Components and systems for AM optical fiber links

Summary form only given. Analog optical transmission of video signals with distributed feedback lasers is briefly reported. Link quality is determined primarily by the noise and linearity of the laser and is characterized by the carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), composite second-order distortion (CSO), and composite triple beat (CTB). Measurements were made using multiple continuous wave carriers input to the laser. Among the best results reported are a CNR of 55 dB, a CSO of 65 dBc, and a CTB of 71 dBc for a link loss of 5 dB (12-km fiber) and for 42 channels. End-of-life chip aging data with 16 devices and 3000 h of accelerated aging data with an additional 16 devices reveal a mean time to failure which is conservatively estimated at >25 years. When operated with live video signals, links typically show all improvement of 12 dBc in CTB and 6-12 dBc in CSO. Using a dual pumping configuration of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), a total output power of 16 mW was achieved.<>