Gain and Noise figure performance of erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) and Compact EDFAs

In this paper, we compare the Gain and Noise figure characteristics of physical EDFAs and Compact EDFAs in an optical system consisting of cascade of both the amplifiers. We demonstrate the gain, noise figure variations of a forward pumped EDFA and Compact EDFAs as functions of Er³⁺ fiber length, injected pump power and up-conversion co-efficient. It is observed that the gain becomes constant when the length of both the amplifiers reaches above 20 m. The comparison shows that the higher gain with flatter output is obtained in case of Compact EDFAs than Physical EDFAs in a system consisting of chain of both the amplifiers. It is further investigated that the agreement between the Compact and Physical EDFA models is good up to 10 m with the no up-conversion co-efficient. Also, the noise figure obtained in case of Physical EDFA is higher than Compact EDFAs when same amplifier length is more than 20 m and then becomes constant for both the amplifiers.     

Suppression of Output Power and NF Excursions in Cascades of Highly Inverted EDFAs with Packet-Switched Traffic

Significant output power excursions in cascades of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) can cause serious problems in wavelength division multilexing (WDM) packet-switched burst-mode networks. Signal power excursions more serious than those induced by channel addition/removal in circuit switched networks can arise when data on the WDM channels is highly variable in nature. Self-similar traffic can be subject to large variation in EDFA gain. In order to prevent unacceptable error bursts, due, for example, to channel power becoming too low to preserve adequate eye opening or exceeding thresholds for optical nonlinearities, the channel power should be maintained constant. In this letter, it is shown that the sizable power and noise figure swings arising in a cascade of EDFAs with WDM burst-mode packet-switched networks with self-similar traffic can be effectively suppressed when highly inverted amplifiers are employed. The analysis is based on the application of a numerical model, which solves the transcendental equation for length averaged metastable level population of an EDFA.     

Suppression of Output Power and NF Excursions in Cascades of Highly Inverted EDFAs with Packet-Switched Traffic

Significant output power excursions in cascades of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) can cause serious problems in wavelength division multilexing (WDM) packet-switched burst-mode networks. Signal power excursions more serious than those induced by channel addition/removal in circuit switched networks can arise when data on the WDM channels is highly variable in nature. Self-similar traffic can be subject to large variation in EDFA gain. In order to prevent unacceptable error bursts, due, for example, to channel power becoming too low to preserve adequate eye opening or exceeding thresholds for optical nonlinearities, the channel power should be maintained constant. In this letter, it is shown that the sizable power and noise figure swings arising in a cascade of EDFAs with WDM burst-mode packet-switched networks with self-similar traffic can be effectively suppressed when highly inverted amplifiers are employed. The analysis is based on the application of a numerical model, which solves the transcendental equation for length averaged metastable level population of an EDFA.     

Diode-lasers based apparatus and method for single-mode fibers spectral splice loss measurements

Arc-discharge fusion splicing is widely used in the telecommunication industry for joining single-mode optical fibers to Er-doped fiber coils. These coils are used as the gain medium in erbium-doped amplifiers (EDFAs). The quality and integrity of splicing these coils to fibers can impact key EDFA performance parameters. This article describes an automated splice loss and Er-doped fiber absorption measurement system. The measurement system is equipped with 1310, 1550 and 1563 nm DFB lasers, broadband light source, InGaAs detectors and fiber-optic internal standards. Furthermore, the article describes a method for measuring splice loss between Er-doped fiber and the fibers spliced to coil ends. The system controls splice loss between SM-28 or HI980 fiber and Er-doped fiber to 0.094 ± 0.052 dB at 1550 nm. Moreover, the system can measure accurately Er-doped fiber absorption to within ±3.19% at 1563 nm.     

