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User's Guide


HP 8167A/8D/8E/8F
Tunable Laser Source
SERIAL NUMBERS
This guide applies to the 8167A, 8168D, 8168E and 8168F tunable laser sources.




ABCDE
HP Part No. 08168-91021
Printed in Germany
Second Edition
E0197
Notices
This document contains proprietary Warranty Exclusive Remedies
information that is protected by
copyright. All rights are reserved. This Hewlett-Packard instrument The remedies provided herein are
product is warranted against defects Buyer's sole and exclusive remedies.
No part of this document may be in material and workmanship for a Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable
photocopied, reproduced, or period of one year (8167A and for any direct, indirect, special,
translated to another language 8168D) or three years (8168E and incidental, or consequential
without the prior written consent of 8168F) from date of shipment. damages whether based on contract,
Hewlett-Packard GmbH. During the warranty period, HP will, tort, or any other legal theory.
at its option, either repair or replace
Copyright 1996 by:
c products that prove to be defective. Assistance
Hewlett-Packard GmbH
Herrenberger Str. 130 For warranty service or repair, this Product maintenance agreements
71034 Boeblingen product must be returned to a service and other customer assistance
Germany facility designated by HP. Buyer shall agreements are available for
prepay shipping charges to HP and Hewlett-Packard products. For any
Subject Matter HP shall pay shipping charges to assistance contact your nearest
return the product to Buyer. Hewlett-Packard Sales and Service
The information in this document is Oce.
subject to change without notice. However, Buyer shall pay all shipping
charges, duties, and taxes for Certi cation
Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty products returned to HP from
of any kind with regard to this another country. Hewlett-Packard Company certi es
printed material, including, but not that this product met its published
limited to, the implied warranties of HP warrants that its software and speci cations at the time of
merchantability and tness for a rmware designated by HP for use shipment from the factory.
particular purpose. with an instrument will execute its
programming instructions when Hewlett-Packard further certi es
Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable that its calibration measurements
properly installed on that instrument.
for errors contained herein or for HP does not warrant that the are traceable to the United States
incidental or consequential damages operation of the instrument, National Institute of Standards and
in connection with the furnishing, software, or rmware will be Technology, NIST (formerly the
performance, or use of this material. uninterrupted or error free. United States National Bureau of
Standards, NBS) to the extent
Printing History Limitation of Warranty allowed by the Institutes's
New editions are complete revisions The foregoing warranty shall not calibration facility, and to the
of the guide re ecting alterations in apply to defects resulting from calibration facilities of other
the functionality of the instrument. improper or inadequate maintenance International Standards Organization
Updates are occasionally made to by Buyer, Buyer-supplied software or members.
the guide between editions. The interfacing, unauthorized ISO 9001 Certi cation
date on the title page changes when modi cation or misuse, operation
an updated guide is published. To outside of the environmental Produced to ISO 9001 international
nd out the current revision of the speci cations for the product, or quality system standard as part of
guide, or to purchase an updated improper site preparation or our objective of continually
guide, contact your Hewlett-Packard maintenance. increasing customer satisfaction
representative. through improved process control.
No other warranty is expressed or
implied. Hewlett-Packard speci cally
disclaims the implied warranties of
Merchantability and Fitness for a
Particular Purpose.
First Edition : 1st April 1996 : 08168-91021 : E0496 : 1st June 1996 : 08168-91021 : E0696
Second Edition : 1st January 1997 : 08168-91021 : E0197
Safety Summary
The following general safety precautions must be observed during all phases
of operation, service, and repair of this instrument. Failure to comply with
these precautions or with speci c warnings elsewhere in this manual violates
safety standards of design, manufacture, and intended use of the instrument.
Hewlett-Packard Company assumes no liability for the customer's failure to
comply with these requirements.
General This is a Safety Class 1 instrument (provided with terminal for
protective earthing) and has been manufactured and tested according to
international safety standards.
Operation - Before applying power Comply with the installation section.
Additionally, the following shall be observed:
Do not remove instrument covers when operating.
Before the instrument is switched on, all protective earth terminals, extension
cords, auto-transformers and devices connected to it should be connected to a
protective earth via a ground socket. Any interruption of the protective earth
grounding will cause a potential shock hazard that could result in serious
personal injury.
Whenever it is likely that the protection has been impaired, the instrument
must be made inoperative and be secured against any unintended operation.
Make sure that only fuses with the required rated current and of the speci ed
type (normal blow, time delay, etc.) are used for replacement. The use of
repaired fuses and the short-circuiting of fuseholders must be avoided.
Adjustments described in the manual are performed with power supplied to
the instrument while protective covers are removed. Be aware that energy at
many points may, if contacted, result in personal injury.
Any adjustments, maintenance, and repair of the opened instrument under
voltage should be avoided as much as possible, and when unavoidable, should
be carried out only by a skilled person who is aware of the hazard involved.
Do not attempt internal service or adjustment unless another person, capable
of rendering rst aid and resuscitation is present. Do not replace components
with power cable connected.
Do not operate the instrument in the presence of ammable gases or fumes.
Operation of any electrical instrument in such an enviroment constitutes a
de nite safety hazard.
Do not install substitute parts or perform any unauthorized modi cation to
the instrument.
Be aware that capacitors inside the instrument may still be charged even if
the instrument has been disconnected from its source of supply.
v
Safety Symbols
The apparatus will be marked with this symbol when it is
necessary for the user to refer to the instruction manual in
order to protect the apparatus against damage.
Caution, risk of electric shock.

