Optical Amplifiers

venkaL venkaLaramanan
lnsuLuLe for Cpucal Sclences
unlverslLy of 1oronLo
Plan
! lnLroducuon
! 8are-earLh doped llber Ampllers
! 8aman Ampllers
! SemlconducLor Cpucal Ampllers
! Ceneral Conslderauons
! Summary
Amazing Bandwidth of Optical Fibers
! llber-grade slllca ls LransparenL from 1 1.6. 1he LoLal bandwldLh
lL can carry ls
!" # c/"
1
c/"
2
= 3.0 10
14
- 1.1 10
14
= 11 1Pz
! 8andwlLh of a Lelephone slgnal goes from 100 Pz - 3 kPz. 8y nyqulsL
CrlLerlon, one conversauon requlres 2 3 kPz = 6 kPz
! So, Lhe number of conversauons LhaL can be slmulLaneously carrled
over a ber ls approxlmaLely,
n
f
= 1.1 10
14
/ 3 10
3
= 36 bllllon
! So, ln prlnclple a slngle ber ls sumclenL Lo carry Len umes all Lhe
converslons generaLed worldwlde.
As the signal becomes weak
Ampller: lncreases Lhe sLrengLh of Lhe opucal slgnal.
lL ls an analog devlce, so whaL you puL ls whaL you geL, wlLh some
nolse, of course
8epeaLer: ConverLs weak opucal slgnal lnLo elecLronlc form, uses
elecLronlc slgnal Lo drlve a Lransmluer LhaL recreaLes Lhe slgnal
A recelver - Lransmluer placed back Lo back
8egeneraLor: cleans up dlglLal slgnal by removlng nolse and dlsLoruon
and regeneraung a fresh slgnal
1hey have dlscrlmlnauon clrculLs LhaL examlne Lhe ume-varylng
slgnal, ldenues slgnal and nolse, clean Lhe slgnal
Why do we need Optical Amplifiers?
! 1yplcal ber loss around 1.3 m ls ~0.2 d8/km.
! Aer Lravellng ~100 km, slgnals are auenuaLed by ~20 d8,
! 1hey need Lo be amplled or slgnal-Lo-nolse rauo (Sn8) of deLecLed
slgnals ls Loo low and blL error raLe (8L8) becomes Loo hlgh (Lyplcally
wanL 8L8 < 10
-9
)
! Can be done by deLecung Lhe weakened slgnals, Lhen modulaung a
new laser wlLh modulauon read o Lhe deLecLed slgnals
! 1hls [Cpucal Lo LlecLrlcal Lo Cpucal} converslons requlres cosLly hlgh-
speed elecLronlcs (>10 CPz)
! 8esL way Lo ampllfy ls opucally, and besL opucal meLhod ls ber
ampller (lowesL loss, mosL emclenL, mosL sLable)
Optical Amplifiers : Functions
Transmitter
Receiver
Power Booster
In-line Amplifier
Detector Pre-amplifier
100 km
Principle of Optical Amplification
! SponLaneous Lmlsslon versus SumulaLed Lmlsslon
! ln general, llghL ls absorbed as lL propagaLes
! lf Lhe populauon aL Lhe hlgher energy sLaLe ls hlgher Lhan a lower
sLaLe, llghL geLs amplled as lL Lravels Lhrough Lhe medlum
! Amplled llghL bears Lhe characLerlsucs of Lhe slgnal phoLon
E
1

