Abstract: Disclosed is an optical component tester for determining the wavelength dependent characteristics of an optical component. The tester comprises as functional units a tunable laser source for providing a stimulus signal to the optical component and one or more response units for receiving a response of the optical component on the stimulus signal; The tester further comprises a control unit coupled to the functional units for controlling the functioning thereof. The control unit preferably comprises a microcontroller connected to a signal processor, whereby the signal processor is connected to the functional units and responsible for processing all timing critical operations within the tester.

Abstract: A laser source with an optical resonator includes a laser gain medium with a low reflective first facet emitting a laser beam within the optical resonator. A wavelength dependent mirror receives the laser beam and reflects back a wavelength separated laser beam. A beam splitter divides the wavelength separated laser beam into a feedback beam directed toward the laser gain medium and a first output beam to be coupled out of the optical resonator. As a first improvement, the laser gain medium includes a second facet which is partly reflective, so that the second facet emits a second output beam of the laser source. As a second improvement, the laser source further includes a mirror arranged in a way that a beam diffracted by the wavelength dependent mirror is reflected back and again diffracted by the wavelength dependent mirror, so that the twice diffracted beam provides the wavelength separated laser beam.

Abstract: This invention relates to a wavemeter and an apparatus for the adjustment of the wavelength of a laser source. The invention proposes a wavemeter comprising an optical component, which generates an optical beam with a wavelength which depends on the optical power of the incident beam to be measured. To increase the precision of the wavelength measurement, the wavemeter is provided with a second measurement channel, whose optical signals are retarded by .pi./2 relative to the optical signals in a first measurement channel. The first and second measurement channels either each comprise a different etalon or the wavemeter comprises a single retardation plate to obtain the desired retardation.

Abstract: This invention relates particularly to an arrangement for operating and testing in the field of optical communication networks and to an arrangement and a method for an operational test of optical devices, such as erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). The device under test is connected via optical fibers with a tunable laser and an optical signal analyzer. A pattern generator controls the tunable laser to generate a set of signals with different wavelengths .lambda.1 to .lambda.4, one after the other, within the recovery time of the device under test. Thereby, the operational behavior of a device under test, having a recovery time, and which is applied to several signals with different wavelengths present at the same time, can be tested by a single tunable laser.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring the noise level in an optical amplifier in the presence of a signal at a signal wavelength. The signal is detuned to a second wavelength different from the signal wavelength. A difference function corresponding to the difference in noise levels before and after detuning of the signal as a function of wavelength is determined. The noise level at the signal wavelength is measured. The value of the difference function at the signal wavelength is added to the noise level measured in the previous step.