Spectral testing of active systems in lab and manufacturing environments

Spectral testing of active systems in lab and manufacturing environments

This white paper outlines the recommended tests in laboratory and manufacturing environments for optical sources and optical amplifiers.

First, it will show why spectral testing is fundamental in lab and manufacturing environments.

Second, it will describe the different types of optical sources in order of increasing complexity and explain the relevant tests for each of them.

Then to conclude, it will detail the range of EXFO spectral instruments for each type of optical source.

Any optical transmitter, whether it is a 100 Gbit/s line card or a pluggable, such as an SFP or QSFP28, includes optical subassemblies to generate the optical signal. The most basic component — the laser — is integrated into increasingly complex assemblies and optical networking systems such as WDM.

Each optical source must be carefully tested and qualified, and spectral analysis, or the measurement of optical power as a function of wavelength and related parameters, is a key part of thorough optical source qualification.