BS EN IEC 61290-4-3:2018

What is BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 - Optical amplifiers about?  

BS EN IEC 61290 is a series on optical amplifiers. An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. An optical amplifier may be thought of as a laser without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback from the cavity is suppressed. BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 applies to output power controlled optically amplified, elementary sub-systems. BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 applies to optical fibre amplifiers (OFAs) using active fibres containing rare-earth dopants, presently commercially available, as indicated in IEC 61291-1, as well as alternative optical amplifiers that can be used for single-channel output power-controlled operation, such as semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs).  

The object of BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 is to provide the general background for optical amplifiers (OAs) power transients and their measurements and to indicate those IEC standard test methods for accurate and reliable measurements of the following transient parameters: 

• Transient power response 
• Transient power overcompensation response 
• Steady-state power offset 
• Transient power response time 

Who is BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 - Optical amplifiers for? 

BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 on optical amplifiers is useful for: 

• Telecommunication component manufacturers 
• Telecommunication equipment manufacturers 
• Design engineers 
• Quality control personnel 

Why should you use BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 - Optical amplifiers?  

Optical amplifiers are important in optical communication and laser physics. They are used as optical repeaters in the long-distance fibre optic cables which carry much of the world's telecommunication links. BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 discusses the power transient parameters of a single channel optical amplifier. The stimulus and responses behaviours under consideration include channel power increase (step transient), channel power reduction (inverse step transient), channel power increase/reduction (pulse transient), channel power reduction/increase (inverse pulse transient), channel power increase/reduction/increase (lightning bolt transient), channel power reduction/increase/reduction (inverse lightning bolt transient). 

These parameters have been included to provide a complete description of the transient behaviour of output power transient controlled optical amplifiers. The test definitions defined in BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 are applicable if the amplifier is an optical fibre amplifier or an alternative optical amplifier. However, the description in BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 concentrates on the physical performance of optical fibre amplifiers and provides a detailed description of the behaviour of optical fibre amplifiers; BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 does not give a similar description of other optical amplifier types. BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 provides a detailed description background of the dynamic phenomenon in output power-controlled amplifiers under transient conditions and also details the impact of speed of transient inputs. Using BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3 you can understand the output power controlled optically amplified, elementary sub-systems. 

What’s changed since the last update?  

BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3:2018 supersedes BS EN 61290‑4‑3:2015. BS EN IEC 61290‑4‑3:2018 includes a technical change with respect to BS EN 61290‑4‑3:2015: 

• Alignment of the measure of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) relative to signal power with the definition in IEC 61290-3-3