PRESS RELEASE

18 March 2015

Contact:
David Stahl Phone: +49-89-20189916 Onsite: +49-176-22610751 Email: info@id-photonics.com Company Web address: www.id-photonics.com

ID Photonics introduces automated BIAS Control for IQ-Mach Zehnder structures optimized for flexible Multi – Level modulation formats

March 18, 2015

Neubiberg, Germany – ID Photonics, a leading test and measurement provider for coherent transmission system solutions, extends its portfolio by a new type of automatic BIAS control for complex multi-level signals such as QAM-16 jointly developed with Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institute. Unlike other solutions on the market, it is independent of the applied RF signal (constellation), requires no manual tuning by a user for optimal results and features a zero noise mode for reference measurements. The solution is available in a turnkey ready fully integrated high-end E/O converter instrument that connects to Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWG). Additionally, a standalone board provides a solution for customers aiming to build a customized RF chain and Mach Zehnder Modulator device but require a best-in-class automatic BIAS control feature.

"The industry is currently advancing from standard 100G DP-QPSK technology to modulation formats such as QAM-16 that require multi-level coding. This step opens the possibility to flexibly implement a large variety of potential formats and flavors which all need to be evaluated and selected for network and system designs. A test solution that generates a multitude of optical transmitter signals in a stable and format independent way is required to help researchers and developers addressing this challenge. While Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) instruments are readily available to generate the electrical drive signals, E/O converters suffer from inherent drift of the optimal operating point versus time that needs to be compensated for. This task is performed by automated BIAS control circuits utilizing control feedback signals generated in the E/O converter. For IQ modulators used in advanced systems, previously available solutions tap RF components present from the modulated data signal as a feedback signal source. Naturally, this causes a strong dependency on modulation format and test data pattern applied. Thus, instability of the control is a big issue and manual tweaking for each case is required. Our new automated BIAS Control eliminates all these issues by an inherently RF signal independent design providing a best-in-class minimal penalty automated BIAS control." said David Stahl, General Manager of ID Photonics.
 
The new BIAS control portfolio will be on display from March 24 to 26th at the OFC 2015 exhibition in Los Angeles, booth #1113
 
About ID Photonics
ID Photonics is a manufacturer of test and measurement instruments that pioneered coherent transmission solutions for next generation transmission technologies by complementing its CoBrite tunable laser platform with high speed Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWG) and Optical Multi-Format Transmitters (OMFT) through its partnership with Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institute in Berlin, Germany supporting turnkey research systems for Multi Terabit capacity systems.
For more information, please visit http://www.id-photonics.com