Frame or chassis terminal.

Protective conductor terminal.

Hazardous laser radiation.


Warning The WARNING sign denotes a hazard. It calls attention to
a procedure, practice or the like, which, if not correctly
performed or adhered to, could result in injury or loss of
life. Do not proceed beyond a WARNING sign until the
indicated conditions are fully understood and met.
Caution The CAUTION sign denotes a hazard. It calls attention to
an operating procedure, practice or the like, which, if not
correctly performed or adhered to, could result in damage to
or destruction of part or all of the equipment. Do not proceed
beyond a CAUTION sign until the indicated conditions are fully
understood and met.




vi
Initial Safety Information for the Tunable Laser
Source
The Speci cations for these instruments are as follows:
HP 8167A HP 8168D HP 8168E HP 8168F
Laser Type Fabry Fabry Fabry Fabry
Perot-Laser Perot-Laser Perot-Laser Perot-Laser
InGaAsP InGaAsP InGaAsP InGaAsP
Laser Class
According to 21 1 1 1 IIIb
CFR 1040.10 (USA)
According to 3A 3A 3A 3A
IEC 825-1 (Non-USA)
EN 60825-1 Europe
Permissible Output Power (CW) <1.6mW <1.6mW <1.6mW <9.9mW
Beam Diameter 9m 9m 9m 9m
Numerical Aperture 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Wavelength 1280-1330nm 1490-1565nm 1475-1575nm 1450-1590nm

Note USA




The laser safety warning labels are xed on the instrument
(except the 8168F, see label below).




vii
Class IIIb stickers, required for 8168F in USA only
Caution The use of optical instruments with this product will increase
eye hazard.


Note Non-USA




A sheet of laser safety warning labels are included with the
instrument. You MUST stick the labels in the local language
onto the outside of the instrument, in a position where they are
clearly visible to anyone using the instrument.

You MUST return instruments with malfunctioning laser boxes to an HP Service
Center for repair and calibration.
viii
The instrument has built in safety circuitry that will disable the optical output
in the case of a fault condition.
Warning Use of controls or adjustments or performance of
procedures other than those speci ed for the laser source
may result in hazardous radiation exposure.

Warning Refer Servicing only to quali ed and authorized personnel.



