Optical Amplifiers VenkatVenkataramanan

Ins,tuteforOp,calSciences
UniversityofToronto
Plan
Introduc,on

RareearthdopedFiberAmpliers

RamanAmpliers

SemiconductorOp,calAmpliers

GeneralConsidera,ons

Summary
Amazing Bandwidth of Optical Fibers

Fibergradesilicaistransparentfrom1 1.6. Thetotalbandwidth

itcancarryis

c/1 c/2=3.010141.11014=11THz

Bandwithofatelephonesignalgoesfrom100Hz3KHz.ByNyquist
Criterion,oneconversa,onrequires23KHz=6KHz

So,thenumberofconversa,onsthatcanbesimultaneouslycarried
overaberisapproximately,

Nf=1.11014/3103=36billion

So,inprincipleasingleberissucienttocarryten,mesallthe
conversionsgeneratedworldwide.
As the signal becomes weak
Amplier:increasesthestrengthoftheop,calsignal.

Itisananalogdevice,sowhatyouputiswhatyouget;withsome
noise,ofcourse

Repeater:Convertsweakop,calsignalintoelectronicform,uses
electronicsignaltodriveatransmi\erthatrecreatesthesignal

Areceivertransmi\erplacedbacktoback

Regenerator:cleansupdigitalsignalbyremovingnoiseanddistor,on
andregenera,ngafreshsignal

Theyhavediscrimina,oncircuitsthatexaminethe,mevarying
signal,iden,essignalandnoise;cleanthesignal
Why do we need Optical Amplifiers?
Typicalberlossaround1.5mis~0.2dB/km.

A`ertraveling~100km,signalsarea\enuatedby~20dB,

Theyneedtobeampliedorsignaltonoisera,o(SNR)ofdetected
signalsistoolowandbiterrorrate(BER)becomestoohigh(typically
wantBER<109)

Canbedonebydetec,ngtheweakenedsignals,thenmodula,nga
newlaserwithmodula,onreadothedetectedsignals

This{Op,caltoElectricaltoOp,cal}conversionsrequirescostlyhigh
speedelectronics(>10GHz)

Bestwaytoamplifyisop,cally,andbestop,calmethodisber
amplier(lowestloss,mostecient,moststable)
Optical Amplifiers : Functions

Power Booster

Transmitter
In-line Amplifier

100 km

Receiver
Detector Pre-amplifier
Principle of Optical Amplification
E3 E3

E2 E2

E1 E1

SpontaneousEmissionversusS,mulatedEmission

Ingeneral,lightisabsorbedasitpropagates

Ifthepopula,onatthehigherenergystateishigherthanalower
state,lightgetsampliedasittravelsthroughthemedium

Ampliedlightbearsthecharacteris,csofthesignalphoton
Optical Amplifiers :: Characteristics
Anop,calamplierischaracterizedby:

Gain:ra,oofoutputpowertoinputpower(indB)

Gaineciency:gainasafunc,onofinputpower(dB/mW)

Gainbandwidth:rangeofwavelengthsoverwhichtheamplieris
eec,ve

Gainsatura,on:maximumoutputpower,beyondwhichno
amplica,onisreached

Noise:undesiredsignalduetophysicalprocessinginamplier
Optical Amplifiers :: Types
RareearthdopedFiberAmpliers
ErbiumDoped(EDFA)1,5001,600nmband
PraseodymiumDoped(PDFA)1,300nmband

Raman(andBrillouin)Ampliers

SemiconductorOp,calAmpliers(SOAs)4002,000nmband
+
Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers
Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier

Commerciallyavailablesincetheearly1990s
Worksbestintherange1530to1565nm
Gainupto30dB(1000photonsoutperphotonin!
Inside an EDFA

Pump laser
WDM Fibre coupler

Erbium
doped fibre
loop

Fibre input/
output
Erbium doped fiber :: Profile
Rare-earth doped fiber characteristics
Fiberisdrawnbysametechniqueascommunica,onbers
fabricateapreform(cmsizesilicatubecoatedwithcorematerial)
heatandcollapsetube
pullpreformintoaber

