N1092A/B/C/D/E DCA-M Optical Oscilloscopes

DCA-M
Standard

The N1092A/B/C/D/E DCA-M multiple-channel optical/electrical sampling oscilloscopes are controlled via USB from a PC. The five available models vary in the number of front-panel optical and electrical channel inputs as shown in the following table. Unlike the N1090A DCA-M, the N1092A/B/C/D/E option PLK/LOJ oscilloscopes can be used with pattern lock. For installation, safety, and regulatory information, refer to the N1092A/B/C/D/E user's guide which can be downloaded from keysight.com.

An N1092A/B/C/D/E with a serial number ≥ MY62100101 requires FlexDCA firmware version A.06.90 or later.

Maximum Clock In non-destruct input voltage is 1.4Vpp. The recommended input is <500 mVp-p.

When four N1092Ds are connected to an DCA-X you have a total of 16 optical channels. And, if four N1045A-04X mini-modules are then installed into the DCA-X, you get a total of 16 optical channels and 16 electrical channels! All of the 32 channels can be displayed at the same time.

The N109X-series DCA-Ms are controlled using the same FlexDCA user interface that is used to control the DCA-X. As a result, DCA-X users will be very familiar with operating the DCA-Ms as well as using remote control. The DCA-Ms use the high-performance elements of both the DCA-X oscilloscope mainframe acquisition system and the optical channel of the 86105C module. The DCA-Ms can be configured to perform optical transmitter compliance tests.

N1092A Front Panel

N1092A Option CDR Front Panel

Option CDR provided clock recovery.

N1092B Front Panel

N1092B Option CDR Front Panel

Option CDR provided clock recovery.

N1092C Front Panel

N1092D Front Panel

N1092E Front Panel

Channels

N109X-Series Channel Counts
Model Channel Count Module
Serial Number
Minimum FlexDCA
Firmware Version
Optical Electrical
N1094B 4 ≥ MY62100101 A.06.90
< MY62100101 A.05.40
N1094A 2 ≥ MY62100101 A.06.90
< MY62100101 A.05.40
N1092E 2 2 ≥ MY62100101 A.06.90 (Option 30A)
A.06.90 (Option 40A)
< MY62100101 A.05.40 (Option 30A)
A.06.40 (Option 40A)
N1092D 4 ≥ MY62100101 A.06.90 (Option 30A)
A.06.90 (Option 40A)
< MY62100101 A.05.40 (Option 30A)
A.06.40 (Option 40A)
N1092C 1 2 ≥ MY62100101 A.06.90 (Option 30A)
A.06.90 (Option 40A)
< MY62100101 A.05.40 (Option 30A)
A.06.40 (Option 40A)
N1092B 2 ≥ MY62100101 A.06.90 (Option 30A)
A.06.90 (Option 40A)
A.06.90 (Option 40A & CDR)
< MY62100101 A.05.40 (Option 30A)
A.06.40 (Option 40A)
A.06.61 (Option 40A & CDR)
N1092A 1 ≥ MY62100101 A.06.90 (Option 30A)
A.06.90 (Option 40A)
A.06.90 (Option 40A & CDR)
< MY62100101 A.05.40 (Option 30A)
A.06.40 (Option 40A)
A.06.61 (Option 40A & CDR)
N1090A-EEC 1 1 All serial numbers A.05.00
N1090A 1 All serial numbers A.05.00

