Requirements for Efficient Raman Amplification and Dispersion Compensation Using Microstructured Optical Fibers

The design and performance of microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) for simultaneous dispersion compensation and Raman amplification is numerically investigated. We studied a lumped Raman amplifier designed to compensate the signal loss and dispersion introduced by a 100-km, 16-channel C-band WDM link. The impairments induced by the nonlinearities caused by the small mode area of the designed MOF are investigated and the analysis is extended to include non-ideal factors such as excess background losses, splice loss, and the geometry variations during the fabrication process. The results are discussed and compared to those obtained for conventional dispersion compensating fibers (DCFs).