Agilent Technologies 8163A User Manual page 193

How to Use a Variable Optical Attenuator module
Calibration Procedure
Agilent 8163A/B, 8164A/B, and 8166A/B User's Guide, Fourth Edition
• Before taking a power measurement, make sure the source is
warmed up so that its power output is stable.
• It is good practice to zero the powermeters in your test setup . Refer
to "How to Remove Electrical Offsets" on page 85.
– To zero the powermeter incorporated in the Attenuator module,
press [Menu] , then select <Zero>.
– To zero all the powermeters hosted by the same mainframe as the
Attenuator module (including the Attenuator module and, for
example, the powermeter incorporated in a return loss module),
press [Menu] , then select <Zero All>.
• To set the measurement Averaging Time used by the powermeter
incorporated in the Attenuator module, press [Menu] , select
<Averaging Time>, press [OK], select your preferred Averaging
Time, press [OK], then press [Close].
As with any powermeter, a longer Averaging Time increases
accuracy and noise rejection, but increases response time.
The power level measured by the integrated powermeter at the output
of the module is displayed as P
apply a P to calibrate for the patchcord and connector losses that
Offset
occur between the Attenuator module output and the DUT input.
After calibration, you edit the Attenuator's P
the absolute power applied to the DUT.
1 Disconnect the DUT input in your test setup and connect it to your
reference powermeter.
– Set the λ parameter for the reference powermeter to the source
wavelength or, for a multi-wavelength DWDM signal, the effective
wavelength λ
effective
Refer to "Multi-wavelength DWDM signals" on page 190.
– Set an appropriate measurement <Averaging Time>.
2 Display the details screen for the Attenuator module.
– Make sure the λ parameter set for the Attenuator module
matches the source wavelength or, for a multi-wavelength DWDM
signal, λ
.
effective
– Make sure that the Averaging Time set for the integrated
powermeter matches that set for the reference powermeter.
3 If the reference powermeter is hosted by the same mainframe as the
Attenuator module:
– Select the P
Offset
Setting Attenuation and/or Power Levels
. To calibrate your test setup, you
actual
.
field,
parameter to control
SET
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