N1090A, N1092A/B/C/D/E and N1094A/B DCA-M Optical and Electrical Sampling Oscilloscopes

N1090A, N1092A/B/C/D/E

and N1094A/B DCA-M

Optical and Electrical Sampling Oscilloscopes

High accuracy, low cost solutions for optical and electrical waveform analysis

• Solutions for 1 Gb/s through 53 GBaud
• Very low noise and jitter
• Fast sampling rates for high throughput

Legendary DCA Accuracy in a Smaller Platform Ideal for Both Manufacturing and R&D Applications

The Keysight Technologies, Inc. 86100 digital communication analyzer (DCA) family is recognized as the industry standard for verifying optical transmitter compliance to communications standards. For years engineers have trusted the DCA to provide accurate and easy measurement of digital communication waveforms. The Keysight N109X DCA-M family has built on that legacy by using the high-performance elements of both the 86100 oscilloscope mainframe acquisition system and the optical and electrical channel hardware of the 861XX plug-in modules. The N1090A supports 1 to 10 Gb/s measurements, while the N1092 is for use from 20 Gb/s through 53 GBaud. (Data rate ranges of the N1092 can be extended using Options PLK and IRC.)

Unlike the 86100, which uses modules to create a waveform analysis system, the N109X are completely integrated instruments built in a small form factor. Low-noise, high-sensitivity calibrated reference receivers — compliant to industry standard tolerances — are available for both multimode and single-mode signals at wavelengths from 750 to 1630 nm. N1090A noise is as low as 1 μW, while N1092 noise is as low as 4 μW, creating a measurement system with very high dynamic range. The sensitivity of the N1092 is significantly better than the comparable 86100 system making it an excellent solution for PAM-4 waveform analysis. Electrical channels are available with 20 GHz (N1090A), 30 GHz, and 50 GHz bandwidths (N1092/4).

The N109X user interface and operating system is identical to the modern FlexDCA interface of the 86100D. A user-provided PC running N1010A FlexDCA software controls the N109X over a simple USB 2.0 or 3.0 connection.

Controlling the N109X

There are three ways to control the N109X system

• A PC directly connected to the N109X with a USB cable
• An 86100D mainframe connected to the N109X with a USB cable. (The 86100D can then be controlled via GPIB or LAN)
• For an automated test system environment, the simplest and preferred method to control the N109X is to connect the primary test system PC to a low-cost modern PC via LAN. The FlexDCA interface resides on the second PC. The second PC is then connected to the N109X via USB. This eliminates most issues of compatibility between an existing test system PC and the N109X hardware and can greatly simplify converting an 86100D system to an N109X system

System setup

The following guidelines indicate the fundamental requirements for PC’s connected to the N109X and running the FlexDCA interface:

For a single channel setup (N1090A or N1092A)

• Intel I3 processor or better
• 4 GB memory
• Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit)

For a parallel test setup (multiple instruments or multiple channels)

• Intel I5 or better
• 8 GB memory
• Windows 7 (64 bit)

The communication API between your system controller and the PC is SCPI over LAN, either VXI-11 or HiSlip. If NI-VISA or IO Libraries are used to communicate with GPIB instruments, the switch to SCPI/LAN is very simple. It is important to note that there is no need to do any USB programming. This is all handled by the FlexDCA interface.

The FlexDCA interface is free and can be downloaded at www.keysight.com/find/flexdca_download. Remote programs previously developed using the 86100 FlexDCA interface can be leveraged directly to control an automated N109X system. Use FlexDCA SCPI programming tools to simplify conversion of legacy 86100-based automation to FlexDCA compatible code. Measurement results are generally 50 percent faster with the new N1090A, and up to 300 percent faster with the N1092/4 due to significantly faster sampling rates.

Similar to the 86100, a reference clock, synchronous with the signal being measured, is required to trigger the N109X. The clock input range for the N1090A is 500 MHz to 12 GHz, and the N1092 and N1094 are 500 MHz to 28.5 GHz. Timebase calibration, previously performed at service centers, can now be performed by users, reducing cost of ownership and instrument down time.

N1090A Configurations

Choose from the following reference receiver options to best meet your measurement needs. Select one option. Options cannot be combined. However if test needs change, the N1090A can be returned to a Keysight service center to convert from any of the five reference receiver options to one of the other four options listed. Unfiltered mode is not available in any option.