Abstract: A low-level light detector includes an avalanche photodiode (APD) to which is applied a bias voltage adjusted to produce a multiplication factor of not more than 30, and a capacitor for accumulating carriers produced by light in the APD and multiplied using the APD characteristics, the capacitor being connected to the avalanche photodiode. The detector detects the intensity of light impinging on the avalanche photodiode by periodically reading the capacitor voltage and obtaining time-based differences in the voltage, or by resetting the capacitor voltage to a predetermined voltage each time the capacitor voltage is read.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for using modulation signals to optically modulate lightwaves of multiple frequencies, using a single optical modulator. A multiple-wavelength optical modulation apparatus in which with respect to a natural number n that is not higher than a number N of modulation signals that is not lower than a number of input lightwaves, fn is input light component of channel n, Fn is modulation frequency, An is a lower sideband order and Bn is an upper sideband order corresponding to sideband channels generated by modulation, the apparatus comprises: an input filter, an optical modulator and an output filter on a single optical path; A lightwave input through an input filter is reflected between the input filter and an output filter, being modulated during each round trip, and is output via the output or input filter when the light has reached a frequency determined by the output or input filter.

Abstract: This invention is a tunable dispersion compensation apparatus that suppresses the effects of the transmission channel dispersion which impedes transmission when optical signals used in high-speed communications are transmitted across long distances among various points.

Abstract: A photoelectric oscillator includes a laser beam projection unit; an optical modulator on an optical path extending from the projection unit, which optical modulator outputs a modulated signal or an optical signal containing a harmonic of the modulated signal and includes a modulation electrode whose resonant frequency band includes the frequency band of the modulation signal; a photoelectric converter for converting the output of the optical modulator to an electric signal; a feedback circuit for selecting from the radio-frequency electric signal obtained from the photoelectric converter an electric signal to be re-supplied to the optical modulator; and an output section for outputting an optical signal containing the modulation signal or a harmonic of the modulation signal or outputting the modulation signal or a harmonic of the modulation signal.

Abstract: A slab type solid-state laser medium furnished on side faces thereof with three reflecting surfaces, provided therein with a light path for optical amplification attained by multiple reflection on the reflecting surfaces, wherein the three reflecting surfaces comprises Surface C serving as a surface on which an incident laser beam reflects first in the solid-state laser medium, Surface B serving as a surface on which the beam reflected on Surface C is subsequently reflected and Surface A serving as a remaining surface, and wherein when Surface Ac and Surface Bc respectively denote imaginary surfaces forming reflected images of Surface A and Surface B relative to Surface C and when Angle C denotes an angle of intersection between Surface A and Surface B or extended surfaces thereof, Angle A denotes an angle of intersection between Surface B and Surface C or extended surfaces thereof and Angle B denotes an angle of intersection between Surface C and Surface A or extended surfaces thereof, Angle C is larger than