EXFO FLS-2600B User Manual
FLS-2600B
Tunable Laser Source
User Guide
Copyright © 2003–2011 EXFO Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form, be it electronically, mechanically, or by any other means such
as photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of EXFO Inc. (EXFO).
Information provided by EXFO is believed to be accurate and reliable.
However, no responsibility is assumed by EXFO for its use nor for any
infringements of patents or other rights of third parties that may result from
its use. No license is granted by implication or otherwise under any patent
rights of EXFO.
EXFO’s Commerce And Government Entities (CAGE) code under the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is 0L8C3.
The information contained in this publication is subject to change without
notice.
Trademarks
EXFO’s trademarks have been identified as such. However, the presence
or absence of such identification does not affect the legal status of any
trademark.
Units of Measurement
Units of measurement in this publication conform to SI standards and
practices.
Version number: 3.0.0
ii FLS-2600B
Contents
Contents
Certification Information ....................................................................................................... vi
1 Introducing the FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source ...................................... 1
General Information ...............................................................................................................1
RS-232 Connector Pinout ........................................................................................................3
Typical Applications ................................................................................................................4
Conventions ............................................................................................................................5
2 Safety Information ....................................................................................... 7
Laser Safety Information .........................................................................................................7
Electrical Safety Information ...................................................................................................8
3 Getting Started with Your Tunable Laser Source ..................................... 11
Turning on the Unit ..............................................................................................................11
Positioning Your Unit Using the Support Stands ...................................................................13
4 Setting Standard Parameters .................................................................... 15
Setting the Display Intensity .................................................................................................15
Turning the Sound On or Off ................................................................................................16
Switching between Normal and High-Resolution (HR) Modes ..............................................17
Adjusting Decimals Using the Fine-Tune Feature ...................................................................17
Selecting the Display Unit .....................................................................................................18
Selecting a Wavelength ........................................................................................................19
Setting the Power .................................................................................................................21
Adding Items to Lists ............................................................................................................22
Deleting Items from Lists ......................................................................................................23
Using the Monitor Output ....................................................................................................24
Saving and Recalling Configurations .....................................................................................25
Reverting to Factory Settings ................................................................................................27
5 Setting Sweep Parameters ........................................................................ 29
Setting the Start and End Wavelengths ................................................................................29
Selecting the Sweep Mode ...................................................................................................30
Setting the Sweep Step ........................................................................................................31
Setting the Pauses ................................................................................................................32
Setting the Sweep Speed ......................................................................................................33
Selecting the Incoming Trigger Option .................................................................................35
Setting the Cycle Options .....................................................................................................36
Setting the Sweep Direction .................................................................................................37
Tunable Laser Source iii
Contents
6 Operating your Tunable Laser Source .......................................................39
Cleaning and Connecting Optical Fibers ...............................................................................39
Installing the EXFO Universal Interface (EUI) .........................................................................41
Activating/Deactivating Light Emission .................................................................................42
Starting a Sweep ..................................................................................................................43
7 Maintenance ................................................................................................45
Cleaning Fixed Connectors ....................................................................................................46
Cleaning EUI Connectors ......................................................................................................48
Replacing the Fuse ................................................................................................................50
Software Upgrades ...............................................................................................................51
Adjusting Your Unit According to Wavelength .....................................................................54
Recalibrating the Unit ...........................................................................................................56
Recycling and Disposal (Applies to European Union Only) ....................................................56
8 Troubleshooting ..........................................................................................57
Solving Common Problems ...................................................................................................57
Contacting the Technical Support Group ..............................................................................58
Transportation ......................................................................................................................59
9 Warranty ......................................................................................................61
General Information .............................................................................................................61
Liability .................................................................................................................................62
Exclusions .............................................................................................................................63
Certification ..........................................................................................................................63
Service and Repairs ...............................................................................................................64
EXFO Service Centers Worldwide ..........................................................................................65
A Technical Specifications ..............................................................................67
B Trigger Option Theory ................................................................................69
Trigger Option in Continuous Mode .....................................................................................69
Trigger Option in Stepped Mode ..........................................................................................70
iv FLS-2600B
Contents
C Remote Control .......................................................................................... 71
Setting the FLS-2600B for Remote Control ...........................................................................71
Setting the GPIB Primary Address .........................................................................................72
Changing the Baud Rate for RS-232 .....................................................................................73
Changing the Flow Control for RS-232 .................................................................................74
Communication Parameters ..................................................................................................75
Standard Status Data Structure ............................................................................................76
SCPI Commands ....................................................................................................................80
General Commands ..............................................................................................................82
Specific Commands ..............................................................................................................90
Programming Commands ...................................................................................................118
Other Commands ...............................................................................................................126
Quick Reference Command Tree .........................................................................................128
Error Messages ...................................................................................................................134
SCPI Management Errors (System Errors) ............................................................................135
FLS-2600B Error and Warning Messages .............................................................................137
GPIB Troubleshooting .........................................................................................................141
Index .............................................................................................................. 143
Tunable Laser Source v
Certification Information
Certification Information
FCC Information
Electronic test equipment is exempt from Part 15 compliance (FCC) in
the United States. However, compliance verification tests are
systematically performed on most EXFO equipment.
