Switching Operation - Agilent Technologies 86060C Product Overview

Switching Operation

The basic 1xN switching design
of the 8606xC is shown in
Figure 2. It consists of a single
input channel that is routed
through a movable arm. The arm
is controlled by the stepper
motor to align the input to any
output position 1 . Very low
insertion loss and excellent
repeatability are achieved
using high quality optics and
precise motor control.
A two input switch diagram is
shown in Figure 3. In this con-
figuration, the two input arms
move together to connect
either input channel to an
output channel. The standard
8606xC design is called "non-
blocking" since the unselected
input channel is not blocked
to the output. In this example,
connecting A1 to B1 may also
connect A2 to B2. "Blocking"
type switches that only allow
one of the input channels to be
connected to the output can
also be configured in the 8606xC
family. These are available as
special options at this time.
For additional information about
blocking switches, please refer
to the custom switching con-
figuration section of this docu-
ment or contact your local
Agilent field office.
Contiguous Switching Option
A variation on the two input
switch as in Figure 3, this option
allows both inputs to be con-
nected to corresponding adja-
cent output channels. This is
true both mechanically and
programmatically. For example,
when selecting Input A1 to
Output B1 you will get an A1
to B1 port connection. In the
case of the contiguous option,
you will also get an A2 to B2
adjacent connection, even though
these connections were not
selected.
Input
A
1
Channel
Rotatable
Input Armature
Figure 2. 1xN switching configuration
A 2
Input
Channels
A
1
Rotatable
Input Armature
Figure 3. 2xN non-blocking configuration
A 2
Input
Channels
A
1
Rotatable
Input Armature
Figure 4. Contiguous switching option
The standard version does not
guarantee that the non-selected
input channel will be adjacent
to the selected output channel.
Figure 4 demonstrates one
application for this option in
which multiple devices under
test have their inputs connect-
ed to the odd output channels
and their outputs connected
3
B N
.
.
.
B Output
4
Channels
B
3
B
2
B
1
B N
.
.
.
B
Output
4
Channels
B
3
B
2
B
1
B N
.
Output
.
Channels
.
B
4
DUT
B
3
B
2
DUT
B
1
to the adjacent even output
channels. This enables multiple
products to be connected and
tested in parallel, which can
dramatically reduce test times.
1 The terms "input" and "output" denote
one side of the switch versus the other.
They do not imply that transmission can
only occur in one direction. The 8606xC
series switches are all bi-directional (i.e.,
signals can transmit in either direction).