Warning Do not enable the laser when there is no ber attached to
the optical output connector.
The optical output connector is at the bottom right of the
instrument front panel.
The laser is enabled by pressing the gray button beside
the optical output connector on the front panel. The laser
is enabled when the green LED on the front panel of the
instrument is lit.
Warning Under no circumstances look into the end of an optical
cable attached to the optical output when the device is
operational.
The laser radiation is not visible to the human eye, but it
can seriously damage your eyesight.




ix

Sicherheitsinformation fur Laser Quellen
Die Spezi kationen fur die Gerate sind wie folgt:

HP 8167A HP 8168D HP 8168E HP8168F
Laser Typ Fabry Fabry Fabry Fabry
Perot-Laser Perot-Laser Perot-Laser Perot-Laser
InGaAsP InGaAsP InGaAsP InGaAsP
Laser Klasse
Gema IEC 825-1
3A 3A 3A 3A
(EN60825-1 Europa)

Zulassige Ausgangsleistung <1.6mW <1.6mW <1.6mW <9.9mW
Strahldurchmesser 9m 9m 9m 9m
Numerische Apertur 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

Wellenlange 1280-1330nm 1490-1565nm 1470-1575nm 1450-1590nm

Hinweis




Ein Blatt mit Laser Warnaufklebern ist jedem Gerat beigefugt.

Die Aufkleber mussen in der Landessprache, fur den Anwender

gut sichtbar, an der Auenseite des Gerates angebracht werden.


Gerate mit defekten Laser mussen zur Reparatur oder zur Kalibration an ein HP

Service Buro geschickt werden.

Das Gerat hat eine eingebaute Sicherheitsschaltung, die den Laserausgang im

Falle einer Storung abschaltet.

Warnung
Bedienung, Abgleicharbeiten oder die Durchfuhrung von

Tests, die nicht im Handbuch angegeben sind, konnen zum

Austritt gefahrlicher Strahlung fuhren.


x
Warnung
Reparaturarbeiten durfen nur von quali ziertem und

bevollmachtigtem Personal durchgefuhrt werden.


Warnung Laser nicht ohne angeschlossenes Glasfaserkabel
einschalten.
Der optische Ausgang be ndet sich am unteren rechten
Teil der Frontplatte. Mit dem danebenliegenden grauen
Druckschalter wird der Laser ein- bzw. ausgeschaltet. Bei

eingeschaltetem Laser leuchtet eine grune LED an der
Frontplatte des Einschubes.
Warnung Wenn der Laser eingeschaltet ist, darf unter keinen

Umstanden in das Ende des optischen Kabels oder in den

Laserausgang am Gerat geschaut werden.

Der Laserstrahl ist fur das menschliche Auge unsichtbar,

kann aber das Sehvermogen ernsthaft verletzen.




xi

Informations et Consignes de Securite Relatives a
l'Utilisation des Lasers.
Les Speci cations de l'appareil sont les Suivantes:

HP 8167A HP 8168D HP 8168E HP8168F
Type du Laser Fabry Fabry Fabry Fabry
Perot-Laser Perot-Laser Perot-Laser Perot-Laser
InGaAsP InGaAsP InGaAsP InGaAsP
Classe du Laser
Conforme au IEC 825-1 3A 3A 3A 3A
(EN 60825-1 Europe)
Permit Puissance de Sortie <1.6mW <1.6mW <1.6mW <9.9mW

Diametre du Faisceau 9m 9m 9m 9m

Ouverture Numerique 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Longueur d'Onde 1280-1330nm 1490-1565nm 1475-1575nm 1450-1590nm

Remarque




Les etiquettes de securite sont incluses dans l'appareil. Il est

obligatoire de coller une etiquette en langage local a l'exterieur

de l'appareil de telle sorte qu'elle soit parfaitement visible par
l'utilisateur.
Il est recommande de xer l'etiquette de securite sur la partie inferieure gauche

de la face avant de l'appereil.
En cas de mauvais fonctionnement du laser, celui doit etre renvoye
^
imperativement accompagne de l'appareil dans un centre de maintenance

Hewlett-Packard ou agree Hewlett-Packard pour reparation et calibration.

L'appareil comporte un systeme de securite mettant hors service la sortie

optique en cas de mauvais fonctionnement du laser.
xii
Attention L'utilisation du laser en dehors de ses limites de

performances et des procedures de nies par HP peut

conduire a une exposition aux radiations dangereuse pour
l'utilisateur.
Attention
Seul le personnel autorise par HP est quali e pour
intervenir sur le laser.

Attention ^
Ne pas mettre le laser sous tension sans s'etre assure

qu'une bre optique est bien xee sur le connecteur.

