The Keysight / Agilent / HP 83446A lightwave clock/data receiver is designed to extract clock and data information from digitally modulated lightwave signals at the SONET/SDH data rate of 2.48832 Gb/sec (OC-48/STM-16). It incorporates a high-gain avalanche photodiode (APD), gain-controlled amplifier, and clock/data recovery hybrid to deliver clean, error-free outputs from optical signals with powers as low as -27 dBm at either 1310 or 1550 nm wavelength.

The Keysight / Agilent / HP 83446A has been designed especially for use with high-speed bit-error-ratio testers (BERTs) such as The Keysight / Agilent / HP 86130A or 71612C. By connecting the clock and data outputs to the corresponding inputs on the BERT'S error detector, bit-error-ratio analysis can be performed directly on optical signals, making it easy to do system acceptance and BER floor analysis. The Keysight / Agilent / HP 83446A also has an auxiliary port which allows monitoring of the output of the APD prior to regeneration.