Staff -- Test & Measurement World, 10/1/2004
Agilent's OmniBER optical telecom network tester has a jitter option (option 210) that improves its measurement specs through jitter-accuracy profiles calibrated for each instrument. The OmniBER's jitter-measurement spec is now ±15 mUI (unit interval) at 10 Gbps (previous accuracy was ±35 mUI). Telecom engineers who need to test jitter tolerance for optical receivers can now reduce the chance of false errors caused by instrument-induced jitter.
The ±15 mUI jitter accuracy is based on ITU-T Recommendation O.172 Appendix VII, which specifies how to generate an accurate, stable reference signal. The reference signal is a bit stream with 100 mUI of sinusoidal jitter ±15 mUI. With the bit stream's reference signal, you can measure the jitter tolerance of optical receivers without having to add an optical transmitter to the test circuit.
Agilent provides a contour plot for each OmniBER that ships with the accuracy specification option. With the plot, you can determine if the 100 mUI reference jitter signal differs from that number as a function of burst rate and duration.
Base price: $181,929; option 201—$12,338. Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA. www.agilent.com .