Le connecteur de sortie optique est situe au bas de la face
avant de l'appareil.
La mise en service du laser s'eectue par la pression du

bouton gris situe a cote de la sortie optique au bas de la
face avant de l'appareil. L'illumination de la LED verte

indique que le laser est en activite.
Attention
Ne tentez en aucun cas de regarder l'extremite de la bre

optique attachee au connecteur lorsque le laser est en

activite.

Bien que la lumiere emise par le laser ne soit pas visible elle
^
peut cependant etre dangereuse pour la vue.




xiii
Introduction
This guide is arranged into four categories:
Getting Started
This section gives an introduction to the instrument, and aims to make the
instrument familiar to you: Chapter 1.
Local Control
This is the information on how to control the instrument from the front panel:
Chapters 2 and 3.
Remote Control
This is the information on how to control the instrument over the HP-IB. This
is made of general information for using the HP-IB, a command reference, and
some programming examples.: Chapters 4, 5, and 6.
Additional Information
This is supporting information of a non-operational nature. This contains
installation information, accessories, speci cations, function tests, cleaning
procedures, and error codes: Appendices A through G.
Attenuator Some information in this manual applies only to the tunable
laser source with the built in optical attenuator (option 003).
This paragraph is marked the way that all the passages which
only apply to the attenuator option are marked in this manual.




xiv
Contents
1. Getting Started
What is a Tunable Laser Source? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
A description of the Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Starting the 8168F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Changing the Value of a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Making Big Changes to a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Making a Small Change to a Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Setting a Parameter to its Default Value . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
If You Make a Mistake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
If the Parameter Will Not Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
A Sample Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Measuring the Power of a Modulated Signal . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Setting the Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Setting the Modulated Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Measuring a Wavelength Characteristic . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Setting Up the Wavelength Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Performing the Wavelength Characteristic Measurement . . . 1-12
2. Setting Wavelength and Power
Setting the Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Setting the Wavelength Directly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Setting a Relative Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Changing the Base Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Performing a Wavelength Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Setting the Wavelength Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Setting the Maximum Power for the Sweep Range . . . . . . . 2-5
Executing an Automatic Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Performing a Manual Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Setting the Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Setting the Output Power of a CW Signal . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Setting Power and Attenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9

Contents-1
What is Excessive Power? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
The Analog Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Setting a Modulated Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Using the Internal Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Setting the Output Power of a Modulated Signal . . . . . . . 2-11
Setting the Frequency of a Modulated Signal . . . . . . . . 2-11
The Modulation Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Using External Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Setting the Output Power of a Modulated Signal . . . . . . . 2-13
The Modulation Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Using Coherence Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Setting the Output Power of a Coherence Control Signal . . . . 2-13
The Coherence Control Uncal Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
3. Other Functions
Storing and Recalling Instrument Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Using the System Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Switching the Instrument into Stand-By . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Increasing the Lifetime of the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Setting the HP-IB Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Setting the Modulation Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Getting Information about the Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Setting the Date and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Performing a Selftest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Auxiliary Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Viewing the Power as a Function of Wavelength . . . . . . . . 3-6
Setting the Peak Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Passive Component Test (PACT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Automatic Realignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Secure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Lock the Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Change the Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
4. Programming the Tunable Laser Source
HP-IB Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Setting the HP-IB Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Returning the Instrument to Local Control . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
How the Tunable Laser Source Receives and Transmits Messages . 4-3
How the Input Queue Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Clearing the Input Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
The Output Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4

Contents-2
The Error Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Some Notes about Programming and Syntax Diagram Conventions 4-5
Short Form and Long Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Command and Query Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
5. Remote Commands
Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
The Common Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Common Status Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
SRQ, The Service Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
*CLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
*ESE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
*ESE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
*ESR? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
*IDN? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
*OPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
*OPC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
*OPT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
*RCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
*RST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
*SAV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
*SRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
*SRE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
*STB? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
*TST? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
*WAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
:DISPlay Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
:DISPlay:ENABle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
:DISPlay:ENABle? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
:LOCK Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
:LOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
:LOCK? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
:OUTPut Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
:OUTPut[:STATe] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
:OUTPut[:STATe]? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
[:SOURce] Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
[:SOURce]:AM:INTernal:FREQuency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
[:SOURce]:AM:INTernal:FREQuency? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
[:SOURce]:AM:SOURce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
[:SOURce]:AM:SOURce? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19

