Agilent 86143B Technical Specifications

· Filter Mode

Enables you to drop a single DWDM channel or
measure time resolved chirp (TRC) and calculate
dispersion penalty (DPC).

· Excellent “Close-In” Dynamic Range

Accurately characterize 50 GHz WDM system
performance

· High Throughput

Fast sweep speeds at high sensitivity to
maximize measurement throughput

· Built-In Applications

Agilent’s powerful application concept makes
complex and repetitive measurements simple

· Benchtop and Portable Platforms

Choose between a large screen or small
footprint package

Agilent 8614xB
Optical Spectrum Analyzer Family

Technical Specifications

August 2003

Benchtop Portable

Ideal for critical WDM system and component characterization
Ideal for a wide range of applications at value prices
Features filter mode, single mode monochromator output

Agilent Technologies offers a wide variety of optical spectrum analyzers (OSA) to meet your test needs
whether it’s in R&D, manufacturing, installation, or maintenance and commissioning. Both benchtop and
portable models are available at different price and performance points so you can choose the most cost
effective solution to meet your test needs.

Agilent 86142B Agilent 86145B
Agilent 86140B Agilent 86143B
Agilent 86146B

Specifications

Characteristics and Specifications

The distinction between specifications and characteristics is described as follows:

· Specifications describe warranted performance.

· Characteristics provide useful, but non-warranted information about the functions and performance of the

instrument.

The specifications apply to all functions autocoupled over the temperature range 0 to 55° C and relative
humidity <95% (unless otherwise noted).

All specifications apply after the instrument’s temperature has been stabilized after 1 hour continuous operation
and the auto-align routine has been run. Unless otherwise noted, specifications apply without USER CAL.

The 86146B specifications are for the 50 µm internal path only.

Wavelength

Range
Span Range
Accuracy

After calibration with internal calibration
source and with enhanced wavelength
calibration on for specified range. *
1480-1570 nm
1570-1620 nm
After calibration with external reference
source(s)
±10 nm of calibration reference point(s)* ±0.01 nm
After user calibration over full
wavelength range (600-1700 nm) *
Absolute Accuracy ±0.5 nm Factory cal. 2 yr. cycle

Tuning Repeatability *
Reproducibility (£1 min) *
Span Linearity *

1525-1570 nm
for spans <40 nm

Resolution Bandwidth (RBW)

FWHM (3 dB Bandwidth) *

Noise Marker Bandwidth Accuracy

using noise markers 1525-1610 nm

³0.5 nm

0.2 nm

0.1 nm

0.06 nm

0.2 nm to full range and zero span

Agilent 86140B, 86142B,

86143B, 86145B

0.06, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5,

Agilent 8614xB Notes

600 nm to 1700 nm

±0.01 nm

±0.025 nm

±0.2 nm T(20-30°C)

±0.002 nm
±0.002 nm

±0.01 nm,

±0.02 nm

Agilent 86146B Notes

0.06, 0.07, 0.1, 0.14,

10 nm

0.2, 0.33, 0.5, 1, 2, 5,
10 nm

±2%
±3%
±7%

±12%

Char ., T

(20-30°C)

Resolution of 10 nm is
available for first order
grating response only.

Char. indicates the number is a characteristic.
T(#) indicates temperature dependence.
* With applied input fiber 9/125 µm.

Page 2 of 10

Amplitude

Agilent 8614xB Notes

Sensitivity

600-750 nm
750-900 nm
900-1250 nm
1250-1610 nm

-60dBm

-75 dBm

-75 dBm

-90 dBm

1610-1700 nm -80 dBm T

Maximum Measurement Power

1525-1700 nm
600-1000 nm
1000-1525 nm

+15 dBm per channel, +30 dBm total
+15 dBm per channel, +30 dBm total
+12 dBm per channel, +30 dBm total

Maximum Safe Power

Total safe power
Total power within any 10 nm

+30 dBm
+23 dBm

portion of the spectrum

Absolute Accuracy

At –20dBm, 1310 nm/1550 nm

± 0.5 dB For resolution ³ 0.1 nm

Scale Fidelity

Autorange off
Autorange on

Display Scale (log scale)

0.01-20 dB/DIV, -120 to +90 dBm

± 0.05 dB
± 0.07 dB

Amplitude Stability

(1310 nm, 1550 nm)

1 minute ±0.01 dB
15 minutes ±0.02 dB Char.

