Modeling erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers are modeled using the propagation and rate equations of a homogeneous two-level laser medium. Numerical methods are used to analyze the effects of optical modes and erbium confinement on amplifier performance, and to calculate both the gain and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectra. Fibers with confined erbium doping are completely characterized from easily measured parameters: the ratio of the linear ion density to fluorescence lifetime, and the absorption of gain spectra. Analytical techniques then allow accurate evaluation of gain, saturation, and noise in low-gain amplifiers (G≲20 dB)     

Layout optimization for erbium-doped waveguide amplifiers

The optical layout of erbium-doped waveguide amplifiers (EDWAs) based on spiral and folded spiral planar lightwave circuits is considered. It is shown that layouts may be ranked according to their ability to provide maximum gain within a given chip area and an optimum layout based on a spiral containing both straight and curved waveguide sections is identified from an initial set. The analysis is initially based on simple geometric principles. A detailed optical simulation is then carried out using an algorithm that links a five-level rate equation model with beam propagation by the method of lines. The results confirm the choice of optimum layout     

On the optimization of hybrid Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

A comprehensive theoretical study on the optimal configuration of hybrid Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplifiers has been carried out yielding a closed form analysis. In order to compare different system configurations, a weight for the impact of fiber nonlinearities has been introduced. The maximum reachable distance has been evaluated as a function of the span length and nonlinear weight, given a target optical signal-to-noise ratio     

Novel fiber sensor arrays using erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

We examine the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance of a novel type of time domain multiplexed sensor arrays in which low gain (1-10 dB) fiber amplifiers are incorporated to compensate for splitting losses between sensors. The system noise figure for passive and amplified sensor arrays is presented, along with expressions to optimize the array parameters for high SNRs. We show that practical amplified sensor arrays exhibit low system noise figures that allow much larger arrays (hundreds of sensors) than passive arrays     

Performance of high-concentration erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

The full characteristics for two high-concentration erbium-doped fibers are reported. The comparison of the fibers characteristics indicates that design of fiber geometry can be used to partially compensate for the degradation of the amplifiers performance due to upconversion processes. For high NA fiber the 22-dB small-signal gain, and 3.5-dB noise figure are obtained from a 24-cm length of fiber. We report a photon quantum conversion efficiency of 28%, which corresponds to the highest efficiency obtained in heavily doped fibers     

Transient analysis of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

The transient response of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) pumped at 1.48 μm, taking into account the gain-saturation effects due to the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), is studied theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical model is used to predict the gain saturation and recovery times of an EDFA and its effects to the amplification of optical pulses     

Demonstration of highly efficient flat-gain L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers by incorporating a fiber Bragg grating

A flat-gain output of 13.5 (15.5) dBm is obtained over 30 nm in the L-band with only a 97 (130)-mW pumping of a 980-nm laser diode. Such highly efficient flat-gain L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers are achieved by simply adding a regular fiber Bragg grating. An efficient and simple gain-clamping operation is also demonstrated.     

Average power analysis technique for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

It is shown that an average power analysis technique similar to that used for semiconductor optical amplifiers can be used to analyze both the discrete and the distributed fiber amplifier for multiwavelength operation without the need for numerical integration. It is also shown to give results that are in excellent agreement with those from other studies. This approach gives performance insights that are not otherwise readily available     

Modulation instability in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

The onset of modulation instability in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) is studied through a stability analysis of the underlying nonlinear Schrodinger equation. The existence of gain in EDFAs lowers the threshold for modulation instability considerably compared with the case of undoped fibers. Modulation instability generates multiple pulses when a single pulse is amplified. It can also create multiple subpulses in mode-locked fiber lasers, a feature observed experimentally. Numerical simulations show that EDFAs can convert a continuous-wave optical signal into a train of high-repetition rate femtosecond pulses     

A simple black box model for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

We demonstrate a simple black box model to evaluate both saturated gain and corresponding noise figure. This approach is simple and very suitable for system modeling with satisfied accuracy     

Spectral hole burning in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

A new theoretical/numerical model of the spectral hole burning (SHB) effect in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) is suggested. A new measurement technique for SHB measurement is developed. Experiments are conducted to identify the particular mechanism of SHB. A computer simulation program is developed using this approach. The shape and depth of the spectral hole are in accordance with the suggested theory.     

