Generation of excess low frequency noise on an optical source

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of impressing an excess low frequency (ELF) noise on an optical source. The authors do not much care what the noise intensity is, in what domain the noise is originally generated, or precisely what the noise power spectral density is, so long as the noise is ELF noise, i.e., noise that is predominantly low frequency in character. Clearly, this task is easiest when the optical source is readily electrically modulatable, as is the case for continuous wave (CW) lasers, LEDs, and hollow cathode lamps. The authors demonstrate several simple ways to generate ELF noise on several optical sources.