ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the basic techniques employed to test optical fibre devices, using optical switches as an example. It presents common testing methods required by industry standards. The testing of optical fibre devices is based on two different measurements aspects of light output: power and frequency. The chapter describes the parameters for optical power measurements and common optical power loss measurements. Insehrtion loss occurs in all optical fibre devices, such as fibre optic cables, optical passband filters, and optical switches. The polarization dependent loss is another important parameter for optical fibre devices, such as an optical switch. There are three other polarization effects: polarization dependent gain in optical amplifiers; polarization mode dispersion in optical fibres; and polarization dependent modulation in electro-optic modulators. Mechanical, electrical, and environmental tests of devices are as important as optical testing, before delivering the devices to the market.
