THORLABS MX10A User Manual Download Page 12 | Manualshive

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THORLABS MX10A User Manual Download Page 12

MX10A, MX40A Modulator Driver

Chapter 4: Quick Start Guide

Rev B, October 5, 2017

Page 9

4.3. Controls in the Settings Pages

The Settings pages all follow the same general design and functionality as shown in the example screen shot

below. The upper section with white letters displays the parameters that can be changed. Simply tap on the

parameter of interest to highlight it, and the controls for that parameter will be presented.
The lower section with amber letters displays selected values that are convenient to monitor on that page.
The right-hand column provides the controls for changing the values for the selected parameters. The main

control knob on the front panel can also be used to adjust and confirm selected values. The screen shots below

show examples of the touch-screen controls.

Tap to select parameter

Yellow highlight will appear

Increase value

Decrease value

Change Step Size

Confirm new value

Cancel any changes

Monitor area

MIN / MAX warnings

indicate that the setting

limit for a particular

parameter has been

reached.

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Summary of Contents for MX10A

Page 1: ...MX10A or MX40A 12 5 Gb s Modulator Driver 40 Gb s Modulator Driver User Guide ...

Page 2: ...on Function Intensity Modulators Only 10 5 2 Control Loop Diagram 10 5 3 Bias Settings Page Intensity Modulators Only 11 5 4 Amplifier Settings Page 17 5 5 Variable Optical Attenuator Settings Page 19 5 6 Load Page 20 5 7 Menu Page 21 Chapter 6 Specifications 24 6 1 General System Specifications 24 6 2 Power Environmental Specifications 24 6 3 Internal Control Specifications 24 6 4 Internal Amplif...

Page 3: ...MX10A MX40A Modulator Driver TTN035544 D02 Chapter 11 Regulatory 31 Chapter 12 Declaration of Conformity 32 Chapter 13 Thorlabs Worldwide Contacts 34 ...

Page 4: ...ual or on your device Symbol Description Direct Current Alternating Current Both Direct and Alternating Current Earth Ground Terminal Protective Conductor Terminal Frame or Chassis Terminal Equipotentiality On Supply Off Supply Caution Risk of Electric Shock Caution Hot Surface Caution Risk of Danger Warning Laser Radiation Caution Spinning Blades May Cause Harm Caution ESD Sensitive Component ...

Page 5: ...l supply voltage must be in the range specified on the rear panel and the correct fuse must be installed in the fuse holder If not please replace the main fuse see section on instrument maintenance Only use mains cable with sufficient current and voltage ratings for this instrument Do not position equipment in a way that makes it difficult for the user to operate the disconnecting device Do not re...

Page 6: ... interference in a residential installation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation Thorlabs is not responsible for any radio television interference caused b...

Page 7: ... guide RCUG which can be downloaded from https www thorlabs com manuals cfm for details The most recent firmware and remote control software tool can be downloaded by visiting https www thorlabs com navigation cfm Guide_ID 2191 and entering the Item into the search field Thorlabs technical support can provide up to date information on available firmware revisions and control functions NOTE This ma...

Page 8: ...r source the signal source and the modulator of their choice The Laser In port uses PM fiber with light linearly polarized along the slow axis as shown on the front panel Maximum input power is 20 dBm 100 mW Optical power is monitored in three places Mon 1 2 3 for the purpose of enabling bias and power control These power values are also available at the I O port Mon 1 is at the Laser Input Mon 2 ...

Page 9: ...Input PM FC PC PM FC PC F Laser Output to Modulator PM FC PC PM FC PC G Return from Modulator FC PC FC PC H Optical Output FC PC FC PC J Amplifier RF Output SMA 2 92 mm K Bias Output SMA SMA L RF Input SMA 2 92 mm M Standby Button Back Panel N I O Port DB 15 DB 15 O Option Label P RS 232 Port DB 9 DB 9 Q USB Port Type B Type B S Power Connector T Fuse Tray U Power Switch A B D M E F G H J K L N O ...

Page 10: ... For first use plug the main power cable into the rear panel connector and then plug the other end into an AC wall receptacle Flip the power switch on the rear panel to the ON I position The unit will now be in the Standby mode and the front panel standby button should glow amber Turn on the unit by pressing the amber standby button on the front panel which will then turn green to indicate the uni...

Page 11: ... indicate the function is ON and turn red to indicate the function is disabled The central section is the main dashboard for reporting operational values of each section Tapping the screen in this middle area will take the user to the corresponding Settings page for each section Note that the green dot in each of these sections indicates the function is stable A blinking green dot indicates the fu...

