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MBC-AN-LAB 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating Manual          

Version 2.0

 

 

 

 

Summary of Contents for MBC-AN-LAB

Page 1: ...MBC AN LAB Operating Manual Version 2 0 ...

Page 2: ...y 4 Contacting iXblue 4 General Information 5 Product Overview 5 Principle of operation 5 Standard Specifications 7 Panel features 8 Front panel 8 Back panel 9 Getting started 9 Standard Accessories 9 Installation and set up 9 Operation 10 Quick start procedure 10 Remarks 12 Calibrating the board 13 Appendices 17 A Mach Zehnder intensity modulators 17 B Drift effects 18 ...

Page 3: ...MBC AN LAB 2 Version 2 0 ...

Page 4: ...ion has been carefully checked for accuracy However Photline makes no warranty as to the completeness correctness or accuracy of the information contained within this documentation In the interest of continued product improvement Photline further reserves the right to make any change in any products describers herein without notice This publication is subject to change without notice About this Ma...

Page 5: ...aution statement identify conditions or practices that could result in damage to this product or other property Electrical safety WARNING Operate under the proper environmental conditions The MBC AN Board is designed for indoor use To avoid injuries do not expose this instrument to water or excessive moisture Do not operate the board in the presence of flammable gases or fumes Contacting iXblue Fo...

Page 6: ...a tone signal is not desired and typically for analog applications where a high purity carrier is required Principle of operation The MBC AN bias controller is based on the comparison of the optical power before and after the Mach Zehnder modulator It uses optical tap couplers and photodiodes with a proportional integrator feedback loop to lock the operating point of the modulator at the Quad or Q...

Page 7: ...ance 10 90 or 1 99 allows to detect a small portion of the transmitted light thanks to a monitoring photodiode The signal from the photodiode is amplified and compared with the signal coming from the laser monitoring photodiode The discrepancy between both signals are integrated and injected into the DC electrodes of the modulators in order to maintain the operating point at the desired position T...

Page 8: ...ature C 10 45 Storage Temperature C 40 75 Power supply Positive bias voltage V 0 12 15 Negative bias voltage V 15 12 0 90 250V 50 60Hz AC power supply Provided Interfaces Photodiode Input coupler input FC APC connector Bias Output BNC Female connector Communication USB Connector Environmental Operating temperature C 10 45 Dimensions LAB 220 x 220 x 52mm3 Software GUI Minimum computer requirements ...

Page 9: ...Input fiber from laser output coupler option Input part of laser power no coupler option 5 Modulator optical input optional Output of the first integrated coupler to the input optical fiber modulator 6 Modulator optical output Input fiber from modulator output coupler option Input part of modulator output power no coupler option 7 Signal optional Output of the second integrated coupler working sig...

Page 10: ...tandard Accessories User Manual Interface User Manual Cord Kit USB Cord AC DC Power Supply Installation and set up To set up the MBC AN Board for your application you have to install the MBC AN control software Preliminary MBC Interface software installation Minimum computer requirements Windows XP Vista 7 USB port ...

Page 11: ...ect the inputs 1 and 2 and the outputs 9 You will find a quick start procedure below 1 Make sure you received all the ordered parts 2 Proceed to the MBC AN Board system installation 3 Connect the board to the power supply 4 Connect the PD2 output connector Signal to a power meter using an optical fiber Then plug the modulator output connector to the PD2 input connector Plug the modulator input con...

Page 12: ...u are done start the laser 6 Start the MBC AN windows control interface 7 Select the device 8 Select manual mode and adjust Vbias Mod can go positive or negative to get the maximum optical power at the input of your power meter Figure 2 Manual mode selection 9 When done check Automatic ...

Page 13: ... Mode selection 10 Check the Reset button to restart the integrator 11 The board should be in quad mode Remarks 1 If needed the MBC AN BOARD can be used as a manual modulator bias source by selecting the manual mode Figure 6 Manual mode selection ...

Page 14: ...is not able to lock on the quad point you have to calibrate your MBC AN BOARD by using the Calibration menu in the Control interface Calibrating the board The Calibration mode is used when you need to set up the board for example when you change the modulator 1 Select the Calibration Menu in the toolbar Then enter the following password trepxe ...

Page 15: ... Version 2 0 Figure 8 Calibration mode selection 2 Select manual mode and adjust Vbias Mod can go positive or negative to get the maximum optical power at the input of your power meter Figure 9 Manual mode selection ...

Page 16: ...box to get a value around 3 5V in the PDM voltage box and adjust with fine gain Figure 3 PDM adjustment Change the coarse gain in the PDL PhotoDiode Laser settings box to get a value around 1 75V in the PDM voltage box and adjust with fine gain PDL voltage PDM voltage 2 Figure 4 PDL adjustment ...

Page 17: ... Check the Reset button to restart the integrator 6 The board should be in quad mode If the optical power measured at the output is different from Pmax 3dB and that the LED Vbias sat are not ON you can adjust the power by changing the value of the fine gain and coarse gain of PD1 ...

Page 18: ...hibit a sine transfer function Figure 6 Although MZMs are highly stable components their operating point can suffer slow drifts due to variations of external conditions like pressure and temperature for instance and those drifts may induce key performances time fluctuations like the extinction ratio for example In order to adjust the operating point of LiNb MZMs independently from the RF modulatio...

Page 19: ...e of the DC drift Figure 8 Output power of the modulator as the function of the driving voltage with without the DC applied voltage The DC drift physical mechanism and its causes are not yet well understood But this can be attributed to the ions movement including OH ions inside the Lithium Niobate substrate and the buffer layer It is influenced by the balance of the RC time constants in both hori...

Page 20: ...mperature changes piezoelectric charges are induced on the surface of the LN substrate This raises a surface charge distribution across the two arms of the interferometer affecting the global electric field This results into a shift in the switching curve in the same way that operates the DC drift Hence to mitigate thermal effects there is a need to distribute or dissipate the charges that are acc...

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