Optical amplifier noise-figure reduction using a variable polarisation beam splitter

In the original article [see ibid., vol.31, no.12, p.979-80, 1995], a new method for reducing the noise figure of optical fibre amplifiers by means of a polarisation beam splitter is described. It is suggested that the argument for the proposed noise figure reduction is erroneous and represents a misunderstanding of the amplifier noise figure fundamentals