A method for measuring the frequency response of photodetector modules using twice-modulated light

In this paper, a novel method is proposed for measuring the frequency response of a photodetector (PD) and its associated amplifier, which is called a PD module in this paper, by using light whose intensity is modulated twice. A distinctive feature of the twice-modulated light is that it contains two frequency components that essentially have equal intensities. A measurement system was constructed consisting of an He-Ne laser source and two acoustooptic modulators to verify the method. This study shows the resolution to a problem caused by the use of acoustooptic modulators (AOMs). This method can be readily used for determining the frequency responses of a PD module in the frequency range of up to tens of megaHertz.