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Advantest Presents 820GHz Optical Waveform Measurement Technology
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Towards the Future of Optical IC Test Advantest Develops World's Broadest-Bandwidth Optical Testing Technology
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TOKYO, Japan, April 11th, 2008 - Advantest Corporation (TSE: 6857, NYSE: ATE) today announced that the company has developed an optical sampling technology, key to future applications including the quality testing of optical ICs for a wide variety of uses, that enables high-precision measurement of signal waveforms by converting ultra-high-speed optical signals to low-speed signals. With an unprecedented bandwidth of up to 820 GHz -a global first- the new technology supports the measurement of optical signals across an extremely wide frequency range.
The new technology will be demonstrated at the Advantest Exhibition 2008, to be held June 3rd-5th at the Tokyo International Forum.
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In today's rapidly developing information society, integrated circuits (ICs) are essential to a wide range of industries, and related technologies are advancing daily. Hitherto, ICs used information processing technologies that relied on electronic signals; however, amid increasing volumes and speeds of transmission, the use of optical ICs using optical signals to transmit data is seen as inevitable in the future. In manufacturing high-precision measurement of optical waveforms is essential in manufacturing these optical ICs, among other potential applications.
However, conventional measuring techniques using an oscilloscope cannot measure ultra-high-speed optical signals with great precision, and thus a new optical waveform measurement technology has for some time been a major goal. Now, Advantest has achieved it.
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(1) |
Now, it is possible to evaluate signals up to the unprecedented frequency of 820 GHz. |
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Advantest has developed a new type of ultra-high-speed optical processing circuit that uses a semiconductor pulse laser and nonlinear interaction in the optical fiber. In this circuit, high-speed optical signals under test are input into a high-speed optical switch (*). In turn, the sampling of pulsed light controls the optical switch, which converts the optical signals under test into low-speed signals. This method enables optical waveform measurement in a bandwidth of up to 820 GHz -the greatest in the world to date, and far beyond the bandwidth of up to 100 GHz currently known to be the limit of the electric oscilloscope's measurement capability.
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(*): |
The ultra-high-speed optical switch used in this circuit was developed by Fujitsu Laboratories Limited. It can perform both optical switching and signal amplification simultaneously. |
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(2) |
Ultra-high temporal resolution of 500 femtoseconds facilitates high-precision signal evaluation |
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For the light source that controls the optical switch, Advantest has employed a technology that generates pulsed light while minimizing the time jitter caused by synchronizing with external signals. This light source is used in conjunction with optical pulse compression technology that converts the pulsed light to narrow pulse widths. Thus, an ultra-high temporal resolution of 500 femtoseconds (a femtosecond is one-quadrillionth of a second; hereafter "fs") is realized. |
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| FIG.1 Example of Ultra-Short Optical Pulse Sampling Results |
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| FIG.2 Frequency Response Characteristics |
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| Performance (General Specifications) |
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Temporal Resolution (FWHM) |
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500fs |
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Frequency Bandwidth |
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820GHz |
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System Jitter |
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80fs |
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Sensitivity |
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-3 dBm (Bandwidth: 820GHz),
-12 dBm (Bandwidth: 240GHz) |
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Measuring Wavelength Range |
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1530 - 1565nm |
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| Note: |
All information supplied in this release is correct at the time of publication, but may be subject to change without warning. |
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Advantest Corporation is the world's leading automatic test equipment supplier to the semiconductor industry, and also produces electronic and optoelectronic instruments and systems. A global company, Advantest has long offered total ATE solutions, and serves the industry in every component of semiconductor test: tester, handler, mechanical and electrical interfaces, and software. Its logic, memory, mixed-signal and RF testers and device handlers are integrated into the most advanced semiconductor production lines in the world. Founded in Tokyo in 1954, Advantest established its first subsidiary in 1982, in the USA, and now has subsidiaries worldwide. Among them, Advantest America, Inc. is based in Santa Clara, CA., and Advantest (Europe) GmbH is based in Munich, Germany. More information is available at www.advantest.co.jp. |
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