Flatness*

1290-1330 nm
1525-1570 nm
1525-1610 nm

1250-1610 nm

Agilent 86140B,

86143B

±0.2 dB
±0.2 dB

¾

±0.7 dB

Agilent 86142B,
86145B, 86146B

±

0.2 dB

¾

0.2 dB

±

Polarization Dependence*

1310 nm
1530 nm, 1565 nm
1600 nm
1250-1650 nm

±0.25 dB

±0.2 dB

±0.25 dB

±0.3 dB

±0.12 dB
±0.05 dB
±0.08 dB
±0.25 dB

Sensitivity is defined as
signal value > 6 x RMS
noise value.

(0-30°C)

T

, 2nd Order

(0-30°C)

T

(20-30°C)

Resolution bandwith
setting < channel spacing.
Char.

Excluding amplitude errors
at low power levels due to
noise.

(20-30°C)

T

For signals within 8 dB of
top of screen

Absorption of light by
atmospheric moisture
affects flatness
at 1350-1420 nm
For resolution

(room)

T

³0.2 nm,

The 86146B specifications are for the 50 mm internal path only.
Char. indicates the number is a characteristic.
T(#) indicates temperature dependence.
* With applied input fiber 9/125

mm.

Page 3 of 10

Dynamic Range

In 0.1 nm Resolution Bandwidth *

Agilent 86140B,

86143B

Agilent 86142B,
86145B, 86146B

Notes

Excluding multiple order grating
response

1250-1610 nm (chop mode on)

±0.5 nm, ± 1nm, ±5 nm

-70 dB Char., Chop mode not available
on the 86146B model

1550 nm
At ±0.8 nm (±100 GHz at 1550 nm) -60 dB Average of all states of

polarization

At ±0.5 nm (±62.5 GHz at 1550 nm)

-58 dB

Char. (86140B, 86143B)

At ±0.4 nm (±50 GHz at 1550 nm) -55 dB
At ±0.2 nm (±25 GHz at 1550 nm) -40 dB -40 dB Char.

Monochromator Input

Input Return Loss

Straight connector (9/125

mm)

Sweep

Max. Sweep Rate
Max. Sampling Rate in Zero Span

Agilent 8614xB Notes

>35 dB Depends on the qualitiy of the

Agilent 8614xB Notes

40 nm/56.3 ms Char.

50

ms/trace point

Sweep Cycle Time

50 nm span, auto zero off
50 nm span, auto zero on
100 nm span
500 nm span

<180 ms
<340 ms
<400 ms
<650 ms

ADC Trigger Accuracy

Jitter (distributed uniformly)
Trigger delay range

Pulse Mode Accuracy

Agilent 86140B,

86143B

<

±0.5 ms

2

ms-6.5 ms

Agilent 86142B,

86145B, 86146B
Turn On (³2ms after rising edge) <±0.2 dB (starting from dark)
Turn Off (³10ms after falling edge) <±0.2 dB <±0.2 dB (30 dB

extinction)

Computer Interfacing

Remote Control

Agilent 8614xB Notes

Web enabled controls
Compatibility IEEE-488.1, IEEE-488-2 (100%)
Interfaces LAN, GPIB, Parallel Printer Port, External VGA

Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse (PS/2)

Floppy Disk

3,5” 1.44 MB, MS-DOS

Data export Spreadsheet and Word Processor Compatible

(CSV ASCII)

Graphics export CGM, PCL, GIF

Instrument Drivers

Universal Instrument Drivers (PNP),

Compatible with VEE, Labview, Visual Basic

and C++

attached connector.

Char.

Char.

Notes

Char.
Char. (86140B, 86143B, 86146B)

MS-DOS is a U.S. registered
trademark of Microsoft
Corporation

Labview is a U.S. registered
trademark of National
Instruments.

The 86146B specifications are for the 50 mm internal path only.
Char. Indicates the number is a characteristic.
T(#) indicates temperature dependence.
* With applied input fiber 9/125

mm

Page 4 of 10

General Specifications

Dimensions
Weight
Environmental

Temperature
Humidity
EMI

Power Requirements

Voltage and frequency
Maximum power consumption

Benchtop OSA Agilent

86140B, 86142B, 86146B

222 high x 425 wide x 427 mm long 163 high x 325 wide x 427 mm long

16.5 Kg 14.5 Kg

Operating 0°C to 55°C, Storage –40°C to 70°C
Operating <95% RH, Storage: Noncondensing

Conducted and radiated interference is in compliance with CISPR pub 11,

IEC 801-3, IEC 801-4 and IEC 555-2

90 Vac to 260 Vac, 44 to 444 Hz

230W

Additional Specifications: Agilent 86146B

Insertion Loss Stability** (For 0.1 nm filter bandwidth and greater)

1550 nm,15 minutes 0.5 dB

Insertion Loss***(For 0.1 nm filter bandwidth and greater)