Rareearthconcentra,on[RE2O3]istypicallylow
afewhundredpartspermillion(ppm)insilicatehosts
afewthousandppminuorideandphosphatehosts

Networkmodiers(Al,P,La)areaddedtothecoreglasstoincrease
solubilityofRE2O3insilica

Indexmodiers(Ge,Al)areaddedtothecoretoraiseitsrefrac,ve
index

Atusualconcentra,ons(<100ppm),RE2O3hasli\leeectonthe
indexprole
Erbium doped fiber :: Amplification Process

Erbiumdopedberisusuallypumped
bysemiconductorlasersat980nmor
1480nm.

Athreelevelmodelcanbeusedfor
980nmpumps,whileatwolevelmodel
usuallysucesfor1480nmpumps.

Completeinversioncanbeachievedwith980nmpumpingbutnot
with1480nmpumping.

Thespontaneouslife,meofthemetastableenergylevel(4I13/2)is
about10ms,whichismuchslowerthanthesignalbitratesof
prac,calinterest.

Ass,mulatedemissiondominatesoverspontaneous,amplica,onis
ecient
Erbium doped fiber :: Operation
Higherthepopula,oninversionlowertheampliernoise
980nmpumpispreferredforlownoiseamplica,on
Howevermorepowerful1480nmsourcesareavailable
At1480nm,silicabershavelowloss;hencepumpcancopropagate
withthesignal
540
Pumpmayevenbeplacedremotely
670
820
980
Metastable
1480
state

Ground state
EDFA :: Operating Wavelengths

SofarwehavefocusedonEDFAsopera,ngintheCband(15301565nm).

Erbiumdopedber,however,hasarela,velylongtailtothegainshape
extendingwellbeyondthisrangetoabout1605nm.

Thishass,mulatedthedevelopmentofsystemsinthesocalledLbandfrom
1565to1625nm.

Gainspectrumoferbiumismucha\erintrinsicallyintheLbandthaninthe
Cband.

Thismakesiteasiertodesigngaina\eningltersfortheLband.

PumppowersrequiredforLbandEDFAsaremuchhigherthantheirCband
counterparts.
Gain Flatness
Popula,onlevelsatdierentbandsvary

Andhencethegainvaria,on

SeriouslyaectsWDMsystems

Toovercomethis
Uselterinsideamplier
Useruorideglassber

Gain performance of various glass fibers

Gain Flattening : A main issue
ThegainspectrumofanEDFA(oranyother
beramplier)isnotuniform

A`ertravelingthroughafewampliers(e.g.,
500km),dierencebetweenpowerofthe
signalsPexceeds510dBandthebiterror
rateistoostronglydegraded

Lowerpowerchannelsbecomeunusable

Filtersarethenintroducedtoselec,velyadd
lossestohighgainwavelengths
Gain Flattening
Gain Dependence on fiber length
Gainisalwaysnega,veattheendofalongenoughber

Lengththatmaximizesgainincreaseswiththepumppower
Spectral gain dependence on pump power
Asthepumppowerincreasesgainshi`stowards1530nmfromLband

Atarightpumppowergainisatoverawidewavelengthrange(Gain
Fla\eningTechnique)
Noise : Amplified Spontaneous Emission
Thelightthatstartss,mulatedemissionoriginatesspontaneously

Whenexcitedstatereleasesitsenergywithouts,mula,on,
spontaneousemissionoccurs

Asthistravelsthroughtheamplifyingmedium,thisspontaneous
emissionalsogetsamplied

ThiscreatesabackgroundnoisecalledAmpliedSpontaneousEmission

Thisbroadbandnoiseisverysimilartosta,cinAMRadio

Random spontaneous
emission (SE)

Amplification along fiber

EDFA : Parameters
Widebandwidth40nm(5000GHz)

