Agilent Technologies Agilent 8163A

Agilent 8163A/B, 8164A/B & 8166A/B Mainframes, Sixth Edition 197
8
Setting Attenuation and/or Power Levels
This chapter explains how to use the Agilent 8163A/B Lightwave
Multimeter, Agilent 8164A/B Lightwave Measurement System, or
Agilent 8166A/B Lightwave Multichannel System together with the
8157xA family of Variable Optical Attenuator modules to attenuate and
control optical power in single-mode optical fibers.
Here you will find:
• A brief description of the modular Agilent 8157xA Variable Optical Attenuator
family,
• A description of how to use these modules, including applying an attenuation
factor, setting an output power, applying offset factors, constructing a l offset
table, and (for the 81576A and 81577A) using the power control feature.
Agilent 8157xA Variable Optical Attenuator modules . .198
How to Use a Variable Optical Attenuator module . . . . .199
The User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
How to Control the Shutter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
How to Set Attenuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
How to Set a Power Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207
How to Compensate for Wavelength Dependencies in
your test setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
How to Use the Power Control Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216
Attenuator Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217
Attenuator Status Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218