Options

N1092A/B/C/D/E Options
Model/Option Number Description
N1092A Single optical channel oscilloscope
N1092B Dual optical channel oscilloscope
N1092C Single optical, dual electrical channel oscilloscope
N1092D Quad optical channel oscilloscope
N1092E Dual optical, dual electrical channel oscilloscope
N1092A/B-CDR 25 to 29 GBd and 53 to 58 GBd Clock data recovery
N1092A/B-CRX Extended clock recovery input rates: 125 MBd to 64 GBd
N1092x-30A 30 GHz amplified
N1092A-N28 30 GHz amplified, 280 kHz high-pass
N1092x-40A > 40 GHz amplified (includes an unfiltered path and 53 GBd PAM4 TDECQ filter)
N1092x-280 25.781, 27.739, 27.952, 28.050 Gbaud filters (mandatory)
N1092x-LOJ Low jitter timebase
N1092x-STB Standard timebase
N1092x-PLK Pattern lock capability
N1092x-FS1 Fast sampling rate
N1092x-200 Enhanced jitter analysis software, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-201 Advanced waveform analysis software, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-300 Advanced amplitude analysis/Rin/Q-Factor, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-401 Advanced eye analysis software, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-500 Productivity package, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-9FP PAM-N analysis SW, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-TFP IEEE TDECQ analysis, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-PLK Pattern lock trigger hardware
N1092x-IRC Impulse response correction
N1092x-EFP FlexEye Independent Channel Acquisition and Control
N1092x-SIM InfiniiSim-DCA waveform transformation SW, fixed perpetual license
N1092x-168 Additional 25.78 Gb/s TDEC filter (requires Option 500)
N1092x-206 Additional 20.625 Gb/s filter
N1092x-C0C Certificate of Calibration
N1092x-UK6 Commercial calibration certificate with test data
N1092x-1CM Single instrument rack mount kit
N1092x-1CN Dual instrument side-by-side rack mount kit

Key Concepts

  • Input signal must meet the following requirements:
    • 830 nm to 1600 nm wavelength (multimode or single-mode).
    • Symbol rate should be no greater than the selected reference filter. Reference filters are low-pass filters and not bandpass filters. Installed reference filters are listed on the N1092A/B/D's front panel under Filter Rates.
  • The Clock In input must meet the following requirements:
    • Same symbol rate as the input signal or be a sub-rate clock for proper display of the input signal.
    • Triggering occures with any clock between 100 MHz and 32 GHz.
    • Trigger setting can be Front Panel or Free Run only.
  • Multiple DCA-Ms can be connected to FlexDCA. Delta time values between two channels cannot be compared because each N1092A/B/D (and DCA-X if connected) uses an independent trigger.
  • An DCA-X can simultaineously be connected to FlexDCA.
  • Simulated waveforms can be displayed on FlexDCA.
  • Use FlexDCA's remote programming commands to configure the N1092A/B/C/D/E.

Features

  • Increased sampling rate.
  • Perform optical transmitter compliance tests at standard symbol rates of 25.78 GBd (TDEC), 20.625 GBd, and 25 to 29 GBaud, depending on the installed filter options.
  • Ability to perform eye-mask tests and measure eye diagram parameters including extinction ratio.
  • Low-noise, high sensitivity calibrated reference receivers that are compliant to industry standard tolerances. The reference receivers are selected at the time of order and are noted as Filter Rates on the N1092A/B/D's front panel.
  • Ability to perform basic oscilloscope mode measurements of pulses rather than eye diagrams (limited to patterns less than 2 ns in duration).

Aligning waveforms

Because a DCA-M’s acquisition system is independent of the DCA-X, the input waveforms may not align after an Auto Scale. This happens if your are using multiple DCA-Ms or a DCA-M with DCA-X receiver modules. To align the waveforms:

  • Use Rapid Eye to align the channels. Rapid Eye is available on all N1000A, DCA-M, and 86100D (FlexDCA version ≥A.06.00) scopes. It is also available on 86100D (FlexDCA version <A.06.00) scopes with option 500, Productivity Package Software, is installed. Turn on Rapid Eye and the waveforms will align during an Auto Scale. Option 500 is the most convenient way to align the waveforms and maintains very fast throughput. Perform these steps:
    1. Click Setup > Acquisition to open the Acquisition Setup dialog.
    2. Select Enable Rapid Eye.
    3. Select Align Channels During Auto Scale.
  • Manually delay the channels. If Rapid Eye is not installed as described above, you can manually add software delay to channels. Although this technique works, acquisition throughput will be reduced. For example, if channels 1A, 2A, and 3A are displayed, add software delay to channels 2A and 3A. The delays are referenced to channel 1A because Auto Scale aligns on the lowest numbered channel that is displayed. To add software delay,
    1. Click Auto Scale to autoscale the lowest numbered channel.
    2. For the remaining channels:
      1. Click Setup > Modules > Channels and select the channel.
      2. In the Setup dialog, click Advanced for the channel.
      3. Click Software Delay and enter the desired delay.

Rapid Eye is not available when using math functions or pattern lock.

