Attenuator, Variable Slope

The JDSU variable slope attenuator (VSA) equalizes uneven gain profiles inherent to the use of optical amplifiers. The VSA is Telcordia GR 1209 and 1221 compliant and uses hermetic sealing for increased resistance to environmental extremes. It is available in low contrast and high contrast variants, and offers excellent positive or negative slope optical performance in either the C or L bands.

The attenuation slope is precisely tuned using a stepper motor driven by an external IC driver. The stepper motor adjusts the slope in small, uniform step sizes, thus providing high resolution. The VSA is compact in size and can easily be mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). It requires minimum voltage. The electrical pins extrude from the bottom of the package.

The spectral diagram on next page shows the transmission spectrum after passing through the VSA. Both positive and negative slope profiles are available.

Key Features

• Low insertion loss
• Wide attenuation slope range
• Available in low and high contrast variants
• Available in positive or negative slope variants
• Low tuning voltage
• Mountable on a PCB

Applications

• Remove cumulative error function from amplifiers and filters
• Correct variations in amplifier gain profile due to add-drop multiplexing and Raman effect
• Balance channel power in reconfigurable networks

Compliance

• Telcordia GR 1209 and 1221