modal noise

[¦mōd·əl ′nȯiz]

(communications)

Interference of a multimode optical communications fiber with a laser light source when a speckle pattern in the light intensity in the fiber alters because of motion of the fiber or changes in the laser spectrum. Also known as modal distortion.

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modal distortion

References in periodicals archive ?

However, most fibers suffer from an internal source of noise, which is called "modal noise," resulting from the light interfering with itself.

Capturing starlight helps detect planets

insertion loss and modal noise and enable high performance applications such as

R&M keeps an eye on the future

It is billed as providing "a comprehensive discussion of the statistical properties of speckle, as well as detailed coverage of its role in applications." The varied topics include speckle in astronomy, speckle in the eye, speckle in projection displays, speckle in coherence tomography, speckle in lithography, speckle in waveguides (modal noise), speckle in optical radar detection, and speckle in metrology.