The document discusses different types of optical light sources used in optical communication systems, including LEDs, SLEDs, ELEDs, laser diodes, and tunable lasers. LEDs produce incoherent light and are used in multimode systems, while laser diodes produce coherent light and are used in single mode systems. Laser diodes must operate above the lasing threshold to produce stimulated emission, otherwise they function as LEDs. Tunable lasers can produce variable wavelength output, making them suitable for multi-wavelength transmission systems.