Page 12: ...presented The lower section with amber letters displays selected values that are convenient to monitor on that page The right hand column provides the controls for changing the values for the selected parameters The main control knob on the front panel can also be used to adjust and confirm selected values The screen shots below show examples of the touch screen controls Tap to select parameter Ye...

Page 13: ...ssion function does not go perfectly from 0 to 100 This is characterized by the Extinction Ratio of the modulator Peak power Null power The efficiency of the modulator is also characterized by Vπ which is defined as the voltage necessary to change the transmission from Null to Peak The most linear response of the modulator is achieved by biasing it at one of the Quadrature points where the transmi...

Page 14: ...her tone as part of a lock in control scheme to keep the modulator bias stable The dither tone allows the control algorithm to track the drifting but at the cost of decreased signal to noise ratio SNR due to the injection of a single frequency tone into the modulator bias The first time you turn on the modulator Bias control the instrument will perform a calibration routine to determine the approx...

Page 15: ...tical output is also slightly modulated Both the amplitude and the frequency of AC dither tone can be selected by the user The modulated optical output is detected by a frequency and phase sensitive detector which can then interpret whether the DC bias is at the correct level for the chosen set point Quad Peak or Null The DC bias voltage is then continuously adjusted to maintain the correct set po...

Page 16: ...ot stay locked Typically a value between 300 mV and 500 mV is a good starting point In applications where the highest SNR is desired there is also the option to disable the dither tone This allows the user to quickly turn the dither off perform a measurement requiring low noise and then turn the dither back on When the dither is turned off the bias is simply held at the previous bias voltage For l...

Page 17: ...ation and non linear frequency doubling The optical phase is 180 shifted on opposite sides of the Null point 5 3 3 Null Mode The Null Mode adjusts the DC bias voltage so the transmission is centered at a nearby transmission minimum In the Null mode only dither frequency and amplitude settings are available These settings are the same as previously described for the Quadrature mode Bias control in ...

Page 18: ...lt it can achieve superior SNR compared to the Quadrature mode This mode is recommended for analog signals or higher level Pulse Amplitude Modulation PAM formats Constant Ratio works by holding the modulator ratio of input light at Mon 1 to output light at Mon 2 at a constant value typically at or close to Quadrature Note that it does NOT take into account the insertion loss of the modulator There...

Page 19: ...me location on the transmission function For example in order to switch to Constant Ratio mode at the Quadrature location follow these steps Turn the bias on and choose Quadrature mode Wait for the green indicator dot to stop blinking indicating the bias is locked at quadrature Optional For greater accuracy at this point slowly reduce the dither tone amplitude to 100 mV in order to remove errors t...

Page 20: ...tal mode is recommended for OOK On Off Keying digital signals The Vπ Swing button is provided to conveniently set the Max Output Swing to the optimum value to achieve high extinction modulation with the internal modulator The Max Output Swing field allows the user to set the peak to peak output voltage of the amplifier assuming the amplifier input signal is large enough to cause the amplifier to s...

Page 21: ...his the user must supply a signal with small enough amplitude so the amplifier does not saturate or clip This mode is recommended for analog signals or higher order modulation formats such as PAM4 The crossing point adjustment can usually be left at 0 but the user may find other values achieve lower distortion Maximum linear input is listed in the specifications Eye crossings as a function of the ...

Page 22: ...e maintains a fixed attenuation level between the output of the modulator and the output port on the front panel Any fluctuations at the input are transferred to the output Constant Output Power Mode acts as a stabilizer by holding the final optical power constant independent of input fluctuations within controllable limits such as input power and attenuation Tap here to change Modes Tap here to s...

Page 23: ...instrument in a known state Future firmware revisions will have the ability to store instrument states defined by the user as well Tapping on one of the presets will bring up a window that displays all the stored settings The user can then review the choice before confirming with the green check mark This window displays the preset parameters for review Load the preset by tapping the green check b...

Page 24: ...play Sounds DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS controls the overall brightness of the touch screen display DISPLAY SLEEP TIME controls how long the the touch screen display is visible before it sleeps BUTTON CLICK toggles the sound produced when tapping buttons On Off NOTIFICATION BEEP toggles the sound associated with certain on screen notifications On Off Tap any of the fields to reach their controls Tap here t...