Information
Electronic test equipment is subject to the EMC Directive in the European
Union. The IEC 61326-1 standard prescribes both emission and immunity
requirements for laboratory, measurement, and control equipment.
This unit has undergone extensive testing according to the European Union
Directive and Standards.
CSA Information
This unit is certified by the CSA (certificate number 162451) and was
evaluated according to applicable CSA standards (as confirmed by cCSAus
mark) as well as applicable IEC standards for use in Canada, the United
States, and other countries.
IMPORTANT
Use of shielded remote I/O cables, with properly grounded shields
and metal connectors, is recommended in order to reduce radio
frequency interference that may emanate from these cables.
vi FLS-2600B
Certification Information
Application of Council Directive(s): 2006/95/EC - The Low Voltage Directive
2004/108/EC - The EMC Directive
93/68/EEC - CE Marking
And their amendments
0DQXIDFWXUHU¶V1DPH EXFO Inc. EXFO Europe
0DQXIDFWXUHU¶V$GGUHVV 400 Godin Avenue Omega Enterprise Park
Quebec, Quebec Electron Way,
Canada, G1M 2K2 Chandlers Ford,
(418) 683-0211 Hampshire, SO53 4SE,
UNITED KINGDOM
Equipment Type/Environment: Test & Measurement / Industrial
Trade Name/Model No.: Tunable Laser Source / FLS-2600B
Standard(s) to which Conformity is Declared:
EN 61010-1:2001 Edition 2.0
Safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement,
control, and laboratory use ± Part 1: General requirements
EN 61326-1:2006
Electrical equipment for measurement, control and laboratory
use ± EMC requirements ± Part 1: General requirements
EN 60825-1:2007 Edition 2.0
Safety of laser products ± Part 1: Equipment classification and
requirements
I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the equipment specified above conforms to the above Directive and Standards.
Manufacturer
Signature:
Full Name:
Stephen Bull, E. Eng
Position:
Vice-President Research and
Development
Address:
400 Godin Avenue, Quebec (Quebec),
Canada, G1M 2K2
Date:
February 03, 2009
DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
Tunable Laser Source vii
1 Introducing the FLS-2600B
FLS-2600B TUNABLE LASER SOURCE
Power
on/off
On/Off
Mode
/List
Power
List
Add
Del.
Set Sweep
Start
Stop
Trig In Trig Out Monitor
Output
Output
Setup
Sweep
Fine
tune
ENTER
Display
Source
on/off
Power
control
Access to Sweep menu
Monitor output
port
Add to
List
button
Switches between
and
List
Fine-Tuning button
Sweep Start
button
Trigger Out
SMA connector
Sweep Stop
button
Trigger In SMA
connector
Main output
port
Delete from List
button
Access to Setup menu
Switches between Normal and
High-Resolution modes
Selection
dial
Active LED
Enter
button
Tunable Laser Source
General Information
The FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source addresses the testing requirements
for dense WDM component testing in the C- and L-bands.
Tunable Laser Source 1
Introducing the FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source
GPIB port Serial port
(RS-232 DTE)
Fuse holder
Power inlet
2
Ground
General Information
2 FLS-2600B
Introducing the FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source
1234 5
6789
RS-232 Connector Pinout
RS-232 Connector Pinout
The RS-232 connector (serial port) at the back of the FLS-2600B uses a DTE
pinout configuration.
Pin Description Direction
2Receive (Rc) Input
3Transmit (Tx)Output
5 Signal ground (Gnd) —
The source has a medium coherence length that avoids problems such as
connector-induced interference and it is relatively immune to vibration. Its
linewidth is made up of several longitudinal modes that are present
simultaneously, resulting in no mode-hop-related measurement problems.
It also features a high-accuracy encoder for consistency in your results.
Tunable Laser Source 3
Your module may also feature the possibility to enable or disable the
automatic level control (ALC).
The FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source supports local control (via its front
panel) and remote control (through GPIB or RS-232 using SCPI commands
or the provided LabVIEW drivers).
