High Receiver Sensitivity at 2.5 Gb/s Obtained with a Highly Efficient Low Noise Diode Pumped Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier,
Abstract
Laser diode pumped Erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) with low noise figures and high saturation powers are attractive because the ratio between the saturation power and the noise figure can be considered as a figure of merit for several applications. These include multichannel receivers where high sensitivity and high saturation power increases the number of channels to be received and in-line applications where the dynamic range is proportional to the above mentioned figure of merit. For 980 nm pumping the noise figure can reach the quantum limit of 3 dB 2, whereas the minimum noise figure obtainable with 1480 nm pumping is approximately 5 dB 3. However, pumping at 1480 nm has the advantage of a better pump-to-signal conversion efficiency at high signal power levels leading to a higher saturation power compared to that achieved with 980 nm pumping 4. Here we demonstrate that the advantages of the two pump wavelengths can be combined by pumping co-directionally at 980 nm and counter-directionally at 1480 nm. With this configuration the input end of the EDFA can be considered as a low noise preamplifier which determines the overall noise figure while the rear end serves as an efficient power amplifier.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADP007016
Entities
People
- B. Mikkelsen
- C. C. Larsen
- C. F. Pedersen
- C. G. Joergensen
- J. A. Van Den Berk
Organizations
- Technical University of Denmark