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Measuring Laser Drift 3-15
Measuring Laser Drift
In this section, you'll learn how the WDM channel ana-
lyzer can be used to monitor drift (changes to the wave-
length and amplitude of a laser over time). Drift is
measured simultaneously for every laser line. The WDM
channel analyzer keeps track of the initial, current, min-
imum, and maximum values of each laser line and dis-
plays their differences relative to itself. This allows the
WDM channel analyzer to be used for laser transmitter
evaluation, burn-in, or development. In addition, you
can monitor system performance over time, tempera-
ture, or other conditions.
The following display shows power and wavelength drift
measured on five laser lines. The DRIFT annotation
tells you that drift measurements are being performed.
The current relative drift values for wavelength and
power are shown. The absolute reference values are
shown for the laser line indicated by the cursor
.
The reference values are measured before the measure-
ment starts.
You can restart the drift measurement at any time by
pressing the RESET softkey. All minimum and maximum
values are reset to the reference values, and the WDM
channel analyzer begins to monitor drift from the cur-
rent laser line values. Move the cursor up and down the
listing to see the reference wavelength and power of
each laser line.
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