E
3

E
2

E
1

E
3

E
2

Optical Amplifiers :: Characteristics
An opucal ampller ls characLerlzed by:
! Caln : rauo of ouLpuL power Lo lnpuL power (ln d8)
! Caln emclency : galn as a funcuon of lnpuL power (d8/mW)
! Caln bandwldLh : range of wavelengLhs over whlch Lhe ampller ls
eecuve
! Caln saLurauon : maxlmum ouLpuL power, beyond whlch no
ampllcauon ls reached
! nolse : undeslred slgnal due Lo physlcal processlng ln ampller
Optical Amplifiers :: Types
! 8are-earLh doped llber Ampllers
! Lrblum uoped (LulA) - 1,300 - 1,600 nm band
! raseodymlum uoped (ulA) - 1,300 nm band
! 8aman (and 8rlllouln) Ampllers
! SemlconducLor Cpucal Ampllers (SCAs) - 400 - 2,000 nm band
+
Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers
Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
Commerclally avallable slnce Lhe early 1990's
Works besL ln Lhe range 1330 Lo 1363 nm
Caln up Lo 30 d8 (1000 phoLons ouL per phoLon ln!
Inside an EDFA
Fibre input/
output
Erbium
doped fibre
loop
Pump laser
WDM Fibre coupler
Erbium doped fiber :: Profile
Rare-earth doped fiber characteristics
! llber ls drawn by same Lechnlque as communlcauon bers
! fabrlcaLe a preform (cm-slze slllca Lube coaLed wlLh core maLerlal)
! heaL and collapse Lube
! pull preform lnLo a ber
! 8are-earLh concenLrauon [8L
2
C
3
] ls Lyplcally low
! a few hundred parLs per mllllon (ppm) ln slllcaLe hosLs
! a few Lhousand ppm ln uorlde and phosphaLe hosLs
! neLwork modlers (Al, , La) are added Lo Lhe core glass Lo lncrease
solublllLy of 8L
2
C
3
ln slllca
! lndex modlers (Ce, Al) are added Lo Lhe core Lo ralse lLs refracuve
lndex
! AL usual concenLrauons (< 100 ppm), 8L
2
C
3
has llule eecL on Lhe
lndex prole
! CompleLe lnverslon can be achleved wlLh 980-nm pumplng buL noL
wlLh 1480-nm pumplng.
! 1he sponLaneous llfeume of Lhe meLasLable energy level (
4
l
13/2
) ls
abouL 10 ms, whlch ls much slower Lhan Lhe slgnal blL raLes of
pracucal lnLeresL.
! As sumulaLed emlsslon domlnaLes over sponLaneous, ampllcauon ls
emclenL
Erbium doped fiber :: Amplification Process
" Lrblum-doped ber ls usually pumped
by semlconducLor lasers aL 980 nm or
1480 nm.
" A Lhree-level model can be used for
980-nm pumps, whlle a Lwo-level model
usually sumces for 1480-nm pumps.
! AL 1480 nm, slllca bers have low loss, hence pump can co propagaLe
wlLh Lhe slgnal
! ump may even be placed remoLely
Erbium doped fiber :: Operation
" Plgher Lhe populauon lnverslon lower Lhe ampller nolse
" 980 nm pump ls preferred for low nolse ampllcauon
" Powever more powerful 1480 nm sources are avallable
1480
980
820
540
670
Ground state
Metastable
state
EDFA :: Operating Wavelengths
! So far we have focused on LulAs operaung ln Lhe C-band (1330-1363nm).
! Lrblum-doped ber, however, has a relauvely long Lall Lo Lhe galn shape
exLendlng well beyond Lhls range Lo abouL 1603 nm.
! 1hls has sumulaLed Lhe developmenL of sysLems ln Lhe so-called L-band from
1363 Lo 1623 nm.
! Caln specLrum of erblum ls much auer lnLrlnslcally ln Lhe L- band Lhan ln Lhe
C-band.
! 1hls makes lL easler Lo deslgn galn-auenlng lLers for Lhe L- band.
! ump powers requlred for L-band LulAs are much hlgher Lhan Lhelr C-band
counLerparLs.
Gain Flatness
! opulauon levels aL dlerenL bands vary
! And hence Lhe galn varlauon
! Serlously aecLs WuM sysLems
! 1o overcome Lhls
! use lLer lnslde ampller
! user uorlde glass ber
Gain performance of various glass fibers
Gain Flattening : A main issue
! 1he galn specLrum of an LulA (or any oLher
ber ampller) ls noL unlform
! Aer Lravellng Lhrough a few ampllers (e.g.,
300 km), dlerence beLween power of Lhe
slgnals A exceeds 3-10 d8 and Lhe blL error
raLe ls Loo sLrongly degraded
! Lower-power channels become unusable
! lllLers are Lhen lnLroduced Lo selecuvely add
losses Lo hlgh galn wavelengLhs
Gain Flattening
Gain Dependence on fiber length
! Caln ls always negauve aL Lhe end of a long enough ber
! LengLh LhaL maxlmlzes galn lncreases wlLh Lhe pump power
Spectral gain dependence on pump power
! As Lhe pump power lncreases galn shls Lowards 1330 nm from L band
! AL a rlghL pump power galn ls aL over a wlde wavelengLh range (Caln
llauenlng 1echnlque)
Noise : Amplified Spontaneous Emission
