Abstract

The proliferation of optical fiber systems has spawned a variety of optical power meters. These meters are important to the analysis and maintenance of fiber communication systems. One obvious attendant concern is with the uncertainty of the meter readings. In this paper, we give the results of an interlaboratory test conducted to circumscribe and define the extent of the problem. The test yielded 46 data points from 11 participants collected over a period of ∼9 months. The results indicate that the variation in power meter readings taken in different laboratories is unreasonably large. The variance improved when measurements taken with very small detectors were excluded from the data base. This suggests that errors are being made in the collection of power in typical laboratory environments.

© 1986 Optical Society of America

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