Page 25: ...e Home Menu Accent LEDs The accent LED settings control the intensity of the color LEDs that emanate from the bottom of the instrument These can be used for a variety of purposes Their primary function however is to look cool You can set them to your favorite color This is useful information when in the need for tech support or to verify firmware revisions Tap any of the three color fields to acce...

Page 26: ...tober 5 2017 Page 23 5 7 4 Thorlabs Help Page Path here Home Menu Thorlabs Help The Thorlabs Help page displays the Tech Support phone number Thorlabs web site and the installed hardware and software versions This information will be useful when speaking with Tech Support ...

Page 27: ...Hz MX40A Linear analog response Low Frequency Cutoff 100 kHz Amplifier RF Input Linear Response 100 mV Max MX10A 120 mV Max MX40A 5 THD at 1 GHz Amplifier RF Input MX10A Digital Mode 400 mV Typ 3 5 V Max 4 V Abs Max Amplifier RF Input MX40A Digital Mode 400 mV Typ 4 V Max 6 V Abs Max Amplifier DC Input Max 15 V MX10A 10 V MX40A Input is AC Coupled Amplifier RF Output Swing 3 V 7 V Adjustable Swing...

Page 28: ... Typical Values Notes Rise Fall Time 35 ps MX10A 8 ps MX40A Large signal digital response RF Amplifier Gain 34 dB MX10A 30 dB MX40A Small Signal Bandwidth 7 GHz MX10A 20 GHz MX40A Linear analog response RF Amplifier Max Output Swing 3 V 7 V Adjustable Low Frequency Cutoff 100 kHz Electrical Return Loss 10 dB Any RF Port to 3 dB BW ...

Page 29: ...ons and control functions The 15 pin I O connector provides outputs from the power monitors in the optical path see the block diagram in Chapter 3 The power monitors provide a voltage that is proportional to the optical power with one of two gain settings These values are available on the I O DB15 connector The gain setting for each monitor is determined by software and reported on the correspondi...

Page 30: ...MX10A MX40A Modulator Driver Chapter 8 Mechanical Drawings Rev B October 5 2017 Page 27 Chapter 8 Mechanical Drawings 134 8 mm 5 31 250 0 mm 9 84 300 0 mm 11 81 322 2 mm 12 69 122 0 mm 4 80 ...

Page 31: ...e their end faces cleaned every time a new connection is made The end faces of the internal fiber connectors can easily be damaged by the use of dirty fiber ends If damage occurs the instrument will need to be sent back for repair We suggest using a fiber end face cleaning product such as the Thorlabs FCC 7020 shown below Alternatively a lint free cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol or methanol...

Page 32: ...he main power cable 4 Carefully remove the fuse holder slide from the power entry module use a flat screwdriver 5 Investigate the fuse This can be done with a simple continuity check If in doubt replace the fuse A spare fuse is stored in the fuse holder Additional replacement fuses can be purchased from Thorlabs Always use fuses of the same type as the original 6 Reinstall the fuse holder slide in...

Page 33: ...ocked If there are no ventilation issues then the box should cool itself and return to the standby Do not operate or leave the instrument in standby mode in an environment above 40 C Blinking Amber Green Indicates the instrument is both overheated and the main AC power is unstable see individual troubleshooting for these conditions above Fading Amber Green Indicates the instrument is in the firmwa...

Page 34: ...other Thorlabs products such as Pure OEM products that means assemblies to be built into a unit by the user e g OEM laser driver cards Components Mechanics and optics Left over parts of units disassembled by the user PCB s housings etc If you wish to return a Thorlabs unit for waste recovery please contact Thorlabs or your nearest dealer for further information Waste Treatment is Your Own Responsi...

Page 35: ...MX10A MX40A Modulator Driver Page 32 TTN035544 D02 Chapter 12 Declaration of Conformity ...

Page 36: ...MX10A MX40A Modulator Driver Chapter 12 Declaration of Conformity Rev B October 5 2017 Page 33 ...

Page 37: ... USA Canada and South America Thorlabs Inc sales thorlabs com techsupport thorlabs com Europe Thorlabs GmbH europe thorlabs com France Thorlabs SAS sales fr thorlabs com Japan Thorlabs Japan Inc sales thorlabs jp UK and Ireland Thorlabs Ltd sales uk thorlabs com techsupport uk thorlabs com Scandinavia Thorlabs Sweden AB scandinavia thorlabs com Brazil Thorlabs Vendas de Fotônicos Ltda brasil thorl...

Page 38: ...www thorlabs com ...

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