Patent attributes
An optical signal generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept includes a first optical intensity modulator for modulating a first optical signal to generate a 2N-level (where N is a positive integer) second optical signal in the form of a binary signal, a first optical amplifier for amplifying the second optical signal to generate a third optical signal, and a second optical intensity modulator for modulating the third optical signal to generate a 2N+1-level fourth optical signal in the form of a binary signal. The optical signal generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept may generate a low-cost, high-quality optical signal by using an optical device to generate a multi-level optical signal. Additionally, the optical signal generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the inventive concept may generate a multi-level optical signal by sequentially performing optical modulation and optical amplification operations.