Receivers

doi:10.1117/3.1445658.ch11

Receivers

Book: Understanding Fiber Optics, Fifth Edition

Author(s): Jeff Hecht

Published: 2015

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.1445658.ch11

Abstract

A fiber-optic receiver converts the optical signal transmitted through a fiber into an electronic form that can serve as input to other devices or communication systems at the receiver end of the system. This device contains two essential components—a detector, which converts an optical input into an electronic signal, and receiver electronics, which convert the raw detector output into a form usable by other equipment. In practice, this conversion may require some processing of the signal. After defining the concept o f receiver, this chapter first describes optical detectors, then covers their electronic functions. The chapter closes with examples of receiver circuits. Optical amplifiers and wavelength-division multiplexing, which sometimes are used at the receiver end of the system, are covered in Chapters 12 and 15, respectively.