Agilent/Keysight 83487A Lightwave Clock Recovery Module

The Agilent/Keysight 83487A Lightwave Clock Recovery Module is a plug-in accessory for high-speed optical and electrical signal analysis. It recovers clock timing from optical signals and conditions electrical triggers for advanced communication system characterization. The module combines a 3 GHz optical channel with a 20 GHz electrical channel, delivering precise triggering across multiple modes to support data rates from 155 Mb/s to 1.25 Gb/s.

Technical Specifications

• Bandwidth: 3 GHz


• Wavelength Range: 750–860 nm


• Fiber Compatibility: 62.5/125 µm multimode


• Supported Data Rates: 0.155/0.622/1.066/1.250 Gb/s


• Optical Attenuator (Options 012, 014, 017): 5 dB (maintains fidelity above –10 dBm average power) Electrical Channel


• Bandwidth: 20 GHz


• Connector: 3.5 mm male input Triggering Modes


• Limited Mode: DC to 100 MHz bandwidth


• Normal Mode: DC to 2.5 GHz bandwidth; 40 mVpp sensitivity at 100 MHz, rising linearly to 200 mVpp at 2.5 GHz; trigger jitter <2.5 ps rms + 5E-5×delay (at 2.5 GHz, 200 mV source)


• High Speed Mode (Option 100): 2.0–12 GHz bandwidth (1–15 GHz typical); 200 mVpp sensitivity; jitter <2 ps rms for delays <100 ns (typical 1.3 ps)


• Trigger Level Range: ±1 V


• Maximum Trigger Signal: <2 V DC + AC peak (+16 dBm) in Normal and High Speed modes

Key Features

• Simultaneous optical and electrical measurement paths enable clock recovery validation


• Multiple triggering modes optimize dynamic range and jitter performance across frequency bands


• Optional 5 dB optical attenuator prevents saturation on high-power signals


• Lowest jitter specification in High Speed Mode supports precision timing measurements

Typical Applications

• Optical transceiver characterization and validation


• Clock recovery performance assessment in high-speed serial links


• Signal integrity analysis for 155 Mb/s to 1.25 Gb/s systems


• R&D, manufacturing, and quality assurance testing

Compatibility & Integration Plug-in module for Agilent 83480A Digital Communications Analyzer, Keysight 86100A/B/C Infinium DCA/DCA-J, and Agilent 54750A mainframes.