SPEAG Releases the Photonic Ultra-Wideband RF-over-Fiber Transducer (RFoF1P)

SPEAG is excited to announce the launch of a novel product in our TDS lineup – the fully electrically isolated RF-over-Fiber Transducer (RFoF1P). With this new product, SPEAG continues to extend the frontiers of accurate and traceable RF measurements powered by micro-photonic technologies to applications such a conducted EMC/EMI, ESD, antenna correlation and signal integrity measurements as well as to highly immune signal and power links for ultra-low-noise and ultra-wideband transmissions.

Eliminating cable influences has become a serious challenge in EMC, EMI, signal integrity, and antenna performance measurements, as well as for the design of sensor links for use in EM sensitive or harsh EM environments. To address this problem, SPEAG has developed the RFoF1P, a novel photonic RF-over-Fiber transducer that can operate autonomously by means of power-over-fiber supply technology. The RFoF1P offers a fully isolated, high-speed, general purpose optical interconnect with unparalleled miniaturization, bandwidth, gain flatness, and dynamic range. RFoF1P is an excellent solution for applications for which traditional coaxial measurement cables and other galvanic connections to the device-under-test (DUT) or sensor are unfeasible or undesirable.

RFoF1P features:

• Active Photonic TDS Technology: The active photonic technology of RFoF1P fully preserves vector and phase information of the routed signals and provides an unparalleled noise-figure and dynamic range, as well as autonomous operation with power-over-fiber supply technology.
• Ultra-Wide Bandwidth: The RFoF1P transducer offers a unique extended frequency range of 10 kHz – 10 GHz in combination with superior gain flatness to make this probe ideal for ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) and other high-speed applications.
• Small Size: The physical dimensions of the RFoF1P are very small, optimized to minimize influence on the electrical properties of the DUT. In addition, SPEAG offers further miniaturization and customization services to meet the needs of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
• Low-Noise Interconnects: The optical medium of the RFoF1P is non-conductive and low-loss, with minimal signal-to-noise degradation and signal distortion, EMI immune, and can be used for non-susceptible, long-distance routing of weak RF signals through harsh EM environments.
• Accurate Calibration: RFoF1P transducer systems are calibrated in our ISO 17025 certified laboratory, for full interlaboratory comparability and total trust in your results.

Applications:

These features make SPEAG’s RFoF1P transducer ideal for a wide range of applications, such as:

• OTA/MIMO/UWB Measurements: Eliminating cable influences is especially important for work at lower frequencies and for antenna correlation measurements. RFoF1P is ideal for applications in which cables extending the DUT’s electrical size are an issue. The large bandwidth of the system enables UWB measurements as well.
• EMC/EMI/Signal and Power Integrity: RFoF1P features a fully isolated high-speed, general purpose optical interconnect without the need for dedicated feed-through adaptors for chambers and shielded rooms. As the optical medium is non-conductive, it is EMI immune. The probe’s power-over-fiber supply provides unparalleled power integrity in delicate ultra-low-noise sensing applications.
• MRI: RFoF1P is compatible with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment, for example, as an isolated link to MRI receiver coils. RFoF1P also enables immune routing of weak RF signals in the presence of strong EM fields in the vicinity of MRI machines.
• EMP/ESD/Lightning Tests: RFoF1P offers galvanically isolated connections for conveying RF signals in the presence of strong EM fields generated by EMP pulses.
• Accurate Timing and Frequency Referencing: The low-loss and high sensitivity of RFoF1P makes it perfect for in-building, tunnel, or underground reference timing of global positioning systems.
• Secure Non-Emitting Connection: Traditional RF cables can act as unintended radiators, leaking sensitive data. The optical fibers, of RFoF1P protect against signal intelligence.