Title :
Gain enhancement in gain-shifted erbium-doped fiber amplifiers for WDM applications
Author_Institution :
Center for Opt., Photonics & Lasers, Laval Univ., Que., Canada
Abstract :
Utilization of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) for gain enhancement in gain-shifted erbium-doped fiber amplifier (GS-EDFA) is analyzed. It is shown that in a multiwavelength regime, gain enhancement as high as 5 dB can be achieved when the counterpropagating ASE is used to invert an unpumped first stage of a two-stage GS-EDFA. We present design criteria for flat gain operation and noise penalty minimization of two-stage GS-EDFAs determined for multiwavelength operation in the 1580-nm wavelength band. The analysis is based on an application of a comprehensive large-signal numerical model which takes into consideration propagation of signal, pump and both the downstream and upstream ASE powers.
Keywords :
erbium; laser beams; laser noise; optical fibre amplifiers; optical fibre communication; optical transmitters; superradiance; wavelength division multiplexing; 1580 nm; Er-doped fiber amplifiers; WDM applications; amplified spontaneous emission; counterpropagating amplified fiber amplifiers; design criteria; flat gain operation; gain enhancement; gain-shifted fiber amplifiers; large-signal numerical model; multiwavelength operation; multiwavelength regime; noise penalty minimization; Erbium-doped fiber amplifier; Fiber nonlinear optics; Optical feedback; Optical fiber amplifiers; Optical fiber communication; Optical fibers; Power conversion; Power generation; Spontaneous emission; Wavelength division multiplexing;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
