Title :
Studying pump light-induced darkening in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers with optical time domain reflectometry
Author :
Broer, M.M. ; Simpson, J.R. ; DiGiovanni, D.J.
Author_Institution :
AT&T Bell Labs., Murray Hill, NJ, USA
Abstract :
A simple technique using optical time domain reflectometry at 1300 nm was developed to measure possible 1480 nm pump light-induced darkening in erbium optical fiber amplifiers. A single Er/sup 3+/-doped fiber (EDF) was spliced between two undoped fibers and continuously exposed to approximately 0.7 MW/cm/sup 2/ at 1480 nm. The attenuation of the EDF was periodically monitored for any transmission changes. During a period of 85 days no change was observed within the long term accuracy of this method ( approximately=0.02 dB).<>
Keywords :
erbium; fibre lasers; light transmission; optical losses; optical pumping; optical time-domain reflectometry; 1300 nm; 1480 nm; 85 days; Er doped fibre amplifiers; OTDR; attenuation; average loss; long term accuracy; optical darkening; optical time domain reflectometry; pump light-induced darkening; transmission changes; undoped fibers; Erbium-doped fiber amplifier; Optical attenuators; Optical fiber amplifiers; Optical fiber couplers; Optical fiber polarization; Optical fiber testing; Optical fibers; Optical pumping; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Stimulated emission;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
