The Keysight 81491A Reference Transmitter is a high-performance electro-optical converter for testing and characterization of optical components across IEEE 802.3 10, 40, 100, and 400GBASE standards. This optical head generates NRZ and PAM4 signals up to 32 Gbaud with excellent eye quality, operating at 850 nm (multimode), 1310 nm, or 1550 nm (single mode). The module integrates into Keysight’s 8163A/B, 8164A/B, or 8166A/B mainframes and supports external optical input on single-mode options for WDM applications across 1260 nm to 1565 nm.
Technical Specifications
• Electro-Optical Bandwidth: 33 GHz typical
• Analog Modulation Bandwidth: Up to 35 GHz
• Rise/Fall Times: < 15 ps typical
• Jitter (RMS): < 1 ps typical; < 400 fs typical
• Jitter (Peak-to-Peak): < 7 ps typical; < 6.5 ps typical
• TDEC (28 Gb/s NRZ): < 0.9 dB typical
• TDECQ (26.56125 Gbaud PAM4): 7 dB typical for 850 nm
• VECP (NRZ): < 1.5 dB typical at 1310 nm; 3 dBm typical at 1310 nm; > 4 dBm typical at 1550 nm
• Modulation Amplitude: 300 mV (-085 option); 600 mV (-135 option) with M8045A pattern generator
– Key Features
• Selectable wavelengths: 850 nm (multimode), 1310 nm, or 1550 nm (single mode) with integrated lasers
• External optical input (single-mode options) supports tunable laser sources for WDM testing
• RF connector: 1.85 mm female
• Optical output connectors: Multimode angled contact (850 nm); angled contact with polarization-maintaining fiber (1310/1550 nm)
• Module dimensions: 75 mm H × 64 mm W; 12 × 10 × 8 in overall; 10 lbs
– Typical Applications
• Long-reach and short-reach optical link characterization
• PAM4 and NRZ signal generation for 10G through 400G testing
• Dispersion compensation and jitter analysis
• Optical receiver stress testing
– Compatibility & Integration
Operates in Keysight 8163A/B Lightwave Multimeter, 8164A/B Lightwave Measurement System, or 8166A/B Lightwave Multichannel System mainframes.