1550 nm 10 dB max

Filter Bandwidth: (From 1530 nm - 1610 nm)

0.5 dB* 1.0 dB* 3.0 dB*

RBW Nominal Setting Actual Bandwidth

0.04 nm

0.05 nm

0.07 nm

0.1 nm

0.2 nm

0.3 nm

0.5 nm

0.016

0.019

0.033

0.076

0.134

0.257

0.421

0.023

0.026

0.044

0.089

0.147

0.270

0.434

±20%

Portable OSA

Agilent 86143B, 86145B

0.039

0.045

0.063

0.115

0.173

0.297

0.460

Filter Bandwidth: Adjacent Channel Rejection* (at 1550 nm)

12.5 GHz 25 GHz 50 GHz 100 GHz

±0.1 nm ±0.2 nm ±0.4 nm ±0.8 nm

0.04 nm

0.05 nm

0.07 nm

0.1 nm

0.2 nm

0.3 nm

0.5 nm

40 dB
40 dB

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

50 dB
50 dB
50 dB
40 dB
40 dB

N/A
N/A

55 dB
55 dB
55 dB
50 dB
45 dB
45 dB
45 dB

55 dB
55 dB
55 dB
55 dB
55 dB
55 dB
50 dB

Filter Bandwidth: Polarization Dependence (for 0.2 nm filter bandwidth and greater)

1550 nm*** ±0.2 dB

* Characteristic value
** Immed iately following enhanced single point auto align, at constant temperature
***At room temperature

All data applies across 0-55 degrees C operating range unless otherwise noted.
After warmup period of 2 hrs
Adjacent Channel Rejection limited to 60 dB below total integrated power

Page 5 of 10

Options and Accessories

Options (available on new
instruments only)

Current Source *
White Light Source *
Built-in 1310 & 1550 nm EELED
Source
Wavelength Calibrator
DWDM Spectral Analysis Application
Passive Component Test Application
Amplifier Test Application
Source Test Application
Connector Interface

Certificate of Calibration

OSA Fiber Sizes

Model
Number

86143B
86145B
86140B
86142B
86146B

Optical

Input

mm

9

8614xB-002*
(White Light

Benchtop OSA

Agilent 86140B, 86142B, 86146B

8614xB-001
8614xB-002
8614xB-004

8614xB-006 8614xB-006

Included Included
Included Included
Included Included
Included Included

Included Included

8614xB-004*

(1310/1550

Source)

62.5

mm9 mm

EELED)

N/A

FC/PC: 81000PI
SC/PC: 81000KI

DIN: 81000SI

ST: 81000VI

8614xB-006
(Calibrator)

mm

9

Portable OSA

Agilent 86143B, 86145B

¾
¾
¾

Photodiode

Input

N/A

50

mm9 mm

Mono

Output 1

* 8614xB-002 and 004 are exclusive.

Page 6 of 10

Options and Accessories: Specifications

8614xB-001 Current Source

Agilent 86140B, 86142B, 86146B
Range
Resolution (char) 50 mA steps
Accuracy
Clamp Voltage (nominal) ±2.7 V
Noise Density at 1 kHz (char)
Stability Within 30 Minutes (char)
Temperature Drift (char)
Pulse Mode

Pulse Range
Pulse Resolution
Duty Cycle Range

Benchtop OSA

0 to

±200 mA (source or sink)

2%

±50 mA

<4 nA/

ÖHz

<100 ppm

<(100 ppm

10

Pulse width/1 s to 100%

±500 nA

±500 nA)/°C

ms to 6.5 ms

100 ns

8614xB-002 White Light Source

Wavelength
Minimum Output Power Spectral
Density

(9/125 mm fiber)

900 to 1600 nm
900 to 1600 nm (typical)
1600 to 1700 nm

Minimum Output Power Spectral
Density (char)

50/125

62.5/125

Output Stability (characteristic) ±0.02 dB over 10 minutes
Lamp Lifetime, Mean Time Between
Failures

(MTBF) (char) >5000 hours

mm fiber

mm fiber

900 nm to 1700 nm

-67 dBm/nm (0.2 nW/nm)

-64 dBm/nm (0.4 nW/nm)

-70 dBm/nm (0.1 nW/nm)

-50 dBm/nm (10 nW/nm)

-46 dBm/nm (25 nW/nm)

8614xB-004 EELED Sources

Minimum Spectral Power Density

1300 to 1320 nm, 1540 to 1560 nm
1250 to 1620 nm

Return Loss

With straight connector >25dB

Stability (ambient temp. <±1°C)

Over 15 minutes
Over 6 hours

>-40 dBm/nm (10nW/nm)

>-60 dBm/nm (1nW/nm)

±0.02 dB

<
<

±0.05 dB

Page 7 of 10

8614xB-006 Wavelength Calibrator

The wavelength calibrator option provides an onboard wavelength reference that can be used to automatically
calibrate the optical spectrum analyzer. The calibrator is based on an EELED and an Acetylene gas absorption
cell, Figure 1. The Acetylene absorbs light at very specific wavelengths based on the molecular properties of gas.
The cell is illuminated by an EELED and the OSA uses the absorption pits to perform a wavelength calibration,
Figure 2. Since the absorption of the Acetylene gas is a physical constant it never needs calibrating.