Introducing the FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source
Typic a l Ap pl ic ation s
Typical Applications
You can use your tunable laser source to perform several tasks, such as the
following:
characterizing filters, multiplexers, Bragg gratings, and other DWDM
components
checking wavelength-dependent gain, noise contribution and
saturation properties
determining the spectral sensitivity of receivers and detectors
performing high-loss tests on passive components
4 FLS-2600B
Introducing the FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source
Conventions
Conventions
Before using the product described in this manual, you should understand
the following conventions:
WARNING
Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided,
could result in death or serious injury. Do not proceed unless you
understand and meet the required conditions.
CAUTION
Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided,
may result in minor or moderate injury. Do not proceed unless you
understand and meet the required conditions.
CAUTION
Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided,
may result in component damage. Do not proceed unless you
understand and meet the required conditions.
IMPORTANT
Refers to information about this product you should not overlook.
Tunable Laser Source 5
2 Safety Information
Laser Safety Information
While handling optical fibers, laser radiation may be encountered at
source output ports and fiber ends. Avoid long-term exposure to laser
radiation.
WARNING
Do not install or terminate fibers while a light source is active.
Never look directly into a live fiber and ensure that your eyes are
protected at all times.
WARNING
Use of controls, adjustments and procedures for operation and
maintenance other than those specified herein may result in
hazardous radiation exposure or impair the protection provided by
this unit.
Your instrument is a Class 1M laser product in compliance with standards
IEC 60825-1 and 21 CFR 1040.10. Invisible laser radiation may be
encountered at the output port.
The product is safe under reasonably foreseeable conditions of operation
but it may be hazardous if you use optics within a diverging or collimated
beam. Do not view directly with optical instruments.
Tunable Laser Source 7
Safety Information
Electrical Safety Information
Electrical Safety Information
The following safety precautions must be observed while operating and
servicing the unit. Failure to comply with these precautions or with specific
indications elsewhere in this manual violates safety standards of intended
use of the unit. EXFO assumes no liability for the user’s failure to comply
with these requirements.
This unit is intended for indoor use only.
Only fuses with the required rated current and specified type (IEC,
250 V, 2 A, fast blow, 0.197 in x 0.787 in/5 mm x 20 mm) may be used
for replacement. Do not use repaired fuses or short-circuited fuse
holders.
The power cable of the FLS-2600B Tunable Laser Source is the most
effective method to turn off the unit if a problem should occur.
Capacitors inside the unit may be charged, even if the unit has been
disconnected from its electrical supply.
Before turning on the unit, all grounding terminals, extensions cords,
and devices connected to it should also be connected to a protective
ground via a ground socket. Any interruption of the protective
grounding is a potential shock hazard and may cause personal injury.
Whenever the ground protection is impaired, the unit is not to be used,
and must be secured against any accidental or unintended operation.
Unit covers cannot be removed during operation.
Any adjustments, maintenance, and repair of opened units under
voltage should be avoided and carried out only by skilled personnel
aware of the hazards involved. Do not attempt internal service or
adjustment unless a person qualified to perform first aid is present.
Do not replace any components while power cable is connected.
8 FLS-2600B
Safety Information
Electrical Safety Information
The unit must be positioned so as not to block the ventilation holes
located on each side of the unit and to allow easy disconnection of the
power cord if any problem should occur.
Operation of any electrical instrument around flammable gases or
fumes constitutes a major safety hazard.
Power Cable
This unit uses a three-wire power cable, which complies with international
safety standards. This cable serves as a ground when connected to an
appropriate AC power receptacle. The type of power cable supplied with
each unit is determined according to the country of destination.
Only qualified electricians should connect a new plug if needed. The color
coding used in the electrical cable depends on the cable. New plugs
should meet the local safety requirements and include the following
features:
adequate load-carrying capacity
ground connection
cable clamp
Tunable Laser Source 9
Safety Information
Electrical Safety Information
To avoid electrical shock, do not operate the unit if there are signs
of damage to any part of the outer surface (covers, panels, etc.).
To avoid serious injury, you must observe the following precautions
before turning on the unit.
If the unit is to be powered via an auto-transformer for voltage
reduction, the common terminal must be connected to the
grounded power-source pole.
Insert the plug into a power outlet with a protective ground
contact. Do not use an extension cord without a protective
conductor.
Before turning on the unit, you must connect the protective
ground terminal of the unit to a protective conductor using the
unit power cord.
Do not tamper with the protective ground terminal.