Contents-3
[:SOURce]:AM:STATe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
[:SOURce]:AM:STATe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
[:SOURCE]:MODOUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
[:SOURCE]:MODOUT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
[:SOURce]:POWer:ATTenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
[:SOURce]:POWer:ATTenuation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
[:SOURce]:POWer:ATTenuation:AUTO . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
[:SOURce]:POWer:ATTenuation:AUTO? . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
[:SOURce]:POWer:ATTenuation:DARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
[:SOURce]:POWer:ATTenuation:DARK? . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
[:SOURce]:POWer[:LEVel][:IMMediate][:AMPlitude] . . . . . . . 5-25
[:SOURce]:POWer[:LEVel][:IMMediate][:AMPlitude]? . . . . . 5-25
[:SOURce]:POWer:UNIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
[:SOURce]:POWer:UNIT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
[:SOURce]:WAVElength[:CWj:FIXED] . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
[:SOURce]:WAVElength[:CWj:FIXED]? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
[:SOURce]:WAVElength:REFerence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
[:SOURce]:WAVElength:REFerence:DISPlay . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
[:SOURce]:WAVElength:FREQuency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
[:SOURce]:WAVElength:FREQuency? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
:STATus Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
:STATus:OPERation:CONDition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
:STATus:OPERation:ENABle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
:STATus:OPERation:ENABle? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
:STATus:OPERation[:EVENt]? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
:STATus:OPERation:NTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
:STATus:OPERation:NTRansition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
:STATus:OPERation:PTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
:STATus:OPERation:PTRansition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
:STATus:QUEStionable:CONDition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
:STATus:QUEStionable:ENABle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
:STATus:QUEStionable:ENABle? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
:STATus:QUEStionable[:EVENt]? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
:STATus:QUEStionable:NTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
:STATus:QUEStionable:NTRansition? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
:STATus:QUEStionable:PTRansition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
:STATus:QUEStionable:PTRansition? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
:STATus:PRESet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
:SYSTem Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
:SYSTem:DATe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
:SYSTem:DATe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36

Contents-4
:SYSTem:ERRor? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
:SYSTem:TIMe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
:SYSTem:TIMe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
:TRACe Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
:TRACe:CATalog? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
:TRACe:POINts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
:TRACe[:DATa]? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Other Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
WAVEACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
6. Programming Examples
Example 1 - Checking Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Example 2 - Status Registers and Queues . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Example 3 - Measuring the Power of a Modulated Signal . . . . . 6-7
Example 4 - Measuring a Wavelength Characteristic . . . . . . . 6-10
Example 5 - Increased Tuning Linearity . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
A. Installation
Safety Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
Initial Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
AC Line Power Supply Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Line Power Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Changing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-4
Changing the Fuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-4
Operating and Storage Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6
Humidity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6
Instrument Positioning and Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6
Switching on the Tunable Laser Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Self test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Initializing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Stabilizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8
Stabilizing during Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8
Signal Outputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9
Optical Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9
HP-IB Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-10
Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-10
HP-IB Logic Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Claims and Repackaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12
Return Shipments to HP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12


Contents-5
B. Accessories
Mainframe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Option 003: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Option 007: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Connector Interfaces and Other Accessories . . . . . . . . . B-2
Option 021, Straight Contact Connector . . . . . . . . . . B-3
Option 022, Angled Contact Connector . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Option 023, Diamond HMS-10/HRL Angled, Non-Contact
Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5
HP-IB Cables and Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-7
C. Speci cations
De nition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Performance Speci cations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4
Supplementary Performance Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Operating Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Internal Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
External modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Coherence Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Polarization maintaining ber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
HP-IB Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8
Passive Component Test Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8
Laser Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8
Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8
Listed options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9
Other Speci cations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9
Declaration of Conformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10
D. Performance Tests
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1
Equipment Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1
Test Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-2
Test Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3
Instrument Speci cation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3
Wavelength Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3
Relative Wavelength Accuracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-5
Wavelength Repeatability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-6
Power Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-7

