Photonic Devices and Optical Transceiver Measurements (PH239)

Synopsis(This course is adapted from the previous course entitled 'Photonic Technology Fundamental and Optical Transceiver Measurements' to place more emphasis on the fundamental of photonic technology.  You may find 30% content resemblance between the two courses.)

There is increasingly tighter requirement for reliable optical data transmission in the telecommunication network in order to keep up with the higher data rates in the evolving data network protocols. Keeping up with the technology advancement of the photonic devices and optical transceiver (transmitter/receiver) is a continuing challenge.  Regardless of the depth involved in working with photonic devices, be it design, characterization, validation, production, assembly, test, process, QC, or tooling, one good way to start understanding their properties are by means of testing and validating them.

Course Highlight
This course starts with an overview of current fiber-optic communication technology and a quick review of the essential concepts of photonic devices' principles.  The course then proceeds to the testings and measurements of photonic communication systems and components through the judicious use of test equipment.

Participants are taught the theories behind the measurement parameters and also the test setups in performing the measurement such as required instruments, accessories and instrument operating conditions.  This course is designed to quickly give participants the expertise they need to solve measurement problems effectively and efficiently.

Figures below showing the instruments used in the training (subject to availability)

What You Will Learn

• Essential fundamental concepts of photonic technology and its use in optical communication system
• Identifying the right instruments for testing optical devices and describing the operation of different types of optical DUT
• Testing of optical transmitter and receiver, and their characterization by performing optical power and extinction ratio test, spectrum analysis, electrical-optical response, eye-diagram analysis, and mask test

Who Should AttendThe primary target audience for this course is engineers involved in test development, testing, validation, and characterization of optical components and modules.  It is also suitable for those who need strong understanding of the various photonic devices and integration of these devices, for example:

• Photonic Design Engineers
• Optical Subassembly Engineers
• Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) for Optical Modules Engineers
• QA Engineers
• R&D Project Managers
• Technical Marketing Engineers

PrerequisiteAttended "Essential Photonic Technology Concepts" OR have strong understanding of photonic devices and optical communication fundamental concepts such as fiber optic theory, optical passive and active components, optical transceivers, and operating principles of photonic measurement instruments.

Course MethodologyThe students are first taught the basic concepts of lightwave technology and its use in optical communication system.  The concepts are then reinforced through exercises and examples of how the theories are applied in real system.  Demonstrations using the various photonic measurement instruments and building blocks of a basic optical communication link will be carried out to illustrate various principles and techniques.

The photonics components used in this training are:

1. Passive Components

• Optical Patchcords, Connectors, and Adaptors
• Couplers
• Isolators
• Filters
• Mux/Demux

2. Active Components

• Light source
• Photodiode
• Modulators

The instruments used are:

• Signal Generator
• Digital Communication Analyzer
• Optical Spectrum Analyzer/Power Meter and Sensor

Course Duration3 days, 9am - 5pm

Course StructureReview of Fundamental Concepts

• Light properties
• EM spectrum
• Optical power
• Coherence
• Interference
• Reflection
• Polarization
• Basic optical link design

Fiber Measurement

• Types of fibers: step index (SI) fiber, multimode fiber (MMF), single mode fiber (SMF)
• Fiber care and cleaning
• Optical fiber properties, modal dispersion, chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization mode dispersion (PMD)
• Connector technology and connector types: PC, APC, FC, LC, SC, DIN, etc.
• Adaptors and splices
• Power measurement
• Loss measurement
• Dispersion measurement

Passive Components Measurements

• Types of passive components: couplers, isolators, attenuators, filters, circulators, MUX/DEMUX, etc.
• Attenuation
• Losses
• Directivity
• Linearity
• Reflection loss
• Optical return loss
• Polarization dependant loss
• Transmission analysis
• Spectral analysis
• Summary of measurement solutions

Active Components Measurements

• Types of active components: modulator: Michelson interferometer, Mach-Zehnder interferometer, electro-absorption modulator (EAM), filters, , etc.
• OSNR
• ASE
• Q-factor
• SMSR
• RIN
• Linewidth

Optical Amplifiers

• Erbium properties
• EDFA
• Output spectra
• ASE
• Time domain measurement
• Optical gain
• Noise figure
• Gain compression
• Polarization hole burning (PHB)
• Spectral hole burning (SHB)

Transmitters and Receivers

• Light sources: LED, FP laser, DFP laser, VCSEL laser
• Photodiodes: PIN diode, avalanche photodiode (APD)

Type of Transmitter and Receiver Tests

• Design
• Production
• Standard compliance

Transmitter Tests

• Tx power
• LDI
• Eye diagram: Tx jitter, Tx crossing, Tx rise time, Tx fall time, Tx mask test
• OMA
• ER
• Tx dispersion
• Error floor
• Spectral width
• Center wavelength/peak wavelength
• SMSR
• BER
• Tx reflectance
• Optical connector/LA/hard-in

Receiver Tests

• Sensitivity (BER curve) and overload
• BER
• Eye diagram: Rx jitter, Rx crossing, Rx rise time, Rx fall time, Rx mask test
• Rx amplitude
• Rx reflectance
• Clock recovery
• Optical connector/LA/hard-in