IEC 61290-1-1:2015

Optical amplifiers - Test methods - Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters - Optical spectrum analyzer method

IEC 61290-1-1:2015 applies to all commercially available optical amplifiers (OAs) and optically amplified modules. It applies to OAs using optically pumped fibres (OFAs based on either rare-earth doped fibres or on the Raman effect), semiconductor OAs (SOAs) and planar optical waveguide amplifiers (POWAs). The object of this standard is to establish uniform requirements for accurate and reliable measurements, by means of the optical spectrum analyzer test method, of the following OA parameters, as defined in IEC 61291-1:
- nominal output signal power;
- gain;
- polarization-dependent gain;
- maximum output signal power;
- maximum total output power. The object of this standard is specifically directed to single-channel amplifiers. For multichannel amplifiers, one should refer to the IEC 61290-10 series. This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2006 and constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition: updates on the characteristics of measurement apparatus and revised list of addressed optical amplifier parameters. Keywords: optical amplifiers, optical spectrum analyzer test, single-channel amplifiers

Amplificateurs optiques - Méthodes d'essai - Partie 1-1: Paramètres de puissance et de gain - Méthode de l'analyseur de spectre optique

L'IEC 61290-1-1:2015 s'applique à tous les amplificateurs optiques et modules à amplification optique disponibles sur le marché. Elle s'applique aux amplificateurs optiques utilisant des fibres pompées optiquement (OFA basés sur des fibres dopées aux terres rares ou sur l'effet Raman), des amplificateurs optiques à semiconducteurs (SOA) et des amplificateurs à guide d'onde optique planaire (POWA). L'objet de la présente norme est d'établir des exigences uniformes pour des mesurages précis et fiables, par le biais de la méthode d'essai de l'analyseur de spectre optique, des paramètres d'amplificateurs optiques donnés ci-dessous, tels qu'ils sont définis dans l'IEC 61291-1:
- puissance nominale du signal de sortie;
- gain;
- gain dépendant de la polarisation;
- puissance maximale du signal en sortie;
- puissance totale maximale en sortie. L'objet de la présente norme est spécifiquement centré sur les amplificateurs à un seul canal. Pour les amplificateurs à canaux multiples, il convient de se reporter à la série IEC 61290-10. Cette troisième édition annule et remplace la deuxième édition parue en 2006 et constitue une révision technique. La présente édition contient les principales modifications techniques suivantes par rapport à l'édition précédente: mises à jour des caractéristiques de l'appareillage de mesure; révision de la liste des paramètres relatifs aux amplificateurs optiques traités. Mots clés: amplificateurs optiques, essai de l'analyseur de spectre optique, amplificateurs à un seul canal

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 06-May-2015
• ICS: 01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION
• ICS: 33.180.30 - Optic amplifiers
• Technical Committee: SC 86C - Fibre optic systems and active devices
• Drafting Committee: WG 3 - TC 86/SC 86C/WG 3
• Current Stage: DELPUB - Deleted Publication
• Start Date: 30-Nov-2018
• Completion Date: 03-Sep-2020

Relations

• Revises: IEC 61290-1-1:2006 - Optical amplifiers - Test methods - Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters - Optical spectrum analyzer method
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Revised: IEC 61290-1-1:2020 - Optical amplifiers - Test methods - Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters - Optical spectrum analyzer method
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 61290-1-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2015-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Optical amplifiers – Test methods –
Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters – Optical spectrum analyzer method

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or

your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

IEC Central Office Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé Fax: [phone]

CH-1211 Geneva 20 [e-mail]
Switzerland www.iec.ch
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.

IEC Catalogue - webstore.iec.ch/catalogue Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
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The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a More than 60 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical English and French extracted from the Terms and Definitions
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced clause of IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries
and withdrawn publications. have been collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37,

77, 86 and CISPR.
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IEC 61290-1-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2015-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Optical amplifiers – Test methods –

Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters – Optical spectrum analyzer method

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.180.30 ISBN 978-2-8322-2669-8

– 2 – IEC 61290-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015

CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3

1 Scope . 5

2 Normative references . 5

3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations . 5

3.1 Terms and definitions . 5

3.2 Abbreviations . 5

4 Apparatus . 6

5 Test sample . 8
6 Procedure . 8
7 Calculation . 9
8 Test results . 11
Bibliography . 12

Figure 1 – Typical arrangement of the optical spectrum analyzer test apparatus for
gain and power measurements . 6

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS – TEST METHODS –

Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters –

Optical spectrum analyzer method

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

International Standard IEC 61290-1-1 has been prepared by subcommittee 86C: Fibre optic
systems and active devices, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2006 and constitutes a
technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) updates on the characteristics of measurement apparatus;
b) revised list of addressed optical amplifier parameters.

– 4 – IEC 61290-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015

The text of this standard is based on the following documents:

FDIS Report on voting
86C/1309/FDIS 86C/1328/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on

voting indicated in the above table.

This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

This standard shall be used in conjunction with IEC 61290-1 and IEC 61291-1.
A list of all parts of the IEC 61290 series, published under the general title Optical amplifiers –
Test methods can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date

—————————
The first editions of some of these parts were published under the general title Optical fibre amplifiers – Basic
specification or Optical amplifier test methods.

OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS – TEST METHODS –

Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters –

Optical spectrum analyzer method

1 Scope
This part of IEC 61290 applies to all commercially available optical amplifiers (OAs) and
optically amplified modules. It applies to OAs using optically pumped fibres (OFAs based on
either rare-earth doped fibres or on the Raman effect), semiconductor OAs (SOAs) and planar
optical waveguide amplifiers (POWAs).
The object of this standard is to establish uniform requirements for accurate and reliable
measurements, by means of the optical spectrum analyzer test method, of the following OA
parameters, as defined in IEC 61291-1:
a) nominal output signal power;
b) gain;
c) polarization-dependent gain;
d) maximum output signal power;
e) maximum total output power.
NOTE All numerical values followed by (‡) are suggested values for which the measurement is assured.
The object of this standard is specifically directed to single-channel amplifiers. For
multichannel amplifiers, one should refer to the IEC 61290-10 series [1] .
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and
are indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.
IEC 61290-1, Optical amplifiers - Test methods - Part 1: Power and gain parameters

IEC 61291-1, Optical amplifiers - Part 1: Generic specification
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in IEC 61291-1 apply.
3.2 Abbreviations
ASE amplified spontaneous emission
DBR distributed Bragg reflector (laser diode)
DFB distributed feed-back (laser diode)
—————————
Numbers in square brackets refer to the Bibliography

– 6 – IEC 61290-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015

ECL external cavity laser (diode)

LED light emitting diode
OA optical amplifier
OFA optical fibre amplifier
POWA planar optical waveguide amplifier

SOA semiconductor optical amplifier

4 Apparatus
A diagram of the measurement set-up is given in Figure 1.

Polarization
J1
Optical
Optical
dB controller
power
source
(optional)
meter
Variable
optical
attenuator
IEC
Figure 1a – Calibration
J2
Polarization
J1
Optical
Optical
dB controller
spectrum
source
(optional)
analyzer
Variable
optical
attenuator
IEC
Figure 1b – Input signal power measurement
J2
Optical
J1
Polarization
Optical
dB OA spectrum
controller
source
analyzer
(optional)
Variable
optical
OA
attenuator
under test
IEC
Figure 1c – Output power measurement
Figure 1 – Typical arrangement of the optical spectrum
analyzer test apparatus for gain and power measurements
The test equipment listed below, with the required characteristics, is needed.
a) optical source:
The optical source shall be either at fixed wavelength or wavelength-tuneable.
– fixed-wavelength optical source: This optical source shall generate a light with a
wavelength and optical power specified in the relevant detail specification. Unless
otherwise specified, the optical source shall emit a continuous wave with the full width
at half maximum of the spectrum narrower than 1 nm (‡). A distributed feed-back (DFB)
laser, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser, an external cavity laser (ECL) diode
and a light emitting diode (LED) with a narrow-band filter are applicable, for example.
The suppression ratio for the side modes for the DFB laser, the DBR laser or the ECL

shall be higher than 30 dB (‡). The output power fluctuation shall be less than 0,05 dB

(‡), which may be bette
...

IEC 61290-1-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2015-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Optical amplifiers – Test methods –
Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters – Optical spectrum analyzer method

Amplificateurs optiques – Méthodes d'essai –
Partie 1-1: Paramètres de puissance et de gain – Méthode de l’analyseur
de spectre optique
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
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About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.

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bibliographical information on IEC International Standards, electrical terms containing 20 000 terms and definitions in
Technical Specifications, Technical Reports and other English and French, with equivalent terms in 15 additional
documents. Available for PC, Mac OS, Android Tablets and languages. Also known as the International Electrotechnical
iPad. Vocabulary (IEV) online.

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The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a 65 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in English and
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical French extracted from the Terms and Definitions clause of
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries have been
and withdrawn publications. collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37, 77, 86 and

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IEC 61290-1-1 ®
Edition 3.0 2015-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Optical amplifiers – Test methods –

Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters – Optical spectrum analyzer method

Amplificateurs optiques – Méthodes d'essai –

Partie 1-1: Paramètres de puissance et de gain – Méthode de l’analyseur

de spectre optique
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
ICS 33.180.30 ISBN 978-2-8322-3742-7

– 2 – IEC 61290-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations . 5
3.1 Terms and definitions . 5
3.2 Abbreviations . 5
4 Apparatus . 6
5 Test sample . 8
6 Procedure . 8
7 Calculation . 9
8 Test results . 11
Bibliography . 12

Figure 1 – Typical arrangement of the optical spectrum analyzer test apparatus for
gain and power measurements . 6

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS – TEST METHODS –

Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters –
Optical spectrum analyzer method

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 61290-1-1 has been prepared by subcommittee 86C: Fibre optic
systems and active devices, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.
This bilingual version (2016-11) corresponds to the monolingual English version, published in
2015-05.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2006 and constitutes a
technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) updates on the characteristics of measurement apparatus;
b) revised list of addressed optical amplifier parameters.

– 4 – IEC 61290-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
86C/1309/FDIS 86C/1328/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.
The French version of this standard has not been voted upon.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
This standard shall be used in conjunction with IEC 61290-1 and IEC 61291-1.
A list of all parts of the IEC 61290 series, published under the general title Optical amplifiers –
Test methods can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
_____________
The first editions of some of these parts were published under the general title Optical fibre amplifiers – Basic
specification or Optical amplifier test methods.

OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS – TEST METHODS –

Part 1-1: Power and gain parameters –
Optical spectrum analyzer method

1 Scope
This part of IEC 61290 applies to all commercially available optical amplifiers (OAs) and
optically amplified modules. It applies to OAs using optically pumped fibres (OFAs based on
either rare-earth doped fibres or on the Raman effect), semiconductor OAs (SOAs) and planar
optical waveguide amplifiers (POWAs).
The object of this standard is to establish uniform requirements for accurate and reliable
measurements, by means of the optical spectrum analyzer test method, of the following OA
parameters, as defined in IEC 61291-1:
a) nominal output signal power;
b) gain;
c) polarization-dependent gain;
d) maximum output signal power;
e) maximum total output power.
NOTE All numerical values followed by
...