Agilent Technologies 83438A Manual

A SERVICE OF

next previous

2-7

Making Measurements

Ambient Light Suppression

Ambient Light Suppression

Ambient light can add significant errors to optical power measurements. This

is especially true when you are using or characterizing open beam devices.

The following example shows how the combination of the Agilent 83438A and

an Agilent 71450/1/2B optical spectrum analyzer can be used to eliminate this

error.

In order to perform this measurement, the Agilent 83438A’s output is modu-

lated at 270 Hz. Because the optical spectrum analyzer has the ability to syn-

chronize its data acquisition with the modulated light, it can subtract out the

effects of ambient light. To learn more about using the optical spectrum ana-

lyzer’s adc trigger feature, refer to Agilent Technologies Product Note

71452–4, “Pulsed or Time-Dependent Optical Spectra Measurements.”