APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR QUALIFYING LIGHT SOURCES FOR USE IN OPTICAL FIBER COMMUNICATIONS

An infrared wave front phase analyzer that can be used for measuring the wave front phase of laser diode (LD) beam to provide a quality characterization specification for the LD chips that are intended for use in optical sub-assemblies (OSAs), which has applications in optical transceiver manufacturing and fiber optic communications. An optical system mimics the OSA and includes optical elements to collect and collimate the LD output beam and to focus the collimated beam through a focus, which could otherwise be into the end of an optical fiber, before re-collimating the laser beam for evaluation by a wave front sensor. This imaging process measures a wave front of the output beam, yielding a quality specification of the LD for screening out the out-of-spec LDs in advance of their assembly within TOSA/BOSA manufacturing to lower production costs.