Continuous-wave fiber optical parametric wavelength converter with +40-dB conversion efficiency and a 3.8-dB noise figure

We have obtained 40 dB of internal (on-off) conversion gain and a sub-4-dB noise figure (NF) with a continuous-wave (cw) fiber optical parametric wavelength converter. To our knowledge, this is the lowest NF reported for any cw wavelength converter. We have also investigated the properties of NF versus signal input power and pump power.     

Noise-figure limit of fiber-optical parametric amplifiers and wavelength converters: experimental investigation

Recent theoretical work predicts that the quantum-limited noise figure of a x(3)-based fiber-optical parametric amplifier operating as a phase-insensitive in-line amplifier or as a wavelength converter exceeds the standard 3-dB limit at high gain. The degradation of the noise figure is caused by the excess noise added by the unavoidable Raman gain and loss occurring at the signal and the converted wavelengths. We present detailed experimental evidence in support of this theory through measurements of the gain and noise-figure spectra for phase-insensitive parametric amplification and wavelength conversion in a continuous-wave amplifier made from 4.4 km of dispersion-shifted fiber. The theory is also extended to include the effect of distributed linear loss on the noise figure of such a long-length parametric amplifier and wavelength converter.     

Observation of twin-beam-type quantum correlation in optical fiber

We report generation of pulsed twin beams of light through optical parametric amplification in a fiber Sagnac loop. By pumping the Sagnac loop with picosecond pulses at a wavelength near the zero-dispersion wavelength of the fiber, we achieve phase-matched nondegenerate four-wave mixing with gain. For a gain of 2.2, the intensity noises of the amplified signal and the generated idler (conjugate) pulses are found to be correlated by 5.0 dB, and the subtracted noise drops below the shot-noise limit by 1.1 dB (2.6 dB when corrected for losses). We have investigated the gain dependence of the quantum-noise reduction as well as of the intensity noises of the amplified signal and idler pulses. As the gain increases, we observe the onset of excess noise on the idler pulses.     

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.     

Parametric amplification in a microstructure fiber

We report an observation of parametric amplification with a gain greater than 30 dB in a 1.7-m microstructure fiber. It is found that there exists a peak pump power P_s. For peak pump powers less than P_s, the amplified twin (signal: longer wavelength, and idler: shorter wavelength) pulses are highly correlated, and the bandwidth of the amplified signal pulse broadens monotonically with pump power. For peak pump powers exceeding P_s, the correlation between the amplified twin pulses drops when the pump power increases, the bandwidth of the amplified signal pulse becomes narrower when the pump power increases, and the central wavelength of the amplified signal (idler) pulse shifts towards longer (shorter) wavelength, respectively, due to phase matching. PACS 42.65.Yj     

Fiber parametric oscillator for the 2 μm wavelength range based on narrowband optical parametric amplification

We describe a widely tunable synchronously pumped coherent source based on the process of narrowband parametric amplification in a dispersion-shifted fiber. Using an experimental fiber with a zero-dispersion wavelength of 1590 nm and pump wavelengths of 1530 to 1570 nm yields oscillations at 1970 to 2140 nm-the longest reported wavelength for a fiber parametric oscillator. The long-wavelength oscillations are accompanied by simultaneous short-wavelength oscillations at 1200 to 1290 nm. The parametric gain is coupled to stimulated Raman scattering. For parametric oscillations close to the Raman gain peak, the two gain processes must be discriminated from each other. We devised two configurations that achieve this discrimination: one is based on the exploitation of the difference in group delay between the wavelengths where Raman and parametric gain peak, and the other uses intracavity polarization tuning.     

双泵浦光子晶体光纤参量放大研究

利用光子晶体光纤在不同零色散波长附近具有不同色散的特性,研究了在零色散波长为780 nm和1550 nm附近的双泵浦光子晶体光纤参量放大过程.在780 nm附近,讨论了零色散波长变化对双泵浦光子晶体光纤参量放大的影响.数值模拟结果表明:当零色散波长发生微小的变化时,信号增益谱带宽会发生很大的变化.当两泵浦光之间的波长差值减小时,零色散波长的变化对参量放大的影响在很大程度上可以得到抑制,但是增益带宽会有一定的减小.依据这一原理,在1550 nm附近设计光子晶体光纤中的色散平坦光纤参量放大,在5 m长的光子晶体光纤中,当峰值功率为10 W时,得到了增益为65 dB,带宽达到420 nm且极为平坦的增益谱.     

