Agilent Develops First 100 Gbps BERT for Next Gen Optical Transceivers

Agilent Technologies introduced the E4898A Bit Error Ratio Tester (BERT) front-end, enabling a complete 100 Gbps BERT that operates at speeds up to 100 Gbps.



As standards evolve, 100 Gbps links are expected to be deployed in metro communications and in high-speed server interconnects starting in late 2008. Pattern and data generators, as well as BERTs, will then be needed to evaluate and verify the different approaches to the various technical challenges in getting the transceiver technology to work at the 100 Gbps transmission rates.



Agilent said its 100 Gbps BERT will enable researchers and technologists in universities and research centers to validate their transceiver designs operating at these ultra-high speeds.



The Agilent E4898A 100 Gb/s BERT front-end is priced at $250,000 and is available now. The price for the complete Agilent 81250 ParBERT and E4898A 100 Gb/s BERT system is $835,000. http://www.agilent.com