The wavelength calibrator enhances the OSA to achieve better than ±10 pm wavelength accuracy and removes
the
need to use a tunable laser source and multi-wavelength meter as an external reference.

Additional Parts and
Accessories

Printer Paper (5 rolls / box)
Additional Connector Interfaces
9 µm Single Mode Connector Saver
Rack-mount Flange Kit
Transit Case
Soft Carrying Case
BenchLink Lightwave Software*

* Agilent N1031A BenchLink Lightwave allows transfer of measurement results over a GPIB Interface to a PC for the purposes of archiving, printing and
further anlysis

Agilent 86140B, 86142B, 86146B

Benchtop OSA

9270-1370 9270-1370

See Agilent 81000 series See Agilent 81000 series

Standard Standard

8614xB-AX4 N/A

9211-2657 9211-5604

N/A 8614xB-042

Standard Standard

Portable OSA

Agilent 86143B, 86145B

Page 8 of 10

Definition of Terms

Wavelength

· Absolute Accuracy (after user cal) refers to the wavelength accuracy after the user has performed the
internal wavelength calibration using a source of known wavelength.

· Reproducibility refers to the amount of wavelength drift which can occur over the specified time while the
OSA is swept across a source of known wavelength.

· Tuning Repeatability refers to the wavelength accuracy of returning to a wavelength after having tuned to a
different wavelength.

Resolution

· FWHM refers to the Full-Width-Half-Maximum resolutions that are available. This indicates the width at half
powerlevel of the signal after passing through the resolution slits.

Amplitude

· Scale Fidelity refers to the potential errors in amplitude readout at amplitudes other than at the calibration
point. This specification is sometimes called linearity.

· Flatness defines a floating band which describes the error in signal amplitude over the indicated wavelength
range.
(This error may be removed at a given wavelength by performing the user amplitude calibration.)

· Polarization Dependence refers to the amplitude change that can be seen by varying the polarization of the
light entering the OSA. This is not to be confused with amplitude variations caused by the varying
distribution
of energy between the different modes in fiber that are multimode at the wavelength of interest.

Sensitivity

· Sensitivity is defined as the signal level that is equal to six times the RMS value of the noise. Displayed
sensitivity values are nominal. Slightly lower values may have to be entered to achieve specified sensitivity.

Dynamic Range

· Dynamic Range is a measure of the ability to see low-level signals that are located very close (in
wavelength) to
a stronger signal. In electrical spectrum analyzers, this characteristic is generally called shape factor.

Sweep Time

· Maximum Sweep Rate refers to the maximum rate that the instrument is able to acquire data and display it.
Thisrate may be limited by multiple internal processes when using default number of trace points.

· Sweep Cycle Time refers to the time required to make a complete sweep and prepare for the next sweep. It
can be measured as the time from the start of one sweep to the start of the next sweep.

Page 9 of 10

Agilent Technologies’ Test and Measurement Support, Services, and Assistance

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measurement capabilities you paid for and obtain the support you need. Our extensive support resources and services can help you choose the right
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least five years beyond the production life of the product. Two concepts underlie Agilent's overall support policy: "Our Promise" and "Your Advantage."

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By internet, phone, or fax, get assistance with all your test & measurement needs

Online assistance:

www.agilent.com/comms/lightwave

Phone or Fax

United States:

(tel) 1 800 452 4844

Canada:

(tel) 1 877 894 4414
(fax) [phone]

Europe:

(tel) (31 20) 547 2323
(fax) (31 20) 547 2390

Japan:

(tel) (81) 426 56 7832
(fax) (81) 426 56 7840

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(tel) [phone]
(fax) [phone]

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(tel) 1 800 629 485
(fax) (61 3) 9210 5947

For related literature, please visit:

www.agilent.com/comms/osa

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(fax) 64 4 495 8950

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(tel) (852) 3197 7777
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Product specifications and descriptions in this document subject to change without notice.
Copyright © 2003 Agilent Technologies
August 04, 2003

5980-0177E