Alternative Dopants for Silica Fibre Amplifiers

Optical telecommunications systems benefit from well developed and efficient optical fibre amplifiers operating on relatively narrow bands. Recent improvements in silica fibres broadened their transmission window, allowing telecommunications almost anywhere within the 800 - 1700 nm window. Although already available amplified bandwidth is not fully used yet, long term basic research is needed to identify innovative, cheap, reliable fiber amplifiers on the already-covered bands, and offer amplification over a broader spectral width. Silica glass is preferred for cost effectiveness and reliability among alternative glass materials as hosts of amplifying ionic dopants, such as rare-earths. We will review on-going research projects on innovative amplifying dopants implemented in silica-based fibers, in the aim offer in the long term increased amplified bandwidth.