IEC 61291-4:2008

IEC 61291-4
Edition 2.0 2008-07
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Optical amplifiers –
Part 4: Multichannel applications – Performance specification template

Amplificateurs optiques –
Partie 4: Applications aux canaux multiples – Modèle de spécification de
fonctionnement
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.

Droits de reproduction réservés. Sauf indication contraire, aucune partie de cette publication ne peut être reproduite
ni utilisée sous quelque forme que ce soit et par aucun procédé, électronique ou mécanique, y compris la photocopie
et les microfilms, sans l'accord écrit de la CEI ou du Comité national de la CEI du pays du demandeur.
Si vous avez des questions sur le copyright de la CEI ou si vous désirez obtenir des droits supplémentaires sur cette
publication, utilisez les coordonnées ci-après ou contactez le Comité national de la CEI de votre pays de résidence.

IEC Central Office
3, rue de Varembé
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
Email: inmail@iec.ch
Web: 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.
ƒ Catalogue of IEC publications: www.iec.ch/searchpub
The IEC on-line Catalogue enables you to search by a variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical committee,…).
It also gives information on projects, withdrawn and replaced publications.
ƒ IEC Just Published: www.iec.ch/online_news/justpub
Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published details twice a month all new publications released. Available
on-line and also by email.
ƒ Electropedia: www.electropedia.org
The world's leading online dictionary of electronic and electrical terms containing more than 20 000 terms and definitions
in English and French, with equivalent terms in additional languages. Also known as the International Electrotechnical
Vocabulary online.
ƒ Customer Service Centre: www.iec.ch/webstore/custserv
If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or need further assistance, please visit the Customer Service
Centre FAQ or contact us:
Email: csc@iec.ch
Tel.: +41 22 919 02 11
Fax: +41 22 919 03 00
A propos de la CEI
La Commission Electrotechnique Internationale (CEI) est la première organisation mondiale qui élabore et publie des
normes internationales pour tout ce qui a trait à l'électricité, à l'électronique et aux technologies apparentées.

A propos des publications CEI
Le contenu technique des publications de la CEI est constamment revu. Veuillez vous assurer que vous possédez
l’édition la plus récente, un corrigendum ou amendement peut avoir été publié.
ƒ Catalogue des publications de la CEI: www.iec.ch/searchpub/cur_fut-f.htm
Le Catalogue en-ligne de la CEI vous permet d’effectuer des recherches en utilisant différents critères (numéro de référence,
texte, comité d’études,…). Il donne aussi des informations sur les projets et les publications retirées ou remplacées.
ƒ Just Published CEI: www.iec.ch/online_news/justpub
Restez informé sur les nouvelles publications de la CEI. Just Published détaille deux fois par mois les nouvelles
publications parues. Disponible en-ligne et aussi par email.
ƒ Electropedia: www.electropedia.org
Le premier dictionnaire en ligne au monde de termes électroniques et électriques. Il contient plus de 20 000 termes et
définitions en anglais et en français, ainsi que les termes équivalents dans les langues additionnelles. Egalement appelé
Vocabulaire Electrotechnique International en ligne.
ƒ Service Clients: www.iec.ch/webstore/custserv/custserv_entry-f.htm
Si vous désirez nous donner des commentaires sur cette publication ou si vous avez des questions, visitez le FAQ du
Service clients ou contactez-nous:
Email: csc@iec.ch
Tél.: +41 22 919 02 11
Fax: +41 22 919 03 00
IEC 61291-4
Edition 2.0 2008-07
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Optical amplifiers –
Part 4: Multichannel applications – Performance specification template

Amplificateurs optiques –
Partie 4: Applications aux canaux multiples – Modèle de spécification de
fonctionnement
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
M
CODE PRIX
ICS 33.180.30 ISBN 2-8318-9941-9
– 2 – 61291-4 © IEC:2008
CONTENTS
FOREWORD.3
INTRODUCTION.5
1 Scope.6
2 Normative references.6
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations .6
3.1 Terms and definitions .6
3.2 Overview of multichannel definitions .6
3.3 Abbreviations.7
4 Product specification worksheet for booster (power) amplifiers (BA) .8
5 Product specification worksheet for pre-amplifiers (PA) .9
6 Product specification worksheet for line amplifiers (LA) .10
7 Electromagnetic compatibility requirements.12
Bibliography .13

Figure 1 – An optical amplifier in a multichannel application.7

Table 1 – Minimum list of relevant parameters of BA amplifiers to be specified for
multichannel applications .9
Table 2 – Minimum list of relevant parameters of pre-amplifiers to be specified for
multichannel applications .10
Table 3 – Minimum list of relevant parameters of line amplifiers to be specified for
multichannel applications .11

61291-4 © IEC:2008 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS –
Part 4: Multichannel applications –
Performance specification template

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 provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any
equipment declared to be in conformity with an IEC Publication.
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 61291-4 has been prepared by subcommittee 86C: Fibre optic
systems and active devices, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2003 and constitutes a
technical revision. The main significant changes are the following:
a) the applicability has been extended to all commercially available optical amplifiers, not just
optical fibre amplifiers;
b) Clause 7, EMC, has been added.
c) references to applicable test methods have been updated.

