ASE reflector-based gain-clamped erbium-doped fiber amplifier using an optical interleaver

We use a 50-GHz optical interleaver for the reflection of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) to realize ASE reflector-based gain-clamped erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. The amplifier schemes can secure International Telecommunications Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector grids with 100-GHz channel spacing in the whole conventional band (C-band) for signal amplification gain-clamping characteristics including dynamic ranges lower than -7 dBm are successfully demonstrated.