Tm:Er:Yb:Ho amplified spontaneous emission source operating from 1480 nm to 2100 nm

A complete theoretical model of an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source based on a Tm:Er:Yb:Ho co-doped germanate glass is developed. It is based on a nonlinear rate equations system, together with the power propagation equations for the pump and the ASE beams. The device is pumped at 980 nm. A particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to find the best combination of the four dopants concentrations yielding an ASE spectrum as wide as possible. Preliminary results show that a broad spectrum ranging from 1480 nm to 2100 nm is obtained.