饱和放大情形下光纤参量放大器的增益和带宽特性研究

利用龙格库塔法数值求解非线性耦合方程,研究了单抽运光纤参量放大器在增益饱和区的增益谱特性.通过比较考虑抽运光损耗与忽略抽运光损耗增益谱的差别,分析了抽运光损耗对增益谱的影响.此外,给出了在饱和放大区,信号光的增益谱与光纤长度、输入信号光功率、抽运光波长与零色散波长偏离之间的关系.发现在饱和放大区,增益的整体水平有所下降,增益谱的可用带宽相对于小信号放大有所减少,增益谱在可用带宽范围内出现了旁瓣.这些结果将对工作在饱和放大区的单抽运光参量放大器的设计提供有益的帮助.     

High-gain and low-noise-figure erbium-doped fiber amplifier employing dual stage quadruple pass technique

A high-gain and low-noise-figure (NF) erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) was demonstrated utilizing a new technique called the dual-stage quadruple pass (DSQP) with filters. An efficient amplification occurs at the signal wavelength of 1550 nm when it travels along the DSQP amplifier. The highest gain of 62.56 dB with a low noise figure of 3.98 dB was achieved for an input signal power of −50 dBm and pump powers of 10 and 165mW in the second and first stage amplifiers respectively.     

Strong signal suppression in single-pump optical parametric amplifiers

We show that the combined action of parametric gain and Raman scattering can lead to the complete suppression of an input optical signal in a single-pump parametric amplifier. This suppression is due to an interference between the two parametric gain modes. The interference occurs only at a set of discrete combinations of pump power, phase mismatch, and frequency detuning. Experimentally we are able to demonstrate over 95% (13 dB) suppression of an input signal in an amplifier with a peak parametric gain of only 6 dB.     

Single-stage gain-clamped L-band EDFA with C-band ASE saturating tone

We demonstrate a single-stage gain-clamped L-band Erbium-doped fiber amplifier with 1480 nm pump wavelength. The gain-clamping technique is achieved by utilizing the backward propagation of C-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). This unwanted noise is reflected back into the optical amplifier and its intensity is adjusted using the variable optical attenuator. The C-band ASE sets the population inversion level along the Erbium doped-fiber and limits the L-band signal amplification to a specific value. The whole optical bandwidth in L-band can be employed for signal amplification since the saturating tone is out of the band. The gain dynamic range of 11.7 dB is obtained between 21.7 and 10.0 dB with noise figure of less than 5.5 dB for signal power up to 2 dBm.     

单频光纤拉曼放大器的实验研究

本文进行了1031 nm抽运光对1080 nm单频信号光的拉曼放大实验,详细研究了单频信号光种子功率、拉曼增益光纤长度、抽运方式等因素对 单频光纤拉曼放大器(SF-FRA)输出特性的影响.结果表明,在未受受激布里渊散射(SBS)因素限制时,相同抽运功率条件下,单频信号光种子功率越高,SF-FRA的效率越高;拉曼增益光纤越长,SF-FRA的效率越高;前向抽运时,SF-FRA的效率较高.实验中发现SF-FRA的拉曼放大过程对单频信号光的线宽有较小的展宽.此外,单频信号光远场干涉短曝光图像的对比度为0.814,单频信号光与SF-FRA放大光远场干涉短曝光图像可见度为0.719,表明SF-FRA对单频信号光的相干性有一定影响.实验结论可为其他特殊波长SF-FRA的设计提供一定的参考.     

Long-distance fiber Bragg grating sensor system with a high optical signal-to-noise ratio based on a tunable fiber ring laser configuration

A novel tunable fiber ring laser configuration with a combination of bidirectional Raman amplification and dual erbium-doped fiber (EDF) amplification is proposed for realizing high optical signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), long-distance, quasi-distributed fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing systems with large capacities and low cost. The hybrid Raman-EDF amplification configuration arranged in the ring laser can enhance the optical SNR of FBG sensor signals significantly owing to the good combination of the high gain of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and the low noise of the Raman amplification. Such a sensing system can support a large number of FBG sensors because of the use of a tunable fiber Fabry-Perot filter located within the ring laser and spatial division multiplexing for expansion of sensor channels. Experimental results show that an excellent optical SNR of approximately 60 dB has been achieved for a 50 km transmission distance with a low Raman pump power of approximately 170 mW at a wavelength of 1455 nm and a low EDFA pump power of approximately 40 mW at a wavelength of 980 nm, which is the highest optical SNR achieved so far for a 50 km long FBG sensor system, to our knowledge.     