– 4 – 61291-4 © IEC:2008
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
CDV Report on voting
86C/774/CDV 86C/822A/RVC
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 61291-1. It was established on the basis of
the second (2006) edition of that standard.
A list of all parts in the IEC 61291 series, published under the general title Optical amplifiers,
can be found on the IEC website.
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.
61291-4 © IEC:2008 – 5 –
INTRODUCTION
This International Standard is devoted to the subject of optical amplifiers. The technology of
optical amplifiers is still rapidly evolving, hence amendments and new editions to this standard
can be expected. Each abbreviation introduced in this International Standard is generally
explained in the text the first time it appears. However, for an easier understanding of the
whole text, a list of abbreviations used in this International Standard is given in 3.3.

– 6 – 61291-4 © IEC:2008
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS –
Part 4: Multichannel applications –
Performance specification template

1 Scope
This part of IEC 61291 applies to optical amplifier (OA) devices and sub-systems to be used in
multichannel applications.
The object of this performance specification template is to provide a frame for the preparation
of detail specifications on the performances of OA devices and sub-systems to be used in
multichannel applications.
Detail product specification writers may add specification parameters and/or groups of
specification parameters for particular applications. However, detail specification writers may
not remove specification parameters specified in this standard.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application 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 60825-1, Safety of laser products – Part 1: Equipment classification and requirements
IEC 61290 (all parts), Optical amplifiers – Test methods
IEC 61291-1:2006, Optical amplifiers – Part 1: Generic specification
IEC 61291-5-2, Optical amplifiers – Part 5-2: Qualification specifications – Reliability
qualification for optical fibre amplifiers
NOTE A list of informative references is given in the bibliography.
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms, definitions and parameters given in IEC 61291-1
apply.
3.2 Overview of multichannel definitions
Parameters specified for optical devices are those characterizing the transmission, operation,
reliability and environmental properties of the OA device, which is seen as a black box from a
general point of view as defined in the generic specification IEC 61291-1.

61291-4 © IEC:2008 – 7 –
Each test method (OA test methods, IEC 61290 series) is generally given for the measurement
of a group of homogeneous parameters. The grouping of the homogeneous parameters is
given in Table 1 of the generic specification, IEC 61291-1, together with the corresponding test
method specification number.
Safety characteristics of optical amplifiers described in the present standard are provided in
IEC 60825-1.
A typical configuration of an OA in a multichannel application is reported in Figure 1. At the
transmitting side, m signals, coming from m optical transmitters, Tx1, Tx2, . . . Txm, each with a
unique wavelength, λ , λ , . . . λ , respectively, are combined by an optical multiplexer (OM).
1 2 m
At the receiving side, the m signals at λ , λ , . . . λ , are separated with an optical
1 2 m
demultiplexer (OD) and routed to separate optical receivers, Rx1, Rx2, . . . Rxm, respectively.
To characterize the OA in this multichannel application an input reference plane and an output
reference plane are defined at the OA input and output ports, respectively, as shown in Figure 1.

Input Output
Tx1 Rx1
reference reference
plane plane
Tx2 Rx2
OM OA OD
P P
i1 o1
P P
i2 o2
. . . . . .
Txm P P Rxm
im om
P (λ)
ASE
IEC  1283/08
Figure 1 – An optical amplifier in a multichannel application
At the input reference plane, m input signals at the m wavelengths are considered, each with a
unique power level, P , P , . . . P , respectively. At the output reference plane, m output
i1 i2 im
signals at the m wavelengths, resulting from the optical amplification of the corresponding m
input signals, are considered, each with power level P , P , . . . P , respectively. Moreover,
o1 o2 om
the amplified spontaneous emission, ASE, with a noise power spectral density, P (λ), is also
ASE
to be considered at the OA output port.
Most definitions of relevant parameters given in the generic specification IEC 61291-1 can be
suitably extended to multichannel applications. When this extension is straight forward, the
word “channel” will be added to the pertinent parameter. In particular, the noise figure and the
signal-spontaneous noise figure as defined in IEC 61291-1 may be extended to multichannel
applications, channel by channel, by considering the value of P (λ) at each channel
ASE
wavelength and the channel signal bandwidth. For each channel wavelength there will be a
unique value of noise figure that will be a function of the input power level of all signals. In this
case the parameters, channel noise figure and channel signal-spontaneous noise figure, are
introduced.
3.3 Abbreviations
ASE Amplified spontaneous emission
BA Booster (power) amplifier
– 8 – 61291-4 © IEC:2008
LA Line amplifier
na Not applicable
OA Optical amplifier
OFA Optical fibre amplifier
PA Pre-amplifier
PMD Polarization mode dispersion
4 Product specification worksheet for booster (power) amplifiers (BA)
The following worksheet contains a minimum list of specification parameters to be included in
product specifications of OA devices to be used as booster (power) amplifiers in multichannel
applications, together with their specification criteria (that is in terms of maximum value,
minimum value or both) and the indication of the corresponding standard test method.

