Title :
The noise figure of optical amplifiers
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract :
The noise figure definition used for the characterization of optical amplifiers is critiqued. It is shown that it is inconsistent with the IEEE standard established for electronic amplifiers. A noise figure definition is proposed that is consistent with the IEEE standard and that is shown to be superior to the one currently in use.
Keywords :
IEEE standards; fibre lasers; laser noise; optical communication equipment; IEEE standard; noise figure; noise figure definition; optical amplifiers; optical fibre amplifiers; Additive noise; Bandwidth; Noise figure; Noise measurement; Optical amplifiers; Optical noise; Power amplifiers; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Signal to noise ratio; Stimulated emission;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
