Abstract

Accurate power budget estimation of fiber-optic subsystem links containing star couplers requires a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the optical performance of the specific coupler type to be used and the interactions between the coupler and other components. It is not sufficient to con- sider only the commonly specified coupler excess loss and splitting loss. Table I is a link budget analysis for a data bus containing a 32 X 32 port star coupler. The analysis considers the maximum and minimum insertion loss values for the link components. An individual optical path is comprised of a source, transmitter connector, cable length, star coupler input connector, star coupler, star coupler output connector, cable length, receiver connector, and detector.

© 1984 Optical Society of America