Utilization of stimulated Raman Scattering as secondary pump on hybrid remotely-pump l-band Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplifier

An L-band remotely-pumped erbium-doped fiber amplifier incorporating a secondary pumping scheme utilizing stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) was demonstrated. 1423 nm Raman laser was employed to generate SRS which became the secondary pump source. The amplifier displayed excellent gain of up to 27.3 dB at 1570 nm for −30 dBm input. Noise figures were also kept to a minimum, with the highest figure measured at 11 dB which was influenced by imperfection of the C/L coupler utilized in this architecture. Overall transmission performance was measured as well and demonstrated an encouraging outcome with gain as high as 24 dB while the noise figure was maintained at about 11 dB. The L-band signal amplification was also contributed by the stimulated Raman scattering along the transmission fiber. The outcome of this study emphasized the feasibility of secondary pumping scheme using SRS in L-band gain enhancement.     

Stimulated Raman scattering for variable gain amplification of small optically carried microwave signals

Stimulated Raman amplification of optically carried microwave signals in optical fibers is experimentally investigated. In the backward configuration which is shown to be less noisy than the forward one, net amplification factors larger than 20 dB are demonstrated in the low signal regime with better relative intensity noise (RIN) values than using erbium-doped-fiber amplifiers. Due to the RIN flatness with respect to the gain of the stimulated Raman amplifier high quality variable gain amplification of optically carried microwave signals could be implemented using optimized Raman amplifiers.     

基于光纤光参量放大的异步双波长全光再生技术研究

本文提出了一种新型的多波长全光再生方案,利用相位时钟光纤光参量放大,并采用相邻信道偏振正交的方法,实现对由异步信源产生的双波长信号全光再生.理论分析了参量放大中的增益饱和现象用于幅度噪声抑制,以及利用相位时钟及后续色散实现对信号定时的机理.在这个基础上,对两个独立信源产生的异步双波长10Gbit/s信号进行再生实验,实验表明该方案有效的抑制了基于多波长3R再生系统中信道间的四波混频与交叉相位调制等非线性干扰.系统在单波长和双波长情况下分别将两路信号信噪比改善了至少6.5dB与4.5dB.误码率测试结果说明,与背对背测试结果相比,无论是在单波长还是双波长条件下,两路波长的信号经过再生后都实现了约2dB的接收机功率代价的改善.     

Narrowband phase sensitive fiber parametric amplifier

We describe a widely tunable phase sensitive fiber amplifier, based on narrowband parametric amplification in dispersion shifted fiber. Using a fiber with a zero dispersion wavelength of 1549?nm and a pump wavelength in the range of 1549?nm to 1532?nm, we obtained phase sensitive amplification between 1344?nm and 1781?nm, for an overall wavelength range of 437?nm. The amplifier threshold power is 7?W, and the maximum gain is 50?dB at a pump peak power of 25?W. The variance in gain due to phase sensitivity was measured to be up to 15?dB.     

Analytical model of signal amplification in silicon waveguides

In this paper, an analytical model to investigate the parametric amplification (PA) and the PA + stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in silicon waveguides is put forward. When two pump signals are employed, the PA bandwidth of the probe signal is so large that the Raman contribution has to be considered. When Raman contribution fraction f is set to be 0, only the PA occurs to amplify the probe signal, and when f is set to be 0.043, the PA and the SRS amplify the probe signal at the same time. The signal amplifications of both single and dual pump schemes are investigated by using this model. With this model, three main affecting factors, i.e., zero dispersion wavelength (ZDWL), third-order dispersion (TOD), and fourth-order dispersion (FOD), are discussed in detail.     

Four-wave mixing in microstructure fiber

We report what we believe to be the first experimental demonstration of nondegenerate four-wave mixing in a microstructure fiber. The effect of the chi((3)) nonlinearity is enhanced in such a fiber because of the small core area, and we achieve phase matching by operating near the zero-dispersion wavelength (?750 nm) . We have observed parametric gains of more than 13 dB in 6.1-m-long fiber with a pump peak power of only 6 W. We compare our experimental gain results with those predicted by theory and explore the effects of Raman shift and (or) amplification and cascaded nonlinear mixing.     

利用自制的单频激光器获得近通讯波段正交振幅压缩态光场

利用自制的1.34 μm和0.67 μm双波长输出单频激光器作为泵浦源,泵浦基于PPKTP晶体的光学参量放大器,通过边带锁频技术将光学参量放大腔腔长锁定在激光频率上,将泵浦光和信号光相对相位锁定在π相位,经参量缩小过程获得低于散粒噪声极限约3 dB的正交振幅压缩光.压缩光位于光纤通信窗口——1.3 μm波段.