Influence of Raman Pump Direction on the Performance of Serial Hybrid Fiber Amplifier in C+L-Band

This study demonstrates the simulation and experimental validation of a serial hybrid Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplifier in the C+L optical communication bands. The erbiumdoped fiber is pumped by the residual Raman pump to enhance pump conversion efficiency in forward (Type A) and backward (Type B) direction. The amplifier was tested with three different input levels where the overall finding shows Type B provides better gain (average of 20dB across band) than Type A at the expense of noise figure (2dB higher).