The temperature dependency of EDFAs in the 1480 nm pumping configuration

A theoretical study of the temperature-dependent gain and noise figure effects on erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) pumped at 1480 nm is investigated, solving the propagation equations related to two level systems. The solution of these equations is based on the population and temperature difference among amplification levels. The temperature-dependent propagation equation considered is used to determine the gain and noise figure effects on EDFAs. The population difference depends on pump and signal powers, Boltzmann factor K_B, cross-sections, noise figure (NF) and Er³⁺ concentration. The temperature-dependent gain and noise figure effect the EDFA length are numerically obtained for the temperature range of −20 °C to +60 °C. All of the analyses consist of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) effect.     

Gain characteristics of a 210 km hybrid Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplified loop

As an alternative to using gain flattening filters or other optical devices that add attenuation to balance the gain in the optical spectrum, we have studied the effects of combining gain from Raman amplifiers and erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) in a fiber recirculating loop. We have shown a parameter range for which the gain profile is flat, and have analyzed the variation of the gain tilt as a function of the individual contributions of the Raman and EDFA amplifiers.     

Design and fabrication of an intrinsically gain flattened Erbium doped fiber amplifier

We report design and subsequent fabrication of an intrinsically gain flattened Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) based on a highly asymmetrical and concentric dual-core fiber, inner core of which was only partially doped. Phase-resonant optical coupling between the two cores was so tailored through optimization of its refractive index profile parameters that the longer wavelengths within the C-band experience relatively higher amplification compared to the shorter wavelengths thereby reducing the difference in the well-known tilt in the gains between the shorter and longer wavelength regions. The fabricated EDFA exhibited a median gain ?28 dB (gain excursion below ±2.2 dB within the C-band) when 16 simultaneous standard signal channels were launched by keeping the I/P level for each at −20 dBm/channel. Such EDFAs should be attractive for deployment in metro networks, where economics is a premium, because it would cut down the cost on gain flattening filter head.     

The L-band EDFA of high clamped gain and low noise figure implemented using fiber Bragg grating and double-pass method

The L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) of low noise figure and high clamped-gain using gain-clamped and double-pass configuration is presented in this paper. A total of five different configurations of EDFAs by reflection scheme with single forward pumping schemes are examined and compared here. Among these configurations, we first find the configuration of 1480-nm pumped L-band EDFA with optimum gain and noise figure value. To further minimize the gain variation, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with 1615-nm center wavelength and 1-nm bandwidth is determined and added in double-pass L-band EDFA. The gain variation and maximum noise figure of EDFA while channel dropping is investigated. As the number of channel dropping from 32 to 4, the L-band type-A EDFA keep the variation of gain within 2.9 dB and the maximum noise figure below 5 dB with each channel’s input power of −23 dBm.     

基于长周期光纤光栅滤波器的掺铒光纤放大器理论和实验研究

从理论和实验上研究了带有高频二氧化碳激光写入的低成本长周期光纤光栅（LPFG）掺铒光纤放大器（EDFA）.结果表明,单波长和多波长EDFA的性能都可以通过在掺铒光纤（EDF）中插入长周期光纤光栅用作自发辐射噪声（ASE）滤波器或增益平坦器来提高性能.优化设计了带LPFG噪声滤波器的线放EDFA,与没有LPFG噪声滤波器相比,线放的噪声和小信号增益分别被减小和提高了约0.5 dB和7 dB。通过在多波长EDFA的EDF中插入一个LPFG增益平坦滤波器的方法,获得了1.5 dB的增益平坦度,与没有LPFG平坦器相比,EDFA的噪声被减小了0.1 dB,增益被提高了1 dB.     

Gain enhancement of L-band EDFA by using residual pump power in a three-stage configuration

This paper presents an idea of using residual pump power for implementation of low-noise and high-gain L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). A single pump laser is employed to pump the first-stage EDFA, which serves as a low-noise preamplifier, in the proposed three-stage EDFA system. The residual pump power unabsorbed by the preamplifier is directed to pump the subsequent EDF. Experimental results show that gain enhancement of up to 8 dB with respect to conventional EDFAs can be achieved by using the proposed low-noise EDFA.     

