Receiver random jitter dependence on input power and a method to extract receiver bandwidth

Random-jitter contribution from an optical receiver is an important specification in a fiber-optic link. However, accurately specifying jitter is difficult due to a well-known dependence of random-jitter measurement results on input power. We are able to explain theoretically this dependence by considering the signal-to-noise ratio and the translation of intensity noise to time jitter through the slope of the rising-falling edge. This understanding leads to a novel way of determining the receiver bandwidth from the measured receiver random jitter and sensitivity.