Title :
Unimpaired transmission through a bidirectional erbium-doped fiber amplifier near lasing threshold
Author :
Van Deventer, M. Oskar ; Koning, Oscar J.
Author_Institution :
KPN Res., R. PTT Nederland NV, Leidschendam, Netherlands
Abstract :
We present transmission experiments with an erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) without optical isolators, designed for bidirectional transmission. The combination of high gain and reflections/Rayleigh backscattering may result in laser action of the EDFA at the maximum-gain wavelength 1531 nm. It was demonstrated that wavelength-selective transmission at 1537 nm was unimpaired for G/sub 1531//sup 2/R/sub 1/R/sub 2//spl les/-15 dB. The gain saturation due to laser action and the multiple-reflection penalty were both less than 0.5 dB. A specification for the allowable maximum gain of a bidirectional EDFA is derived.<>
Keywords :
Rayleigh scattering; backscatter; erbium; fibre lasers; light reflection; light scattering; optical communication equipment; optical fibre networks; optical saturation; 1531 nm; 1537 nm; EDFA; Rayleigh backscattering; allowable maximum gain; bidirectional EDFA; bidirectional erbium-doped fiber amplifier; bidirectional transmission; gain saturation; high gain; laser action; lasing threshold; maximum-gain wavelength; multiple-reflection penalty; reflections; transmission experiments; unimpaired transmission; wavelength-selective transmission; Backscatter; Doped fiber amplifiers; Erbium; Erbium-doped fiber amplifier; Erbium-doped fiber lasers; Isolators; Optical design; Optical reflection; Optical saturation; Stimulated emission;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