Contents-6
Maximum Output Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-7
Power Linearity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-10
Power Flatness over Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-14
Power Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-15
Source Spontaneous Emission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-16
E. Cleaning Procedures
The Cleaning Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1
Other Cleaning Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-3
Preserving Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-4
Cleaning Instrument Housings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-4
Cleaning Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-5
Cleaning Cable Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-5
Cleaning Connector Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-6
Cleaning Connector Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-7
Cleaning Bare Fiber Adapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-8
Cleaning Bare Fiber Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-8
Cleaning Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-9
Cleaning Large Area Lenses and Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . E-10
Cleaning Fixed Connector Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-11
Cleaning Optical Glass Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-11
Cleaning Physical Contact Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-11
Cleaning Recessed Lens Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-12
Cleaning Fragile Optical Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-12
Cleaning Metal Filters or Attenuator Gratings . . . . . . . . . E-13
F. Error Messages
Display Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-1
HP-IB Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-3
Instrument Speci c Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-3
Command Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-3
Execution Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-6
Device-Speci c Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-7
Query Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-8




Contents-7
G. Backdating
Initial Safety Information for the Tunable Laser Source . . . . . G-1
Earlier models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G-1
Speci cations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G-2
Performance Speci cations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G-2
Supplementary Performance Characteristics . . . . . . . . . G-2
Index




Contents-8
Figures
1-1. The Tunable Laser Source Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
1-2. Starting Screen for the 8168F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
1-3. \Secure: Unlock Instrument" Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
1-4. \Secure" Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
1-5. A Summary of the Help Hard- and Softkeys . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
1-6. The Help Topics Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
1-7. Connecting the Instruments for the Sample Session . . . . . . 1-9
1-8. Tunable Laser Source Display after Setting Up Wavelength and
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
1-9. Tunable Laser Source Display during Setting Up for the
Wavelength Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
2-1. A Summary of the additional Output Power Softkeys for the
Attenuator Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
2-2. Setting the Wavelength Directly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
2-3. Setting a Relative Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
2-4. Setting Up for a Wavelength Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
2-5. The Parameters for a Wavelength Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
2-6. Performing a Manual Sweep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
2-7. Setting the Output Power of a CW Signal . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
2-8. The Modulated Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
2-9. Setting the Output Power of an Internally Modulated Signal . . 2-11
2-10. External Modulation and Output Power . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
2-11. Setting the Output Power of an Externally Modulated Signal . . 2-13
2-12. Setting the Output Power of a Coherence Controlled Signal . . . 2-14
2-13. The Coherence Control Uncalibrated Power and the Maximum
Power Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
3-1. User Setting Number 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
3-2. Summary of the Setting Hard- and Softkeys . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
3-3. The System Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
3-4. Summary of the System Hard- and Softkeys . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
3-5. Auxiliary Functions (8167A, 8168D/E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
3-6. Auxiliary Functions (8168F) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Contents-9
3-7. Auto Realignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
3-8. \Secure" screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
3-9. \Secure: Lock Instrument" screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
3-10. \Secure" screen - instrument is locked . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
3-11. \Secure: Unlock Instrument" screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
3-12. \Secure: Change Password" screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
3-13. \Secure: Change Password": Enter new password . . . . . . . 3-11
3-14. \Secure: Change Password": Enter new password again . . . . 3-11
5-1. Common Status Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
5-2. The Status Registers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
6-1. Connecting the Instruments for the Sample Session . . . . . . 6-8
6-2. Measurement setup for Increased Tuning Linearity . . . . . . 6-12
6-3. Flow chart describing Increased Tuning Linearity program. . . . 6-13
A-1. Line Power Cables - Plug Identi cation . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
A-2. Rear Panel Markings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-4
A-3. Releasing the Fuse Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5
A-4. The Fuse Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5
A-5. Correct Positioning of the Tunable Laser Source . . . . . . . . A-7
A-6. PMF Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-10
A-7. HP-IB Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
B-1. Tunable Laser Source Options Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
B-2. Tunable Laser Source Option 021 Con guration . . . . . . . . B-3
B-3. Tunable Laser Source Option 022 Con guration . . . . . . . . B-5
B-4. Tunable Laser Source Option 023 Con guration . . . . . . . . B-6
C-1. Maximum Speci ed Output Power for 8168D, E and F (without
options) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
D-1. Test Setup for the Wavelength Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-4
D-2. Test Setup for the Maximum Output Power Test (except HP
8168F) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-8
D-3. Test Setup for the Maximum Output Power Test (HP 8168F only) D-9
D-4. Test Setup for the Power Tests (except Maximum Output Power) D-11
D-5. Test Setup for the Source Spontaneous Emission Test . . . . . . D-17




Contents-10
Tables
4-1. HP-IB Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
5-1. Units and Allowed Mnemonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
5-2. Common Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
5-3. Command List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
5-4. Reset State (Default Setting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
5-5. Speci ed Wavelength range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
6-1. Program Description: Increased Tuning Linearity . . . . . . . 6-16
A-1. Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6




Contents-11
1




1
Getting Started
This chapter gives you basic information on how you can operate the tunable
laser source from the front panel.



