Automated
Optical Test System
This project was for the software integration of an automated optical
measuring system, which was able to calculate the insertion losses for
a number of optical devices across a range of light wavelengths at a resolution
of up to 0.001nm. The system included the calibration of a polarisation
controller, which allowed the filtering of the light into its separate
planes and included a lightwave switch for the testing of optical splitters.The
entire system was controlled using LabVIEW allowing for precision, speed
of testing and automation.
The front user-panel was built for ease of use and allowed for a clear and logical initial set-up with the ability to save and reload any regularly used configurations. The set-up was put together on an air table to reduce any potential vibrations and an automated XYZ nano-positioning controller was used to position the waveguides, which were coupled using the “Butt” coupling technique. Each of the instruments were connected through a GPIB bus and the results published straight to excel in a professional format. There was also the inclusion of a graphs tab so that the current positions and each of the switches could be monitored in a real-time mode.
The test system included:
- Agilent
11896A Polarisation Controller
- Intun
500 Tuneable Laser Source with laser aperture
- Agilent 8606C 1-24 way Optical Light Switch
- Inclusion of Melles Griot 17PCZ001 Piezoelectric Controller with feedback
- HP 8153A
Lightwave Multimeter
- AQ4321D Tuneable Laser Source