WARNING
Equipment Ratings
Relative humidity 0 % to 80 % non-condensing
a
Maximum operation altitude 2000 m (6150 ft)
Pollution degree 2
Overvoltage category II
Power su p p ly ra ti ng
b
100 V to 240 V (50 Hz/60 Hz)
maximum 2 A
a. Measured in 0 °C to 31 °C (32 °F to 87.8 °F) range decreasing linearly to 50 % at 40 °C
(104 °F).
b. Not exceeding ± 10 % of the nominal voltage.
10 FLS-2600B
3 Getting Started with Your
Tunable Laser Source
Turning on the Unit
Before turning on the FLS-2600B, please read the Safety Information on
page 7.
To turn the unit on and off, use the red button in the lower left-hand corner
of the front panel. The source is not active upon startup. To activate it, see
Activating/Deactivating Light Emission on page 42.
Upon startup, the unit beeps twice, performs a self-test, and then enters the
main menu with the same settings that were active when it was shut
down. When the unit is turned off, the following items remain in a storage
device called non-volatile memory:
current power setting
current wavelength setting
current mode (normal/high resolution)
current display mode (wavelength/power)
current Setup menu settings
shortlisted wavelengths (up to 100)
sweep parameters
saved sweep configurations (up to five)
Note: The power cord is the most effective disconnecting device. To ensure that
the unit is completely turned off, disconnect the power cord.
Tunable Laser Source 11
Getting Started with Your Tunable Laser Source
DURATION
Sweep
Setup
START
STOP
MODE
STEP PAUSE
CYCLE REVERSE TRIGGER
UNIT REMOTE
DEVICE
DIMMER
SAVE RECALL
SPEED
BAUD
FLOW
ADJUST
SOUND
Turning on the Unit
Some internal mechanisms can sometimes take several seconds to adjust,
depending on the operation.
The front panel control provides access to the following options:
source activation/deactivation
Normal or High-Resolution mode
wavelength editing
shortlisted wavelengths
power editing
shortlisted wavelength addition or deletion
start and stop sweep
The blue buttons to the right of the display give access to single-level
menus: Sweep and Setup. Unless a sweep is under way, these menus can
always be accessed, even while the source is active. The following
diagram shows these two menus and their items.
To move between the menu items, turn the selection dial. To exit a menu,
press the button that gave access to it (Sweep or Setup). The FLS-2600B
will return to its previous state.
Note: The unit will beep whenever the FLS-2600B does not allow an operation.
12 FLS-2600B
Getting Started with Your Tunable Laser Source
Pos ition ing Your U nit Using the Support Stands
Positioning Your Unit Using the Support
Stands
To change the orientation of your unit, you can use the support stands
located on the bottom front part of the casing. Simply pull them down until
they lock into place.
Tunable Laser Source 13
4 Setting Standard Parameters
Edit
Setting the Display Intensity
You might want to set the display intensity of your unit, or turn the
display off.
To change the display intensity:
1. Press Setup.
2. Turn the selection dial clockwise until DIMMER is displayed.
The current dimmer status appears.
3. Press ENTER. The Edit marker starts blinking in the lower part of the
display.
4. Turn the selection dial until you see the desired display intensity (LO,
HI, OFF, or Auto. OFF), then press ENTER.
Setting the dimmer to OFF turns off the display. Press any key to turn the
display back on.
Setting the dimmer to Auto. OFF also turns off the display. Press any key to
turn the display back on. However, after five seconds, the display will
automatically turn off again.
5. To e x i t the Setup menu, press Setup.
Tunable Laser Source 15
Setting Standard Parameters
Edit
Turning the Sound On or Off
Turning the Sound On or Off
To turn the sound on your unit on or off:
1. Press Setup.
2. Turn the selection dial clockwise until SOUND is displayed. The current
sound status appears.
3. Press ENTER. The Edit marker starts blinking in the lower part of the
display.
4. Turn the selection dial until you reach the state you want (on or off),
then press ENTER.
To exi t the Setup menu, press Setup.
16 FLS-2600B
Setting Standard Parameters
Switching between Normal and High-Resolution (HR) Modes
Switching between Normal and
High-Resolution (HR) Modes
In HR mode, the laser linewidth is reduced by a factor of 20 %. Typically, at
1550 nm, the Normal mode will produce a 1.6 GHz FWHM linewidth, while
the HR mode will produce a 1.4 GHz FWHM linewith. The tuning range
(or power at extreme wavelength) might be smaller in HR mode than in
Normal mode.
To select the operation mode:
Press the mode control button on the front panel.
Adjusting Decimals Using the Fine-Tune Feature
You can select values for your testing needs in two different ways:
Fine-tune and Coarse. If you press the Fine-tune button on the front panel,
Fine-tune appears on the display and you will be able to set the decimals.
If Fine-tune does not appear on the display, you are in Coarse mode and
can only adjust the numbers before the decimal point with the
selection dial.