! 1he llghL LhaL sLarLs sumulaLed emlsslon orlglnaLes sponLaneously
! When exclLed sLaLe releases lLs energy wlLhouL sumulauon,
sponLaneous emlsslon occurs
! As Lhls Lravels Lhrough Lhe ampllfylng medlum, Lhls sponLaneous
emlsslon also geLs amplled
! 1hls creaLes a background nolse called Amplled SponLaneous Lmlsslon
! 1hls broadband nolse ls very slmllar Lo sLauc ln AM 8adlo
Random spontaneous
emission (SE)
Amplification along fiber
EDFA : Parameters
! Wlde bandwldLh -40 nm (3000 CPz)
! Plgh ampllcauon - 30 do 40 d8
! Plgh ouLpuL power -do +20d8m (100 mW)
! Low nolse -4 d8 (nolse facLor l)
! ump wavelengLh - 980 or 1480 nm
! no dlsperslon compensauon
EDFA : Schematic
Schemauc dlagram of a Lwo-sLage erblum-doped ber ampller for low
nolse gure and hlgh ouLpuL power operauon
EDFA : Advantages and Disadvantages
! LulAs have hlgh pump power uullzauon (>30)
! ulrecLly and slmulLaneously ampllfy a wlde wavelengLh band (> 80
nm) ln Lhe 1330 nm reglon, wlLh a relauvely aL galn.
! llaLness can be lmproved by galn-auenlng opucal lLers
! Caln ln excess of 30 d8
! Low nolse gure SulLable for long haul appllcauons
! LulAs are noL small
! CannoL be lnLegraLed wlLh oLher semlconducLor devlces
+
Raman Amplifiers
Raman Amplifier
! 1opologlcally slmpler Lo deslgn - no speclal doplng ls requlred
! uses lnLrlnslc opucal nonllnearlLy of ber
! Ampllcauon Lakes place LhroughouL Lhe lengLh of Lransmlsslon ber
! Pence also known as ulsLrlbuLed Ampller
Distributed Amplification
! 8aman pumplng ls usually done backwards
! Caln ls hlgher aL Lhe recelver end of Lhe ber Lhan aL Lhe Lransmluer
end
! 1hls ls very useful ln compensaung for Lhe losses
Transmitter
Optical
Receiver
EDFA
Raman Pump
Laser
Long Fibre Span
Raman Amplifier
! uses lnLrlnslc properLy of Slllca ber #Medlum of Lransmlsslon lLself combaLs
slgnal loss
! 1he physlcs behlnd ls called SumulaLed 8aman Scauerlng
! Plgh energy pump wave ls co-launched lnLo Lhe ber
! 8aman galn depends on Lhe pump power and frequency oseL beLween pump
and slgnal
! ump phoLon glves up energy Lo creaLe a slgnal phoLon
! 8esldual vlbrauonal energy ls absorbed as phonons
Amplled Slgnal
Slgnal
ump
Phonon Relaxation
Typical configuration
Transmitted
Received
Advantages of backward pumping
! 8ackward pumplng ln 8aman ampller has several advanLages
! 8aman ls an almosL lnsLanLaneous process
! ump nolse sLrongly aecLs WuM slgnals Lo be amplled lf forward
pumplng ls applled
! lf pump has a sllghL ucLuauon ln ume, lndlvldual blLs are amplled
dlerenLly
! 1hls leads Lo ampllLude ucLuauons or [luer
! ln backward pumplng, power ucLuauons are averaged ouL
Raman Gain in Fiber
! uepends malnly on Lhe opucal frequencles, buL also on Lhe pump frequency and
polarlzauon
! 1here ls a maxlmum 8aman galn for a frequency oseL of 13.2 1Pz. lor example, a pump
wave aL 1064 nm leads Lo Lhe largesL 8aman galn aL a slgnal wavelengLh of 1116 nm.
! 1he peaks ln Lhe 8aman specLrum correspond Lo cerLaln vlbrauon modes of Lhe slllca
sLrucLure.
! 1he usable galn bandwldLh ls abouL 48 nm
Advantages and Disadvantages
! Advantages
! Variable wavelength amplification possible
! Compatible with installed SM fibre
! Can be used to "extend" EDFAs
! Can result in a lower average power over a span, good for lower
crosstalk
! Very broadband operation may be possible
! Disadvantages
! High pump power requirements, high pump power lasers have
only recently arrived
! Sophisticated gain control needed
! Noise is also an issue
EDFA Raman Amplifiers : Comparison
Characteristic EDFA Raman
Amplification band Dopant dependant Depends on pump
wavelengths
Bandwidth 20 nm, More for multiple dopants 48 nm, more for multiple
pumps
Gain 20 dB or more; depends on ion
concentration, fiber length and pump config
4-11 dB, proportional to
pump intensity and eff. fiber
length
Saturation Power Depends on gain and material constants Equals about power of pump
Wavelength 980 nm or 1480 nm for EDFA 100 nm lower than signal at
peak gain
Combined EDFA and Raman Amplifications
! With only an EDFA at the transmit end the optical power level
decreases over the fiber length
! With an EDFA and Raman the minimum optical power level
occurs toward the middle, not the end, of the fiber.
Distance
O
p
t
i
c
a
l

