Keysight Unveils Optical Reference Transmitter to Validate Next-Generation Data Transmission

05/23/2025

Keysight Technologies, Inc. announced the launch of its N7718C Optical Reference Transmitter. This advanced solution is a critical tool for testing optical receivers engineered for 200G-per-lane transmission.

The widespread adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) across various industries has greatly increased pressure on data center throughput. As the demand for higher data rates continues to surge, manufacturers of optical transceivers and optical interconnect solutions face increasing pressure to comply with emerging standards such as IEEE 802.3dj. The Optical Reference Transmitter arrives at a critical juncture, offering a solution for compliance validation and interoperability assurance at data rates exceeding 200Gbit/s per lane.

The new reference transmitter boasts several features designed to meet the evolving needs of the industry. Driven by the M8050 series bit error ratio tester (BERT), it can generate both clean and stressed signals for testing optical receiver designs up to 120 GBd per lane, providing crucial support for compliance testing with the upcoming IEEE 802.3dj standard. The transmitter is versatile, capable of generating intensity modulated/direct detected (IM/DD) signals including NRZ, PAM4, PAM6, and PAM8 waveforms, enabling research for transmission into 400Gbit/s per lane when paired with the Keysight M8199B Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG).

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www.keysight.com