Erbium-doped optical fiber amplifiers pumped in the 660- and 820-nm bands

State-of-the-art erbium (Er)-doped optical fiber amplifiers (EDFA's) pumped in the 660- and 820-nm bands are described. We have demonstrated highly efficient EDFA's incorporating optimized 664- and 827-nm pump wavelengths and an Er-doped high numerical aperture (NA) fiber with thermally diffused expanded core (TEC) fiber ends. Gain coefficients of 3.8 and 1.3 dB/mW at respective wavelengths of 664 and 827 nm were achieved at a signal wavelength of 1535 nm. Noise figures of 3.1 and 4.1 dB at respective pump wavelengths of 670 and 827 nm were obtained at a signal wavelength of 1535 nm. A highly efficient Er-doped fiber amplifier module, in which an AlGaInP visible laser diode (LD) was used as the pump source, was successfully developed as a practical application of this technology. A maximum overall gain coefficient of 3.0 dB/mW was achieved at a signal wavelength of 1535 nm. The EDFA module realized a maximum overall signal gain of 33 dB at 1535 nm with a saturated output power of -1 dBm. A maximum saturated output power of 3.9 dBm was obtained at a signal wavelength of 1552 nm. The present EDFA design using a low-cost laser diode for optical disk memory use and a high NA Er-doped fiber has great potential for providing inexpensive, high-performance EDFA's.<
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