IEC 61290-3-2:2026

IEC 61290-3-2:2026 applies to all commercially available optical amplifiers (OAs), including OAs using optically pumped fibres (i.e. optical fibre amplifiers (OFAs) based on either rare-earth doped fibres or on the Raman effect), semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), and planar waveguide optical amplifiers (PWOAs).
This document defines requirements for accurate and reliable measurements of the noise figure parameters of OAs by means of the electrical spectrum analyser (ESA) method. The noise figure parameters of OAs are defined in IEC 61291-1.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
a) shortening and clarification of the scope in Clause 1;
b) update of the normative references in Clause 2;
c) deletion of duplicate instructions in 7.2 to measure the time-average input power;
d) deletion of unused symbols in 3.3 and addition of new symbol.