Amplified-spontaneous-emission feedback circuit scheme for optical measurement with improved optical power resolutions

Abstract

We proposed a novel optical power measurement scheme, which significantly improved optical power resolution (OPR) by implementing an amplified-spontaneous-emission feedback circuit (ASEFC) ahead of a conventional optical power meter. The scheme was named “ASEFC scheme.” The ASEFC operates in regions near the lasing threshold. The OPR characteristics of the ASEFC scheme were clarified experimentally. We demonstrated significantly improved OPRs in optical loss measurement of an optical component. The OPRs were less than 0.00014 dB, and the sensitivity was greater than 67, at a display resolution of 0.01 dB for the power meter.