61291-4 © IEC:2008 – 9 –
Table 1 – Minimum list of relevant parameters of BA amplifiers
to be specified for multichannel applications
Minimum Maximum
Parameters Unit Test method
value value
Channel allocation nm or THz  Under consideration
Channel input power range dBm  IEC 61290-10 series
Total input power range dBm  IEC 61290-10 series
Channel output power range dBm  IEC 61290-10 series
Maximum total output power dBm na IEC 61290-10 series
Channel addition/removal gain
dB na Under consideration
transient response
Transmission
Multichannel gain variation
characteristics
dB na IEC 61290-10 series
(gain flatness)
Channel signal-spontaneous
noise figure (channel noise dB na IEC 61290-3 series
figure)
Input reflectance dB na IEC 61290-5 series
Output reflectance dB na IEC 61290-5 series
Pump leakage to input (for OFA
dBm na IEC 61290-6 series
only)
Operating temperature range °C  IEC 61291-5-2
Maximum operating relative
% na IEC 61291-5-2
humidity
Range of
Hz
frequencies
Maximum
operating
Amplitude
IEC 61291-5-2
vibration mm p-p na
Peak-to-peak
severity
Environmental
parameters
Duration s na
Storage temperature range °C  IEC 61291-5-2
Maximum storage relative
% na IEC 61291-5-2
humidity
Maximum
shock
Drop height mm na IEC 61291-5-2
severity, free
drop
Safety
Safety laser classification na na IEC 60825-1
parameters
5 Product specification worksheet for pre-amplifiers (PA)
The following worksheet contains a minimum list of specification parameters to be included in
product specifications of OA devices to be used as pre-amplifiers in multichannel applications,
together with their specification criteria (that is in terms of maximum value, minimum value
or both) and the indication of the corresponding standard test method.

– 10 – 61291-4 © IEC:2008
Table 2 – Minimum list of relevant parameters of pre-amplifiers
to be specified for multichannel applications
Minimum Maximum
Parameters Unit Test method
value value
Channel allocation nm or THz  Under consideration
Channel input power range dBm  IEC 61290-10 series
Total input power range dBm  IEC 61290-10 series
Channel output power range dBm  IEC 61290-10 series
Maximum total output power dBm na IEC 61290-10 series
Channel addition/removal
dB na Under consideration
transient gain response
Transmission
Channel signal-spontaneous
dB na IEC 61290-3 series
characteristics
noise figure
Channel gain dB na IEC 61290-10 series
Multichannel gain variation (gain
dB na IEC 61290-10 series
flatness)
Input reflectance dB na IEC 61290-5 series
Output reflectance dB na IEC 61290-5 series
Pump leakage to output (for
dBm na IEC 61290-6 series
OFA only)
Operating temperature range °C  IEC 61291-5-2
Maximum operating relative
% na IEC 61291-5-2
humidity
Range of
Hz
frequencies
Maximum
operating
Amplitude IEC 61291-5-2
vibration mm na
peak-to-peak
severity
Environmental
Duration s na
parameters
Storage temperature range °C  IEC 61291-5-2
Maximum storage relative
% na IEC 61291-5-2
humidity
Maximum
shock
Drop height mm na IEC 61291-5-2
severity, free
drop
Safety
Laser safety classification na na IEC 60825-1
parameters
6 Product specification worksheet for line amplifiers (LA)
The following worksheet contains a minimum list of specification parameters to be included in
product specifications of OA devices to be used as line amplifiers in multichannel applications,
together with their specification criteria (that is in terms of maximum value, minimum value or
both) and the indication of the corresponding standard test method.

61291-4 © IEC:2008 – 11 –
Table 3 – Minimum list of relevant parameters of line amplifiers
to be specified for multichannel applications
Minimum Maximum
Parameters Unit Test method
value value
Under
Channel allocation nm or THz
consideration
IEC 61290-10
Channel input power range dBm
series
IEC 61290-10
Total input power range dBm
series
IEC 61290-10
Channel output power range dBm
series
IEC 61290-10
Maximum total output power dBm na
series
Channel signal-spontaneous noise
dB na IEC 61290-3 series
figure (channel noise figure)
Transmission
characteristics Multichannel gain variation (gain IEC 61290-10
dB na
flatness) series
Channel addition/removal transient Under
dB na
gain response consideration
IEC 61290-10
Multichannel gain tilt dB/dB
series
IEC 61290-10
Channel gain dB
series
Input reflectance dB na IEC 61290-5 series
Output reflectance dB na IEC 61290-5 series
Polarisation mode dispersion IEC 61290-11
ps na
(PMD) series
Operating temperature range °C  IEC 61291-5-2
Maximum operating relative
% na IEC 61291-5-2
humidity
Range of frequencies Hz
Maximum
operating Amplitude peak-to-
IEC 61291-5-2
mm na
vibration peak
E
...