Modeling of gain in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

An analytic method is described for fully characterizing the gain of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) that is based on easily measured monochromatic absorption data. The analytic expressions presented, which involve the solution of one transcendental equation, can predict signal gains and pump absorptions in an amplifier containing an arbitrary number of pumps and signals from arbitrary directions. The gain of an amplifier was measured over a range of more than 20 dB in both pump and signal powers. The measured theoretical results agreed to within 0.5 dB. Although the results described apply explicitly to EDFAs pumped in the 1480-nm region, they are also applicable to EDFAs pumped in the 980-nm region. The method is valid whenever the gain saturation by amplified spontaneous-emission noise can be neglected, which is typically the case for amplifiers with less than about 20 dB of gain     

Distributed temperature sensing with erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

The experimental verification of a novel fiber-optic sensor which performs distributed measurement of temperature by using a distributed erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is presented. The sensor configuration is similar to that of a conventional optical time-domain reflectometer and detects the Rayleigh backscattered portion of a pulsed optical signal which is amplified by the EDFA, along with the backward amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) generated by the EDFA. The sensor utilizes the temperature dependence of the gain in an EDFA. The amplification provided by the erbium-doped fiber, which is pumped at 1.48 μm, significantly increases the magnitude of the optical signal reaching the receiver, thus leading to a simplified configuration and a potentially superior performance as compared to other types of distributed fiber-optic temperature sensors     

Detailed design analysis of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

When pumping the erbium-doped fiber amplifier at 0.98 and 1.48 mu m, the optimum cutoff wavelength for step profiles with arbitrary numerical aperture is shown to be 0.80 and 0.90 mu m, respectively. The use of a confined erbium profile can improve the gain coefficient up to 45%. The index raising co-dopant is shown to be very significant for the gain coefficient when pumping at 0.98 mu m.<>     

Efficient erbium-doped fiber amplifiers incorporating an opticalisolator

A composite-EDFA configuration which incorporates an optical isolator has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. The isolator prevents the build-up of the backward-ASE and results in an amplifier with high gain and near-quantum-limited noise figure (NF). The optimum position of the isolator has been calculated as a function of the pump power so that minimum NF and maximum gain are achieved simultaneously. It is shown that under practical pump powers, the optimized composite EDFA exhibits a gain improvement of about 5 dB and a NF reduction in excess of 1.5 dB when compared with an optimized conventional EDFA. It is also shown that with further optimization the composite EDFA can be employed in a practical fiber link as a pre-amplifier without the use of an input isolator. Finally, a high-gain composite EDFA has been experimentally demonstrated which exhibits a gain of 51 dB (54 dB) and NF of 3.1 dB for only 435 mW (93 mW) of pump power     

掺铒光纤放大器的速率方程研究

在引入光场与掺杂分布的重迭因子后,对1.48μm波段泵浦的掺饵光纤放大器的速率方程组进行了解析求解,并利用有关的表达式对放大器的重要特性进行了讨论和分析。     

Analysis of distributed erbium-doped fiber amplifiers with fiber background loss

An accurate model for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers with fiber background loss applicable to the unsaturated gain regime is presented. Exact analytical solutions are derived for the output pump power, gain, and amplified spontaneous noise as a function of input pump power in the cases of unidirectional or bidirectional pumping. An exact relation is also derived between the pump threshold and the pump required for fiber transparency. Such expressions are particularly useful to model distributed fiber amplifiers and to determine the optimal fiber parameters corresponding to a given pumping scheme. As an example, the analytical solutions are used to study the pump power requirement for distributed fiber amplifiers unidirectionally pumped at 1.48 mu m, and to determine an optimum Er/sup 3+/ absorption coefficient.<>     

Dynamic gain compensation in saturated erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

Dynamic compensation of low-frequency gain fluctuations in saturated erbium-doped fiber amplifiers is demonstrated. This compensation, based on a simple feedback-loop scheme makes it possible to reduce transient gain fluctuations efficiently across the whole amplifier bandwidth using only a low-power optical feedback signal. Such an, automatic gain control technique could be applied to suppress data packet interference due to traffic bursts in multiple-access networks, as well as in the implementation of long-haul fiber systems using erbium fiber amplifiers.<>     

Design of erbium-doped triangular photonic-crystal-fiber-based amplifiers

The amplification properties of erbium-doped triangular photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) are analyzed by varying the pitch, the hole diameter, and the dopant radius by means of a full-vector finite-element modal formulation combined with a population and propagation rate equation solver. Fiber designs which allow us to greatly reduce splice losses are presented and it is demonstrated that PCF amplifiers may deliver gains of more than 47 dB with splice losses lower than 0.3 dB.