P
o
w
e
r

EDFA
+
Raman
EDFA
only
+
Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers
Semiconductor Optical Amplifier
! An elecLrlcal currenL ls passed Lhrough Lhe devlce LhaL exclLes
elecLrons ln Lhe acuve reglon.
! When phoLons (llghL) Lravel Lhrough Lhe acuve reglon lL can cause
Lhese elecLrons Lo lose some of Lhelr exLra energy ln Lhe form of
more phoLons LhaL maLch Lhe wavelengLh of Lhe lnlual ones.
! 1herefore, an opucal slgnal passlng Lhrough Lhe acuve reglon ls
amplled and ls sald Lo have experlenced "galn."
8oLh edges (or "faceLs") of Lhe SCA are
deslgned Lo have very low reecuvlLy so
LhaL Lhere are no unwanLed reecuons of
Lhe slgnal wlLhln Lhe semlconducLor lLself.
1hls ls Lhe maln dlerence from regular
lasers LhaL have reecuve faceLs ln order
Lo bulld up Lhe lnLenslLy of llghL wlLhln Lhe
semlconducLor maLerlal.
SOA :: Amplification Process
! SemlconducLors have valence and Conducuon bands
! AL Lhermal equlllbrlum valence band has hlgher populauon
! under populauon lnverslon condluon conducuon band wlll have
hlgher populauon
! opulauon lnverslon ls achleved by forward blaslng Lhe p-n [uncuon
E
1

