In this paper we propose a simple divided spectrum balanced detection (DSBD) for spectral amplitudecoding (SAC) optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) systems. SAC OCDMA systems are limited byphase induced intensity noise (PIIN), which is a signal dependent source of noise. Our proposed techniquereduces the PIIN by dividing the spectrum of the signal into two or more, and detecting each spectrumby a different photodiode. The DSBD scheme reduces the detected optical power at photodetection, thusresulting in a higher mitigation of the PIIN. Theoretical results show that DSBD demonstrate noticeableimprovement over traditional balanced detection technique, for example an up to 33 increase in thenumber of active users can be achieved, and at least 1 � 10-3b/s Hz increase in the spectral efficiency isobtained. However, the SDBD is more complex and append more constrains on system components. © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.