Option IRC

Option IRC provides optical channel System Impulse Response Correction (SIRC) measurement and data files. These files provide an ideal channel response. SIRC data can be applied in the System Impulse Response Correction dialog. The SIRC correction data feature is a digital filter that is used to:

  • Improve the response of module reference filters to more closely match an ideal receiver.
  • Enable non-standard reference receiver rates or bandwidths.
  • Increase the bandwidth of the channel by up to 50%.
  • Ensures that an eye diagram will look identical between different modules.

SIRC correction data is unique to a specific module (serial number). Option IRC ships standard with every module and does not need to be purchased.

N109X-Series SIRC Filter Ranges
Module/Option Channel Range1, 2
Min SIRC Freq.
Range1, 2
Max SIRC Freq.
N1092A Option N28 All Optical 12.89 GBd (9.67 GHz) 53.125 GBd (39.8 GHz)
N1092x Option 30A All Optical 12.89 GBd (9.67 GHz) 53.125 GBd (39.8 GHz)
N1092x Option 40A All Optical 12.89 GBd (9.67 GHz) 64 GBd (48 GHz)
N1092x Options 30A and 168 All Optical 8.4 GBd (6.3 GHz) 53.125 GBd (39.8 GHz)

Optical NRZ signals typically require a 4 pole Bessel filter at 75% of the data rate; Optical PAM 4 signals typically require a 4 pole Bessel filter at 50% of the data rate.

Only available with option IRC and compliance not guaranteed.

Front-Panel Indicator Lights

Front Panel Indicator Lights
Indicator Description
Displays the FlexDCA extended module slot where the N1092A/B/D is installed. The number indicates the channel, which in this picture would be channel 6A.
Green Trigger light indicates that the N1092A/B/D is being triggered. As with the DCA-X scope, this does not indicate that the trigger signal is synchronous with the channel input signal. The trigger must be set to Front Panel and not Module.
Red Trigger light indicates that the clock input signal is missing.
Trigger light off indicates that the N1092A/B/D channel is turned off or if FlexDCA is in single/stop acquisition mode.
Trigger armed light. This light is red if FlexDCA is in single/stop acquisition mode.
Channel indicator light. This light is next to the fiber-optic input connector. When on, the light indicates that the associated FlexDCA channel is turned on and that the waveform is displayed. The light is the same color as the displayed waveform. The Trig'd and Armed indicators do not light unless the channel is turned on.

Remote programs previously developed using the N1000A/86100D FlexDCA interface can be leveraged directly to control an automated N1092A/B/D system. Use FlexDCA SCPI programming tools to simplify conversion of legacy 86100-based automation to FlexDCA compatible code. Measurement results are generally 50% faster with the new N1092A/B/D due to a significantly faster sampling rate.

Front-Panel Fiber-Optic Input

To avoid damaging the N1092A/B/D's front-panel fiber-optic connector, use proper connection techniques.

Click here to learn about fiber-optic connector care. Use caution as fiber-optic end surfaces are easily damaged due to improper cleaning techniques and repairs can be expensive.

The front-panel fiber-optic input adapter can be removed and cleaned as shown in the following picture. To remove the fiber-optic adapter:

  1. Lift the receptacle latch as shown in the following picture.
  2. Carefully pull off the receptacle without touching the ferrule or fiber end.

Calibrations

The following calibrations are available for N1092-series modules within FlexDCA. Each is run from within FlexDCA's Calibration dialog.

Vertical Calibration
A vertical calibration allows you to calibrate the input channel's vertical response. This calibration is performed without an input signal.
Dark Level Calibration
For N1092C/E modules, improves the accuracy of extinction ratio measurements by identifying internally generated offset (dark level) signals generated by external optical-to-electrical converters and removing them from the measurement. This calibration is performed without an input signal.
User Optical Calibration
A user optical calibration of the optical channel at any wavelength between 750 nm to 1650 nm. An external CW optical source is required.
Factory Optical Calibration
A factory calibration of the optical channel is performed at 850 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm. An external CW optical source is required.
Timebase Calibration
N1092-series modules have their own timebase. If multiple N1092-series modules are used or additional timebases are present, calibrations for each timebase will be listed in the Calibrations dialog. The calibration for each N1092A/B/D is clearly labeled by input channel. Other timebases include any 86100D-PTB, 86107A module, N1060A-PTB, or 86108B-PTD modules.

Available Package Licenses

Option Description
RND Research and Development Package license
MFG Manufacturing Package license