Gain-shifted thulium-doped fibre amplifiers employing novel highconcentration doping technique

A novel high thulium concentration doping technique is proposed for shifting the gain band in thulium-doped fibre amplifiers (TDFAs). The gain peak shifts from 1473 to 1505 nm when the Tm³⁺ concentration is increased from 2000 to 8000 ppm. The authors have achieved gains of >18 dB and a noise figure (NF) of <7 dB from 1480 to 1510 nm (30 nm bandwidth) for a total pump power of 500 mW