Title :
OTDR in optical transmission systems using Er-doped fiber amplifiers containing optical circulators
Author :
Sato, Yoshiaki ; Aoyama, Koh-ichi
Author_Institution :
NTT Transmission Syst. Lab., Kanagawa, Japan
Abstract :
Fault location in optical amplifier transmission systems is described. Optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) cannot be used for an optical transmission line containing traditional Er-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) because they contain optical isolators. The authors propose an OTDR scheme that uses new EDFAs containing optical circulators and return transmission lines. The new EDFAs support both OTDR and digital signal transmission. A 280.9 km transmission line containing three of the proposed EDFAs was constructed and tested. Experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of OTDR fault location and 1.8-Gb/s digital signal transmission.<>
Keywords :
erbium; fault location; fibre lasers; optical communication equipment; optical fibres; optical links; optical testing; time-domain reflectometry; 1.8 Gbit/s; 280.9 km; Er-doped fiber amplifiers; OTDR; digital signal transmission; fault location; optical circulators; optical transmission systems; return transmission lines; Circulators; Erbium-doped fiber amplifier; Fault location; Isolators; Optical amplifiers; Reflectometry; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Stimulated emission; Time domain analysis; Transmission lines;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
