IEC TR 61292-5:2004

Optical amplifiers - Part 5: Polarization mode dispersion parameter - General information

Applies to all commercially available optical amplifiers (OAs) including those using fibres (OFAs), semiconductors (SOAs), and waveguides (POWA), as classified in IEC 61292-3. This Technical Report presents general information about polarization mode dispersion (PMD), related to the application of the two commonly used methods to test PMD in OAs, the Jones matrix eigenanalysis (JME) and the Poincaré sphere analysis (PSA). This report is complementary to the International Standards describing the JME procedure (IEC 61290-11-1) and the PSA procedure (IEC 61290-11-2).

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 25-Jul-2004
• ICS: 01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION
• ICS: 33.160.10 - Amplifiers
• ICS: 33.180.30 - Optic amplifiers
• Technical Committee: SC 86C - Fibre optic systems and active devices
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 15-Jul-2004
• Completion Date: 26-Jul-2004

Standards Content (Sample)

TECHNICAL IEC
REPORT TR 61292-5
First edition
2004-07
Optical amplifiers –
Part 5:
Polarization mode dispersion parameter –
General information
Reference number
IEC/TR 61292-5:2004(E)
Publication numbering
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TECHNICAL IEC
REPORT TR 61292-5
First edition
2004-07
Optical amplifiers –
Part 5:
Polarization mode dispersion parameter –
General information
” IEC 2004  Copyright - all rights reserved
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 the publisher.
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For price, see current catalogue

– 2 – TR 61292-5 © IEC:2004(E)
CONTENTS
FOREWORD.3
1 Scope.5
2 Normative references.5
3 Acronyms and abbreviations.5
4 General Information.6
4.1 Principal states of polarization and mode coupling .6
4.2 Differential group delay and polarization mode dispersion .6
5 Test method calculations .7
6 Measurement issues.7
6.1 Source degree of polarization and amplified spontaneous emission.7
6.2 The use of a broadband source .9
6.3 Coherence interference effects and multiple path interferences .9
Annex A (informative) Applicability of various PMD test methods to different
applications .11
Bibliography.12

TR 61292-5 © IEC:2004(E) – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS –
Part 5: Polarization mode dispersion parameter –
General information
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
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
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9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
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The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. However, a
technical committee may propose the publication of a Technical Report when it has collected
data of a different kind from that which is normally published as an International Standard, for
example "state of the art".
IEC 61292-5, which is a Technical Report, has been prepared by subcommittee 86C: Fibre
optic systems and active devices, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.
The text of this Technical Report is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
86C/579A/DTR 86C/608/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this Technical Report can be found in the
report on voting indicated in the above table.

– 4 – TR 61292-5 ” IEC:2004(E)
IEC 61292 consists of the following parts, under the new general title Optical amplifiers:
Part 1: Parameters of amplifier components
Part 2: Theoretical background for noise figure evaluation using the electrical
spectrum analyzer
Part 3: Classification, characteristics and applications.
Part 4: Maximum permissible optical power for the damage-free and safe use of optical
1)
amplifiers, including Raman amplifiers
Part 5: Polarization mode dispersion parameter – General information
Future standards in this series will carry the new general title as cited above. Titles of existing
standards in this series will be updated at the time of the next edition.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the maintenance result date indicated on the IEC web site 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.
———————
1)
To be published.
TR 61292-5 © IEC:2004(E) – 5 –
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS –
Part 5: Polarization mode dispersion parameter –
General information
1 Scope
This part of IEC 61292, which is a Technical Report, applies to all commercially available
optical amplifiers (OAs) including those using fibres (OFAs), semiconductors (SOAs), and
waveguides (POWA), as classified in IEC 61292-3.
This Technical Report presents general information about polarization mode dispersion (PMD),
related to the application of the two commonly used methods to test PMD in OAs, the Jones
matrix eigenanalysis (JME) and the Poincaré sphere analysis (PSA), which have been
2)
demonstrated to be formalistically equivalent [4,5] .
This report is complementary to the International Standards describing the JME procedure
(IEC 61290-11-1) and the PSA procedure (IEC 61290-11-2).
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the understanding of this document.
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition
of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
IEC 61290-11-1, Optical amplifier test methods – Part 11-1: Polarization mode dispersion –
Jones matrix eigenanalysis method (JME)
IEC 61290-11-2, Optical fibre amplifier test methods – Part 11-2: Polarization mode
3)
dispersion – Poincaré sphere analysis method
IEC 61292-3, Optical amplifiers – Part 3: Classification, characteristics and applications
3 Acronyms and abbreviations
ASE  amplified spontaneous emission
BBS  broadband source
DGD  differential group delay
DOP  degree of polarization
JME  Jones matrix eigenanalysis
OA  optical amplifier
OFA  optical fibre amplifier
OSA  optical spectrum analyser
PDG  polarization dependent gain
PDL  polarization dependent loss
———————
2)
Numbers in brackets refer to the Bibliography.
3)
To be published.
– 6 – TR 61292-5 © IEC:2004(E)
PMD  polarisation mode dispersion
PMF  polarization-maintaining fibre
POWA  planar optical waveguide amplifier
PSA  Poincaré sphere analysis
PSP  principal states of polarization
RBW  resolution bandwidth
RMS  root mean square
SMSR  side mode suppression ratio
SOA  semiconductor optical amplifier
SOP  state of polarization
TLS  tuneable laser source
4 General Information
PMD refers to how the polarized light and in particular the principal states of polarization
(PSPs) from a short pulse of a narrowband light source are modified when going through a
device such as an OA. This process is mathematically explained by the concepts of
polarization transfer function, the Jones vector and the polarization dispersion matrix, the
Stokes vector and the Poincaré sphere, the PSPs and their mode coupling, the polarization
dispersion vector and the differential group delay (DGD).
The following clauses will discuss some of these concepts as specifically applied to OAs.
4.1 Principal states of polarization and mode coupling
OAs are usually defined by a combination of optical components (passive or active gain
medium); in some cases, an optical fibre is used as the active gain medium (see IEC 61292-3).
Some components have a deterministic behaviour while others behave stochastically,
depending on their complexity and design. An optical fibre is deterministic if its length is short
or if its birefringence axis is fixed, such as in the case of a polarization-maintaining fibre
(PMF). The fibre will have a stochastic behaviour if it has a long length such as the fibre
installed in cable plant. The length from which the fibre behaves stochastically is still under
investigation.
Most OAs are expected to behave in semi-random mode coupling.
4.2 Differential group delay and polarization mode dispersion
In OAs, the DGD may vary as a function of wavelength (or frequency) even if this variation is
smooth, small or sometimes predictable. In that case, the concept of PMD expressed as the
RMS value or average value of the variation of the DGD as a function of wavelength (or
optical frequency) and the concept of maximum value of that DGD variation can be used. For
OAs the DGD and PMD are reported in ps.
In OAs, PMD together with polarization dependent loss (PDL) and polarization dependent gain
(PDG) may introduce waveform distortion, leading to unacceptable bit error rate increase.
Figure 1 illustrates the case where at the output of the DUT the bits are not only broadened
(in absence of PDL/PDG) but also distorted (in presence of PDL/PDG). In presence of PDL,
there is a loss of degree of polarization (DOP) for one PSP.

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