February 14, 2006 Chino, CA -- General Photonics, a provider of polarization and timing management technology, has introduced its TimeRITE programmable optical delay generator. The company says the instrument generates programmable time delay from nanoseconds to milliseconds and is suitable for applications including wireless communications, radar, optical communications, and measurement systems.
According to the company, with a total delay range up to 0.25 ms (75 km) and a delay resolution up to 12 bits, the instrument features low insertion loss (~0.5 dB per bit), low delay dependent loss (DDL<0.2 dB), low polarization dependent loss, and fast delay changing speed (<0.5 ms). When operating in manual mode, different delay values can be selected and stepped up and down with a dialing knob. When in auto mode, the instrument scans through a set of delays with user-defined range, starting and stopping values, step size, and time interval between delay changes.
The instrument also features a double-pass mode to double the total delay range by passing the light through the optical path twice. A polarization maintaining option is also available for the double-pass input and output ports. By connecting a fiber-optic RF or digital transmitter at the input and a fiber-optic RF or digital receiver at the output, programmable delay for RF or digital signals can be readily obtained, according to the company.