Developments in NIR detector systems [for telecommunications]

The NIR region is discussed from about 1 μm to about 1.6 μm, the spectral region which includes the most heavily used telecommunications windows and is thus covered by detector components developed for such application. The aim of the author´s overview is to look at the range of detectors and detection schemes available in this window, starting with direct (amplitude) measurement, then moving on towards more advanced signal recovery methods involving coherent techniques. The availability of optical amplifiers in this window is a further inducement to broader study