Methods and apparatus for optical modulation amplitude measurement

An article of manufacture for measuring an optical modulation amplitude (OMA) value associated with an input signal, comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the step of:

• in response to the application of the input signal to a photodetector, wherein the photodetector is calibrated to have a given responsivity value R, and further wherein the photodetector generates an output signal in response to the input signal, and application of the output signal from the photodetector to a radio frequency (RF) power meter, wherein the RF power meter measures the root mean squared (RMS) power value of the output signal received from the photodetector;
• determining the OMA value associated with the input signal in response to the root mean squared (RMS) power value measured by the RF power meter.

A method of measuring an optical modulation amplitude (OMA) value associated with an input signal, comprising the steps of:

• obtaining the input signal;
• and
• determining the OMA value associated with the input signal by converting a root mean squared (RMS) power value measured from the input signal as a function of a factor F, wherein an optimum value for factor F is a value which when used to convert from RMS power to OMA gives an OMA value that is in substantial agreement with an OMA value that would have been obtained using a standards-specified method.