Agilent Technologies And Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs Collaborate To Demonstrate Record-Breaking Optical Signaling

Agilent Oscilloscopes Enable Record Interface Rates

Agilent Technologies Inc. recently announced it has demonstrated the world's fastest complex-modulation optical interface rates. A joint team from Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs and Agilent conducted experiments using Infiniium 90000 Q-Series oscilloscopes to transmit data over long-haul distances at a record interface rate.

The experiments relied on advanced detection systems and data analysis from Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs and on the unmatched measurement performance of Agilent's Infiniium 90000 Q-Series oscilloscopes to achieve PDM 16 QAM 1.28-terabit dual-carrier optical signaling.

The joint team synchronized two 63-GHz 90000 Q-Series oscilloscopes and used them as 4X analog-to-digital converters running at 160 GSa/s. The bandwidth combined with the measurement accuracy of the scopes enabled the experiments' success. In addition to the 63 GHz, enabled by RealEdge technology, the 90000 Q-Series oscilloscopes feature the highest effective number of bits (ENOB) at more than 5.5 at 33 GHz and the lowest interscope skew of less than 0.5 ps (standard deviation).

"State-of-the-art research requires state-of-the-art measurement," said Jay Alexander, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Oscilloscope Products Division. "The 90000 Q-Series oscilloscope delivers the most accurate measurements in the industry, and Agilent is proud to have played a key role in the groundbreaking research results at Alcatel-Lucent."

Agilent presented a paper at the IEEE Photonics Society Annual Meeting last fall, jointly with Alcatel-Lucent, that illustrates the breakthrough interface technology. The paper explains how teams from Agilent and Alcatel-Lucent set up and configured the world's fastest interface rates and transmitted the signals over long-haul distances at high spectral efficiency. The collaborative experiment between Agilent and Alcatel-Lucent took place throughout 2012 and culminated in the paper: "1-Tb/s Dual-Carrier 80-GBaud PDM-16QAM WDM Transmission at 5.2 b/s/Hz over 3200 km."

The Agilent Infiniium 90000 Q-Series oscilloscopes, featuring 63 GHz of real-time bandwidth, were introduced in April 2012. The Infiniium 90000 Q-Series scopes feature the industry's lowest noise floor, the highest probing bandwidth, and a comprehensive set of measurement-specific software applications.

Additional information about Agilent's Infiniium 90000 Q-Series oscilloscopes is available at www.agilent.com/find/90000Q-series.

Agilent's complete portfolio of oscilloscopes is available in a variety of form factors and with bandwidths from 20 MHz to more than 90 GHz. They offer industry-leading specifications and can be used with a range of powerful applications.

About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, diagnostics, electronics and communications. The company's 20,500 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had revenues of $6.9B in fiscal 2012. For more information, visit www.agilent.com.