Note: The Fine-tune feature applies to every numerical edition function with a
decimal point except in the Adjust submenu of the Setup menu.
See Adjusting Your Unit According to Wavelength on page 54 for more
information.
Tunable Laser Source 17
Setting Standard Parameters
Selecting the Display Unit
Selecting the Display Unit
It is possible to select the display unit with which you want to work.
To select the display unit:
1. Press Setup.
2. The menu displays UNIT right away. Press ENTER to edit the units.
3. Turn the selection dial clockwise or counterclockwise to select the
desired unit (nm or THz).
4. Press ENTER to validate your choice and Setup to exit the Setup menu.
The selection affects all relevant wavelength settings, including those in the
Sweep.
18 FLS-2600B
Setting Standard Parameters
Normal
nm
Fine-tune
dBm
Selecting a Wavelength
Selecting a Wavelength
There are several ways to select a wavelength for testing.
Entering a Wavelength Directly
To select a wavelength, make sure you are in Wavelength Edition mode.
To se l ect t h e Wavelength Edition mode, press the
front panel, so that
appears on the upper left-hand corner of the display.
/
List button on the
To select a specific wavelength, turn the selection dial clockwise or
counterclockwise until you reach the desired wavelength. The module will
then set the wavelength according to your selection.
If the set power cannot be maintained at the selected wavelength
(especially at extreme wavelengths), the displayed power value will flash,
a message appears in the status bar, and the power is no longer in constant
power mode. The output power stability and level will be the natural laser
emission.
To stop the power display from flashing and have the power regulation
work again, set the wavelength at an interval where the displayed power
can be reached, or decrease the power.
Tunable Laser Source 19
Setting Standard Parameters
Normal
nm
list
Selecting a Wavelength
Retrieving a Wavelength from a Stored List
To select a wavelength from the list of wavelengths already
saved in the internal memory:
1. Ensure that you are in Wavelength List Edition mode. To select this
mode, press the
appears on the upper left-hand corner of the display.
2. Turn the selection dial clockwise or counterclockwise until you reach
the desired listed wavelength.
/
List button on the front panel so thatList
The list number corresponding to your wavelength selection will appear for
a few seconds, then the current power setting will reappear.
To add a wavelength to the list, see Adding Items to Lists on page 22.
20 FLS-2600B
Setting Standard Parameters
Normal
nm
Fine-tune
Power
dBm
Setting the Power
Setting the Power
To set the output power, you must be in Power Edition mode. To select the
Power Edition mode, press the Power button on the front panel, so that
Power appears in the left part of the display.
To select a specific power value, turn the selection dial clockwise or
counterclockwise until you reach the desired power value. The source will
then send the command to set the power according to your selection.
Note: If the set power cannot be maintained at the selected wavelength
(especially at extreme wavelengths), the displayed power value will flash
and you will no longer be in Constant Power mode. The output power
stability and level will be the natural laser emission. To stop the power
display from flashing and have the power regulation work again, set the
wavelengths at an interval where the displayed power can be reached or
select a lower power for your wavelength. For more information on how to
set a specific wavelength, see Entering a Wavelength Directly on page 19.
Your source can either be in Normal Power mode (where the ALC is
enabled), or in Max. Power mode (where the ALC is disabled).
To ch a nge t h e Automatic Level Control status, press on the Power/Pmax.
button. If you see Power on the left side of the display, you are in Normal
Pow er mode. If you see Max. Power on the right side of the display, you are
in Max. Power mode. Once you have selected Max. Power, the unit reverts
to or List mode, according to the one you used last.
Tunable Laser Source 21
Setting Standard Parameters
Adding Items to Lists
Adding Items to Lists
You can add items to the current list of wavelengths.
To add items:
1. Make sure you are in Wavelength Edition mode (
the Wavelength Edition mode, see Selecting a Wavelength on page 19.
2. Turn the selection dial clockwise or counterclockwise until you reach
the desired wavelength.
3. Press the Add button on the front panel.
mode). To select
To indicate that the new wavelength was saved, a number between
1 and 100, stating the wavelength’s rank in the list, as well as the
ADD mention, will appear. If the list is full, the display will indicate FULL,
and you will hear a beep. You will need to delete some wavelengths before
adding more to the list.
The new wavelength is always added to the end of the list, regardless of its
value, using the next available list number. This means that your entries will
not be in ascending or descending numerical order if not entered as such.
To create an ascending list of wavelengths, enter your values beginning
with the lowest and finishing with the highest. To create a descending list
of wavelengths, simply enter your values from highest to lowest.
22 FLS-2600B
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