基于新型长周期光纤光栅的掺铒光纤放大器

报道了基于高频CO₂激光脉冲写入的新型长周期光纤光栅的低噪音掺铒光纤放大器,这种新型长周期光纤光栅是用大约几千Hz的高频CO₂激光脉冲对光纤玻璃热冲击作用而形成的.在铒纤中插入一个长周期光纤光栅,会明显减少掺铒光纤放大器的放大自发辐射(ASE)噪音.报道了两种低噪音掺铒光纤放大器,作为前置放大器和线路放大器,它们的ASE噪音指数分别从4.0 dB减少到3.5 dB和从4.8 dB减少到4.3 dB,并且在作为线放时,其小信号增益从30 dB提高到37 dB,降噪及提高增益效应十分显著.     

Gain optimization of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier and two-stage gain-flattened EDFA with 45 nm flat bandwidth in the L-band

An erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is simulated. The variation of gain with different parameters is obtained and the values of these parameters are optimized to achieve a maximum value of gain. A two-stage gain-flattened EDFA consisting of two EDFAs in series is also simulated. In the operating range of 1565-1610 nm, the flat gain of 46 dB is obtained.     

An optimal burst assembly approach employing traffic shaping (OBATS) for OBS

Optical burst switching (OBS) aims at combining the strengths of packet and circuit switching and is considered as a promising technology for implementing the next generation optical Internet, required to cope with the rapid growth of Internet traffic and the increased deployment of new services. In this paper, an optimal burst assembly approach employing traffic shaping (OBATS) for OBS networks has been proposed in order to improve network performance in terms of reduced blocking probability, congestion control and better utilization of bandwidth. Particularly, the proposed scheme aims at reducing the average delay experienced by the packets during the burstification process in optical burst switched (OBS) networks, for a given average size of the bursts produced. Reducing the packet burstification delay, for a given average burst size, is essential for real-time applications; correspondingly, increasing the average burst size for a given packet burstification delay is important for reducing the number of bursts injected into the network and the associated overhead imposed on the core nodes. Simulation results show that the proposed burst assembly approach gives better network performance in terms of burst drop, resource contention and delay as compared to conventional burst assembly approaches.     

Investigation of the optical gain and noise figure for multi-channel amplification in EDFA under optimized pump condition

We present the results of an investigation of optical gain and noise figure for simultaneous multi-channel amplification of an erbium doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) under optimized pump condition. Different pump configurations with varying input signal levels show interesting features on gain flatness. In the experiment, population inversion along the fibre length which determines the gain-spectra and noise characteristics of the amplifier is adjusted through optimized fibre length and injected pump power in order to minimize the gain-tilt at C-band. It is observed that bi-directional pumping manifests the best combination of low noise and high gain of EDFA which are useful as in-line repeaters in WDM network. We obtain 30 ± 1.5 dB intrinsically flat small signal gain from 1538 nm to 1558 nm band of wavelength with noise figure <4 dB for 16-channel simultaneous amplification in a single stage EDFA without gain flattening filter.     

Optimizing amplifier spacing to improve performance in RZ-rectangular pulse based 10 Gb/s single channel dispersion managed optical communication system

In this paper, we optimize the inter-amplifier spacing in combination with duty cycle of RZ data format and EDFAs power so that link length of system can be maximized. The results for EDFA amplifier placement in 10 Gbps single channel dispersion managed optical communication system have been presented. By increasing the length of standard single mode fiber of dispersion 16 ps/nm/km in proportion to the increase in length of compensating fiber of dispersion −80 ps/nm/km, the pre-, post- and symmetrical-dispersion compensation schemes of the system have been compared. Further, schemes are observed at 8, 10 and 12 dBm values of EDFA power in the link with different duty cycle values of RZ optical pulse in the range of 0.2-0.8 with step size of 0.2 in relation to amplifier spacing to get lower value of bit error rate and timing jitter. The graphical results obtained show strong relationship among duty cycle of RZ optical pulse, EDFA power and, dispersion compensation scheme.     

