Tutorial on Raman and Cladding-Pumped Fiber Amplifiers and Lasers

Summary form only given, as follows. Due to its versatility, Raman amplification is certain to play an ever increasing role in optical communication systems. In this tutorial, we will review the fundamentals of Raman amplification in optical fibers. The issues of conversion efficiency, noise, and pump sources will be discussed. The evolution of Raman amplifiers, discrete and distributed, and recent experimental results will be described.