Tunable lasers for test & measurement (T&M) applications

Ideal for fast and reliable optical components testing, including photonic integrated circuits.

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Overview

A tunable laser is an essential instrument in photonic R&D labs or on production floors for optical components. A stepped tunable laser allows to quickly adjust both signal power and wavelength to the test requirement. A continuously tunable laser covers a variety of applications where rapid, swept wavelength tuning is required.

With the advent of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) and the need to test passive optical components in a demanding 5G context, testing speed and quality have never been more essential. Optical characterization now requires state-of-the-art instrumentation covering all relevant telecommunication wavelength range.

The T200S and T500S continuously tunable laser series provide rapid and reliable tests, over the full telecom range when used with EXFO’s passive component testers (CTP10 and CT440). As standalone testers, these lasers provide excellent performance at fixed wavelength as well as during a wavelength sweep. The T200S and T500S come in a compact form factor and are loaded with industry-leading features for high-quality photonics testing.

The OSICS T100 is a tunable laser module that fits inside the OSICS platform, providing fast go-to wavelength tuning over a broad wavelength range. When high-power tuning in the C- or L-band is required, the FTBx-2850 provides excellent performance as well as high repeatability.

Key features

Choice of tuning or continuous swept wavelength laser models

High power with excellent spectral purity

Automation for high-precision spectral measurements

Easy-to-use GUI

Excellent wavelength coverage

T200S

The T200S laser provides essential wavelength scanning capabilities over the O-band or the C/L-band of telecommunication. The laser can perform scans at up to 200 nm/s, at a nominal power of 10 dBm across the wavelength range. It can also be operated as a tuned-wavelength laser operating with excellent linewidth specification.

T500S

Taking swept wavelength testing to the next level, the T500S ultra-fast laser offers an excellent wavelength coverage with 5 models covering the range from 1240 nm to 1680 nm. The laser can perform bidirectional scans at up to 200 nm/s with a peak output power of 14 dBm. Like the T200S, the T500S also exhibits excellent linewidth characteristics when operated at fixed wavelength.

T100

The T100, a modular stepped tunable laser on the OSICS platform, exhibits high spectral purity and yields the same spectral coverage as the T200S and T500S. It is key in setting up cost-effective test solutions when spectral quality is essential.

FTBx-2850

The FTBx-2850 is a µITLA-based laser that fits into the LTB-8 or LTB-12 platform as part of a lab-on-a-rack measurement solution that could include switches, attenuators or power meters.

Excellent wavelength coverage

For PIC and passive optical component testing, wavelength range is critical and needs to include all main telecom ranges.

The T200S, T500S and the OSICS T100 modules cover the O-band to the U-band range of telecommunication. The continuously tunable lasers cover 1240 nm to 1680 nm through three models, while the T100 lasers covers that range with 4 modules.

Testing high-speed photonic integrated circuits (PICs)

Integrated photonics can include complex optical components with high-contrast spectrum, such as ring resonators. To test such highly demanding optical devices, the T200S and T500S laser series can be jointly operated with the CTP10, EXFO’s component testing platform. The combined test solution provides spectral measurements such as insertion loss (IL), polarization-dependent loss (PDL) or return loss (RL) with high resolution and high accuracy.

The new tunable lasers are also compatible with the CT440, EXFO’s compact component tester operating at 100 nm/s.