Highamplica,on30do40dB

Highoutputpowerdo+20dBm(100mW)

Lownoise4dB(NoisefactorF)

Pumpwavelength980or1480nm

Nodispersioncompensa,on
EDFA : Schematic
Schema,cdiagramofatwostageerbiumdopedberamplierforlow
noisegureandhighoutputpoweropera,on
EDFA : Advantages and Disadvantages
EDFAshavehighpumppoweru,liza,on(>50%)

Directlyandsimultaneouslyamplifyawidewavelengthband(>80
nm)inthe1550nmregion,witharela,velyatgain.

Flatnesscanbeimprovedbygaina\eningop,callters

Gaininexcessof50dB

LownoisegureSuitableforlonghaulapplica,ons

EDFAsarenotsmall

Cannotbeintegratedwithothersemiconductordevices
+
Raman Amplifiers
Raman Amplifier

Topologicallysimplertodesignnospecialdopingisrequired

Usesintrinsicop,calnonlinearityofber

Amplica,ontakesplacethroughoutthelengthoftransmissionber

HencealsoknownasDistributedAmplier
Distributed Amplification
Ramanpumpingisusuallydonebackwards

Gainishigheratthereceiverendoftheberthanatthetransmi\er
end

Thisisveryusefulincompensa,ngforthelosses

Long Fibre Span

EDFA Optical
Transmitter
Receiver

Raman Pump
Laser
Raman Amplifier
UsesintrinsicpropertyofSilicaberMediumoftransmissionitselfcombats
signalloss

ThephysicsbehindiscalledS,mulatedRamanSca\ering

Highenergypumpwaveiscolaunchedintotheber

Ramangaindependsonthepumppowerandfrequencyosetbetweenpump
andsignal

Pumpphotongivesupenergytocreateasignalphoton

Residualvibra,onalenergyisabsorbedasphonons

Pump
Signal

AmpliedSignal

Phonon Relaxation
Typical configuration
Transmitted

Received
Advantages of backward pumping
BackwardpumpinginRamanamplierhasseveraladvantages

Ramanisanalmostinstantaneousprocess

PumpnoisestronglyaectsWDMsignalstobeampliedifforward
pumpingisapplied

Ifpumphasaslightuctua,onin,me,individualbitsareamplied
dierently

Thisleadstoamplitudeuctua,onsorji\er

Inbackwardpumping,poweructua,onsareaveragedout
Raman Gain in Fiber

Dependsmainlyontheop,calfrequencies;butalsoonthepumpfrequencyand
polariza,on

ThereisamaximumRamangainforafrequencyosetof13.2THz.Forexample,apump
waveat1064nmleadstothelargestRamangainatasignalwavelengthof1116nm.

ThepeaksintheRamanspectrumcorrespondtocertainvibra,onmodesofthesilica
structure.

Theusablegainbandwidthisabout48nm
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 4-11 dB, proportional to
concentration, fiber length and pump config 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.

EDFA
+
Raman

Optical Power EDFA

only

Distance
+
Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers
Semiconductor Optical Amplifier
Anelectricalcurrentispassedthroughthedevicethatexcites
electronsintheac,veregion.

Whenphotons(light)travelthroughtheac,veregionitcancause
theseelectronstolosesomeoftheirextraenergyintheformof
morephotonsthatmatchthewavelengthoftheini,alones.

Therefore,anop,calsignalpassingthroughtheac,veregionis
ampliedandissaidtohaveexperienced"gain."

Bothedges(or"facets")oftheSOAare
designedtohaveverylowreec,vityso
thattherearenounwantedreec,onsof
thesignalwithinthesemiconductoritself.