E
2

Valence Band
Conduction Band
signal
hole
electron
SOA :: Design
SOA vs Semiconductor Laser
! 8oLh are very slmllar ln prlnclple and consLrucuon
! Lssenually labry-eroL cavlues, wlLh ampllcauon achleved by
exLernal pumplng
! 1he key ln SCA ls prevenung self-osclllauons generaung laser ouLpuL
! 1hls ls accompllshed by blocklng cavlLy reecuons uslng boLh an
anureecuon (A8) coaung and Lhe Lechnlque of angle cleavlng Lhe
chlp faceLs.
! SCAs are elecLrlcally pumped by ln[ecLed currenL
SOA :: Characteristics
! CompacL > only a small semlconducLor chlp wlLh elecLrlcal and ber
connecuons.
! 1he ouLpuL powers are slgnlcanLly smaller.
! 1he galn bandwldLh ls smaller, buL devlces operaung ln dlerenL
wavelengLh reglons can be made.
! 1he upper-sLaLe llfeume and Lhus Lhe sLored energy are much smaller,
so LhaL Lhe galn reacLs Lo changes ln pump power or slgnal power wlLhln
nanoseconds (lnsLead of mllllseconds).
! Changes ln galn also cause phase changes leadlng Lo llnewldLh
enhancemenL facLor.
! SCAs exhlblL much sLronger nonllnear dlsLoruons [self-phase
modulauon and four-wave mlxlng}.
! 1he nolse gure ls Lyplcally hlgher.
! 1he ampllcauon ls normally polarlzauon-sensluve.
SOA :: Gain vs Signal Power
! ln SCAs Lhe galn dynamlcs are deLermlned by Lhe carrler recomblnauon
llfeume (few hundred plcoseconds).
! 1he ampller galn wlll reacL relauvely qulckly Lo changes ln Lhe lnpuL
slgnal power.
! 1hls dynamlc galn can cause slgnal dlsLoruon, whlch becomes more
severe as Lhe modulaLed slgnal bandwldLh lncreases.
! 1hese eecLs are even more lmporLanL ln muluchannel sysLems where
Lhe dynamlc galn leads Lo lnLerchannel crossLalk.
! 1hls ls ln conLrasL Lo LulAs, whlch have recomblnauon llfeumes of Lhe
order of mllllseconds leadlng Lo negllglble slgnal dlsLoruon.
! SCAs also exhlblL nonllnear behavlour => problems such as frequency
chlrplng and generauon of lnLermodulauon producLs.
! nonllnearlues can also be of use ln SCAs as funcuonal devlces such as
wavelengLh converLers.
SOA :: Applications
! ower boosLer - lmmedlaLely aer Laser ulode
! ln-llne ampller
! ueLecLor preampller
! Cpucal swlLchlng elemenL
! WavelengLh converLer
Optical Amplifiers : Comparison
Property EDFA Raman SOA
Gain (dB) > 40 > 25 >30
Wavelength (nm) 1530-1560 1280-1650 1280-1650
Bandwidth (3dB) 30-60 Pump dependent 60
Max. Saturation (dBm) 22 0.75 ! pump 18
Polarization Sensitivity No No Yes
Noise Figure (dB) 5 5 8
Pump Power 25 dBm >30 dBm < 400 mA
Time Constant 10
-2
s 10
-15
s 2 x 10
-9

Size Rack mounted Bulk module Compact
Switchable No No Yes
Cost Factor Medium High Low
Considerations
! ower boosLer : laced lmmedlaLely aer Lransmluer. Pelp lncrease Lhe power of
Lhe slgnal, nolse may noL be Lhe ma[or lssue
! SCA
! ln-llne ampller : CompensaLe for Lhe slgnal auenuauon as lL propagaLes.
needed ln long-haul neLworks. nolse plays a conslderable role as Lhe slgnal
weakens
! Comblnauon of LulA, lllLers and 8aman Ampllers
! reampller : A weak opucal slgnal ls usually amplled before lL enLers Lhe
recelver. nolse ls a cruclal facLor
Transmitter
Receiver
Power Booster
In-line Amplifier
Detector Pre-amplifier
100 km
Other doped fiber amplifiers
Band Name Meaning Wavelength (nm) Technology
O Original 1260-1360 Praseodymium
E Extended 1360-1460 -
S Short 1460-1530 Thulium fiber
C Conventional 1530-1565 Erbium fiber
L Long 1565-1625 Erbium fiber
U Ultra-long 1625-1675 -
References
! Lrblum-uoped llber Ampllers by hlllppe C. 8ecker, n. Anders
Clsson, and !ay 8. Slmpson
! 8are-LarLh-uoped llber Lasers and Ampllers, 8evlsed and Lxpanded
by Mlchel !.l. ulgonneL
! 8aman Ampllcauon ln llber Cpucal Communlcauon SysLems (by
Cllord Peadley and Covlnd Agrawal
! 8aman Ampllers for 1elecommunlcauons 1: hyslcal rlnclples by
Mohammad n. lslam
! 8aman ampllcauon deslgn ln WuM sysLems, Web roforum
1uLorlals, hup://www.lec.org
and varlous lnLerneL resources
Questions?
1hank you