Transient gain control in EDFA's by dual-cavity optical automatic gain control

We report a novel method for automatic gain control of optical amplifiers: dual-cavity optical automatic gain control. The method exploits inhomogeneous broadening in erbium-doped fibers to clamp the erbium gain spectrum with two oscillating lasers. The technique significantly reduces surviving channel steady-state and transient power excursions by automatic reduction of relaxation oscillations and spectral hole burning.