Far-field scanning apparatus and method for rapid measurement of light source characteristics with high dynamic range

摘要

A method and apparatus for rapid measurements of far-field radiation profiles having a large dynamic range from an optical source is disclosed. Some embodiments of the apparatus include a collector coupled to a rotating hub so that the rotation of an entrance to the collector defines a plane, a detector coupled to receive light captured at the entance to the collector, and detector electronics having a programmable gain coupled to receive a signal from the detector. In order to obtain a large dynamic range, far-field data from the optical source is taken at a number of gain settings of the detector electronics and a compiled far-field radiaton profile is constructed. Characterizing parameters for the optical source, such as fiber parameters for an optical fiber, can be calculated based on the compiled far-field radiation profile.