What is a Tunable Laser Source?
A tunable laser source is a laser source for which the wavelength is not xed.
The Hewlett-Packard tunable laser sources also allow you to set the output
power, and to choose between continuous wave or modulated output power.
Note The single greatest factor aecting the performance of the
tunable laser source, as with all ber optic measurements, is the
cleanliness of the connectors. Ensure that your connectors are
always clean. For cleaning instructions, see Appendix E.




Getting Started 1-1
1



A description of the Front Panel




Figure 1-1. The Tunable Laser Source Front Panel
A softkey is a key whose function changes depending on the keys that you have
pressed before. The function of a softkey is shown on the display above the
softkey.
The memory card drive allows you to load replacement, or additional, software
to increase the capabilities of your tunable laser source.
There are six function keys. These allow you
to set the wavelength, or to perform a wavelength sweep.
to set the output power,
to save the wavelength and output power setting,
to check or change the system con guration: to test the instrument, to switch
o the laser and display, to change the HP-IB Address, to select whether the
internal modulation signal is available at the Modulation Output constantly,
or only when the power is being output, or to get information about the
instrument and the software revision,
to get help information (see \Getting Help" in the next section of this
chapter), or
to perform an auxiliary application such as examine the power characteristic,
or to set the instrument for maximum power output.
The numeric keypad, the cursor keys, and the modify knob are used to edit
parameters.


1-2 Getting Started
1


The modulation output gives a TTL level signal of the same frequency as the
internal modulating signal.
The modulation input allows you to input a signal to modulate the power of the
optical output.
The analog output gives a dc-signal proportional to the output power. The
relationship between this voltage level and the output power is not calibrated,
but is approximately 1mV for each 1W.
At the back of the 8168F, you also have a Remote Interlock Connector. This
is to protect the user from injury. If the short-circuit at this BNC connector is
opened, the laser is switched o immediately and cannot be switched on until it
is closed again.



Starting the 8168F
When you turn on the 8168F, the instrument is locked. This is to prevent
unauthorized persons from using this Laser Safety Class IIIb instrument. The
Starting screen for the 8168F is shown below:




Figure 1-2. Starting Screen for the 8168F
If you have not set a new password, you also see the message:
default pwd: 8168, please change it! . This message appears in the
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN




\Secure" screen until you set a new password (see \Secure" in Chapter 3).
To unlock the instrument, press Unlock . You see the following screen:
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN




Getting Started 1-3
1




Figure 1-3. \Secure: Unlock Instrument" Screen
Enter the 4- gure password using the DATA keys. The default password is 8168,
although you can change this from the AUX menu (see \Secure" in Chapter 3).
When you enter the correct password, the instrument is unlocked, and you see
the following screen:




Figure 1-4. \Secure" Screen
Press Exit , or any of the function keys, to view the main screen.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNN




Getting Help
Press 4 5 to get help.
HELP


When you press this key, the rst help screen is displayed, this is either the last
screen that was used, or the screen with the limit values for the parameters.




1-4 Getting Started
1




Figure 1-5. A Summary of the Help Hard- and Softkeys
Press to get the help topics menu.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Search




Figure 1-6. The Help Topics Menu
Choose a topic using " and # , or the Modify Knob. Press Select , or 4
NNNNN NNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

ENTER5

to get the information.
Press Close to close the help topics menu without selecting a topic.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN




Many of the help texts are longer than one screen. You move between screens
of information using " and # .
NNNNN NNNNN




Changing the Value of a Parameter
What follows is a description of the various methods of changing the value of
parameters on the tunable laser source. Examples in which actual parameter
values are changed are given with the parameter descriptions.