双向掺铒光纤放大器的特性分析

讨论了双向掺铒光纤放大器的结构方案,利用考虑放大的自发辐和北员耗影响的双向掺铒光纤放大器稳态放大速率方程模型分析的增益与掺铒光纤长度、输入信号光功率、帛运光功率及抽运方式等参数之间的关系,研究了单向和双向等功率抽运下正反向噪声系数随正反向信号光输入功率的变化行为。     

Feed-forward control of SOA gain for power equalization in optical burst switching networks

We evaluate the performance of a novel technique to equalize power variation between optical bursts using feed-forward control of semiconductor optical amplifier gain. The technique enables large dynamic range power equalization of incoming optical bursts with up to 10 dB power difference. Moreover, the technique can remove SOA-induced waveform distortion. We achieve more than 4 dB sensitivity improvement with equalized burst power.     

Performance of optical amplifier employing silica host magnesium-aluminum-germanium co-doped erbium-doped fiber

Two silica host magnesium(Mg)-aluminum(Al)-germanium(Ge) co-doped erbium-doped fibers (EDFs)have been fabricated, which have different Mg concentrations. The concentration of all the compositions in the preform is measured through electronics probe micro analysis (EPMA). The maximum Mg concentrations of fibers A and B are 3.98 and 1.28 mol%, respectively. The performance characteristics including absorption spectrum and gain are measured and analyzed. The absorption coefficients of fibers A and B are 13.3 and 14.3 dB/m respectively at wavelength of 1532 nm. The max gains of these two erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are 30.1 and 35.9 dB with input signal power of -30 dBm and pump power of 100 mW at 980 nm. Fiber B with maximum Mg concentration 1.28 mol% has better performance than fiber A. Fiber B has high absorption coefficient and high gain characteristics. The optimum fiber B length of C-band EDFA is 7 m and that of L-Band EDFA is about 30 m, which is much shorter than standard commercial EDFAs. The result of experiments showed that a few Mg added to silica host EDF can increase the concentration of erbium ions, which will shorten the EDF length much, but not degrade the performance characteristics.     

Modeling and optimizing of low-repetition-rate high-energy pulse amplification in high-concentration erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

Starting from the modeling of isolated ions and ion-pairs, a closed form rate and power evolution equations for pulse amplification in high-concentration erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are constructed. According to the equations, the effects of ion-pairs on the performance of a high-concentration EDFA in steady state including upper-state population, ASE powers without input signal are analyzed numerically. Furthermore, the effects of ion-pairs on the dynamic characteristics of low-repetition-rate pulse amplification in the EDFA including the storied energy, output pulse energy and evolution of pulse waveform distortion are systematically studied by using the finite-difference method. The results show that the presence of the ion-pairs deteriorates amplifier performance, such as the upper-state population, ASE power, storied energy, output pulse energy, and saturated gain, etc. For the high-concentration EDFA, the optimum fiber length should be modified to achieve a better performance. The relations between the evolution of pulse waveform distortion or output pulse energy and the input pulse peak power are also discussed. The results can provide important guide for the design and optimization of the low-repetition-rate pulse amplification in high-concentration EDFAs.     

PSA高速常规单模光纤通信系统的传输性能及其与EDFA系统的比较

本文采用计算机系统仿真的方法研究了应用相敏光放大器(PSA)并附加DCF色散补偿的高速常规单模光纤通信系统的传输性能,并和相同速率的掺铒光纤放大器(EDFA)系统进行了比较.研究着重于传输速率、放大器间距对系统码间干扰限制距离的影响.结果表明PSA系统比EDFA系统更适合于高速率传输并具有更长的传输距离.而且,对PSA系统,在放大器增益正好补偿光纤损耗的条件下,存在一相应于最大码间干扰限制距离的最佳放大器间距.