Optical modulating and amplifying apparatus capable of achieving modulation with high signal-to-noise ratio

摘要

An optical modulating and amplifying apparatus includes an optical amplifier and a modulator. In the apparatus, an input optical signal and an excited light are combined with each other to produce an output light signal. The excited light from a laser diode is sensed by a photodiode. The sense signal includes a bias and an amplitude to be respectively detected by a mean value sensor and a modulation signal sensor. A modulation degree of the excited light is computed by a divider. A control signal to develop a predetermined modulation degree is delivered from a control signal generator to a variable gain amplifier. In response to the control signal, the amplifier controls the amplitude of the oscillation signal from an oscillator. A laser diode driver adds a bias to the oscillation signal to drive the laser diode. The modulation degree is kept unchanged regardless of variation in an output level of the excited light so as to achieve the modulation with a high signal-to- noise ratio.