Optical signal-to-noise ratio measurement by optical homodyne tomography

Opt Lett. 2006 Feb 1;31(3):302-4. doi: 10.1364/ol.31.000302.

Abstract

An all-fiber optical homodyne tomography setup is introduced that measures the optical signal-to-noise ratio through reconstruction of the photon statistics. The scheme described has been conceived for applications to optical communications. In particular, the signal-to-noise ratio has been evaluated at lambda= 1.55 microm as a function of the received power. From the experimental data, in the case of optically amplified signals, the amplifier noise figure can be estimated.