Optical signal amplification
Assignee1FINITY Inc.
InventorYouichi Akasaka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical amplifier may include an erbium-doped fiber and an optical coupler coupled to the erbium-doped fiber. In some embodiments, a length of the erbium-doped fiber may be selected for an amplification gain applied by the optical amplifier. The optical coupler may be configured to multiplex one or more optical data signals and an optical pump signal from an optical pump onto the erbium-doped fiber such that the erbium-doped fiber may amplify a first continuous range of wavelengths of the optical data signals. The optical amplifier may further include a filter coupled to the erbium-doped fiber and configured to attenuate a second continuous range of wavelengths. In some embodiments, the second continuous range may be less than the first continuous range and positioned within the first continuous range.
Claims15
An optical amplifier comprising:
- an erbium-doped fiber including a first end and a second end and configured to amplify a first continuous range of wavelengths of optical signals, a length of the erbium-doped fiber selected for an amplification gain applied by the optical amplifier, wherein the first continuous range of wavelengths includes wavelengths within the S-band, the C-band, and the L-band of optical transmission bands;
- an optical pump configured to output an optical pump signal;
- an optical coupler coupled to the optical pump and the first end of the erbium-doped fiber, the optical coupler configured to multiplex one or more optical data signals and the optical pump signal onto the erbium-doped fiber;
- and
- a filter coupled to the second end of the erbium-doped fiber, the filter configured to attenuate a second continuous range of wavelengths, the second continuous range being less than the first continuous range and positioned within the first continuous range, wherein the second continuous range includes wavelengths within the C-band of optical transmission bands.
A method to amplify a signal comprising:
- obtaining an optical signal and an optical pump signal;
- multiplexing, by an optical coupler, the optical signal and the optical pump signal onto an erbium-doped fiber configured to amplify a first continuous range of wavelengths of the optical signal, a length of the erbium-doped fiber selected for a desired amplification gain, wherein the first continuous range of wavelengths includes wavelengths within the S-band, the C-band and the L-band of optical transmission bands;
- and
- after multiplexing the optical signal and the optical pump signal onto the erbium-doped fiber, attenuating a second continuous range of wavelengths of the optical signal, the second continuous range being less than the first continuous range and positioned within the first continuous range, wherein the second continuous range includes wavelengths within the C-band of optical transmission bands.
A method to design an optical amplifier, the method comprising:
- obtaining a gain requirement for first optical signals in a first wavelength range and for second optical signals in a second wavelength range, a third wavelength range separating the first wavelength range and the second wavelength range;
- obtaining a range of gains that an erbium-doped fiber amplifier applies to optical signals in the first wavelength range and second wavelength range, the range of gains dependent on a length of an erbium-doped fiber within the erbium-doped fiber amplifier;
- selecting a filter configured to attenuate the third wavelength range;
- and
- determining a number of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and a number of filters to cascade and a length of the erbium-doped fiber in each of the cascaded erbium-doped fiber amplifiers based on the gain requirement, wherein the number of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and the number of filters is the same and each of the filters are positioned following one of the erbium-doped fiber amplifiers,
- wherein the first wavelength range includes wavelengths within the S-band, the second wavelength range includes wavelengths within the L-band, and the third wavelength range includes wavelengths within the C-band.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.