Getting Started 1-5
1



Making Big Changes to a Parameter
If you are changing the value of a parameter completely, you can directly type
in the value on the keypad, and press 4 5.
ENTER


Example To change the output power from 200W to 1025W.
1. Press 4OUTPUT POWER 5. The cursor moves to P on the right
hand side of the display.

:1540.000nm P: 200W

2. Type the new value for the output power on the numeric
keypad.

:1540.000nm P:1025W

3. Press 4
ENTER5 to end the editing.

Making a Small Change to a Parameter
For small changes to a parameter use 4 5, or the Modify Knob.
EDIT


Select the parameter and then:
1. Press 4 5, 4(5. 4)5, or turn the Modify Knob slightly. If you start with
EDIT

Modify Knob the cursor moves to the digit that was most recently changed.
If no digit was changed before, or if you started with another key, the cursor
moves to the position of the most signi cant digit of the parameter.
2. If you want to move the cursor and select another digit to edit, use 4(5 and
4)5.

3. Enter the new value for the digit at the cursor on the keypad, or by turning
the Modify Knob. If you have entered the value from the keypad, the cursor
moves to the next digit.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to continue editing the value.
5. When you have nished editing the value, press 4 5. The edited value
ENTER

becomes the new value of the parameter.
Example To change the wavelength from 1540.000nm to 1542.500nm.
1-6 Getting Started
1


1. Press 4
WAVELENGTH 5. The cursor moves to on the left hand
side of the display.

:1540.000nm P: 200W

2. Press 4 5. The cursor moves to the most signi cant digit of
EDIT

the wavelength value.
:1540.000nm P: 200W

3. Press 4)5 three times to move to the cursor to the units
digit. Press 4 5 on the numeric keypad. The units digit
2

changes, and the cursor moves to the next digit.
:1542.000nm P: 200W

4. Press 4 5 on the numeric keypad, to change the tenths digit.
5

Press 4
ENTER 5 to end the editing.

:1542.500nm P: 200W


Setting a Parameter to its Default Value
There is a default softkey that you can use to set a parameter to its default
value.
1. Press 4 5.
EDIT


2. Press Default .
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN




If You Make a Mistake
If you make a mistake while you are editing a parameter, you can cancel the
editing, and get the previous value for the parameter back by pressing Cancel .
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN




Alternatively, you can press Clear and type in the parameter again.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN




Getting Started 1-7
1



If the Parameter Will Not Change
If, when you press 4 ENTER5 after editing, the tunable laser source returns
immediately to the previous value for the parameter, then the value you tried to
enter is outside the calibrated range. Press 4 5, and select the Input Limits
HELP

help topic to see the calibrated range.



A Sample Session
There are two short tasks in this sample session. The rst is to measure the
power of a modulated signal at a single wavelength, and then a wavelength
characteristic at a xed power.
The sample session is written for an HP 8168E/F Tunable Laser Source, and
an HP 8153A Lightwave Multimeter with an HP 81532A Power Sensor (It
is assumed that the power sensor is inserted in channel A). To perform the
sample session as described here, you also need a connector interface for the
multimeter (for example, an HP 81000AI), and a patchcord (if you are using
the HP 81000AI, then a Diamond HMS-10/HP/HRL to Diamond HMS-10/HP
patchcord, HP 81109AC).
These same procedures are repeated in \Example 3 - Measuring the Power of
a Modulated Signal" in Chapter 6 and \Example 4 - Measuring a Wavelength
Characteristic" in Chapter 6, where they are performed using the HP-IB.

Measuring the Power of a Modulated Signal
We want to measure the power of a 1540nm signal, modulated by a 100kHz
square wave, at 500W.
1. Make sure that all your connectors and connector interfaces are clean.
2. Make sure that the Optical Output on the laser source is not Active.
3. Connect the output of the laser source to the input of the power sensor (as
shown in the gure below). Make sure that the connector with the orange
strain-relief sleeve is connected to the tunable laser source (the orange
sleeve indicates an angled connector).



1-8 Getting Started
1




Figure 1-7. Connecting the Instruments for the Sample Session
Typically, you would connect a component to test betw