Thisisthemaindierencefromregular
lasersthathavereec,vefacetsinorder
tobuilduptheintensityoflightwithinthe
semiconductormaterial.
SOA :: Amplification Process
SemiconductorshaveValenceandConduc,onbands

Atthermalequilibriumvalencebandhashigherpopula,on

Underpopula,oninversioncondi,onconduc,onbandwillhave
higherpopula,on

Popula,oninversionisachievedbyforwardbiasingthepnjunc,on

E2 ConductionBand

signal

E1
ValenceBand
electron
hole
SOA :: Design
SOA vs Semiconductor Laser
Bothareverysimilarinprincipleandconstruc,on

Essen,allyFabryPerotcavi,es,withamplica,onachievedby
externalpumping

ThekeyinSOAispreven,ngselfoscilla,onsgenera,nglaseroutput

Thisisaccomplishedbyblockingcavityreec,onsusingbothan
an,reec,on(AR)coa,ngandthetechniqueofanglecleavingthe
chipfacets.

SOAsareelectricallypumpedbyinjectedcurrent
SOA :: Characteristics
Compact>onlyasmallsemiconductorchipwithelectricalandber
connec,ons.

Theoutputpowersaresignicantlysmaller.

Thegainbandwidthissmaller,butdevicesopera,ngindierent
wavelengthregionscanbemade.

Theupperstatelife,meandthusthestoredenergyaremuchsmaller,
sothatthegainreactstochangesinpumppowerorsignalpowerwithin
nanoseconds(insteadofmilliseconds).

Changesingainalsocausephasechangesleadingtolinewidth
enhancementfactor.

SOAsexhibitmuchstrongernonlineardistor,ons{selfphase
modula,onandfourwavemixing}.

Thenoisegureistypicallyhigher.

Theamplica,onisnormallypolariza,onsensi,ve.
SOA :: Gain vs Signal Power
InSOAsthegaindynamicsaredeterminedbythecarrierrecombina,on
life,me(fewhundredpicoseconds).

Theampliergainwillreactrela,velyquicklytochangesintheinput
signalpower.

Thisdynamicgaincancausesignaldistor,on,whichbecomesmore
severeasthemodulatedsignalbandwidthincreases.

Theseeectsareevenmoreimportantinmul,channelsystemswhere
thedynamicgainleadstointerchannelcrosstalk.

ThisisincontrasttoEDFAs,whichhaverecombina,onlife,mesofthe
orderofmillisecondsleadingtonegligiblesignaldistor,on.

SOAsalsoexhibitnonlinearbehaviour=>problemssuchasfrequency
chirpingandgenera,onofintermodula,onproducts.

Nonlineari,escanalsobeofuseinSOAsasfunc,onaldevicessuchas
wavelengthconverters.
SOA :: Applications
PowerboosterImmediatelya`erLaserDiode

Inlineamplier

Detectorpreamplier

Op,calswitchingelement

Wavelengthconverter
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
Powerbooster:Placedimmediatelya`ertransmi\er.Helpincreasethepowerof
thesignal,noisemaynotbethemajorissue
SOA

Inlineamplier:Compensateforthesignala\enua,onasitpropagates.
Neededinlonghaulnetworks.Noiseplaysaconsiderableroleasthesignal
weakens
Combina,onofEDFA,FiltersandRamanAmpliers

Preamplier:Aweakop,calsignalisusuallyampliedbeforeitentersthe
receiver.Noiseisacrucialfactor

Power Booster

Transmitter
In-line Amplifier

100 km

Receiver
Detector Pre-amplifier
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
ErbiumDopedFiberAmpliersbyPhilippeC.Becker,N.Anders
Olsson,andJayR.Simpson

RareEarthDopedFiberLasersandAmpliers,RevisedandExpanded
byMichelJ.F.Digonnet

RamanAmplica,oninFiberOp,calCommunica,onSystems(by
CliordHeadleyandGovindAgrawal

RamanAmpliersforTelecommunica,ons1:PhysicalPrinciplesby
MohammadN.Islam

Ramanamplica,ondesigninWDMsystems,WebProforum
Tutorials,h\p://www.iec.org

andvariousinternetresources
Questions?!

Thankyou