US 2007/0165298 A1Published application

Optical amplifier apparatus

AssigneeAdvantest Corporation

InventorAtsushi Seki

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Abstract

An optical amplifier apparatus capable of dealing with different wavelength bands and capable of outputting an amplified light with reduced noise for any one of the wavelength bands. In a case of amplifying a light of C-band, terminals (51,52) of an optical switch (50) are connected to each other. An incident light is amplified by a first front-end optical fiber amplifier (12) and a first back-end optical fiber amplifier (18). The amplified light passes via the terminals (51,52) and through a back-end WDM coupler (36) and goes out of the optical amplifier apparatus (1). In a case of amplifying a light of L-band, terminals (51,54) of the optical switch (50) are connected to each other, while terminals (52,53) thereof are connected to each other. An incident light is amplified by the first front-end optical fiber amplifier (12) and first back-end optical fiber amplifier (18), passing via the terminals (51,54), thereafter being further amplified by a second front-end optical fiber amplifier (22) and a second back-end optical fiber amplifier (28). The thus amplified light then passes via the terminals (53,52) and through the back-end WDM coupler (36) and goes out of the optical amplifier apparatus (1).

Claims22

Dependent claims

An optical amplifier apparatus comprising:

a first front-end optical fiber amplifier that amplifies incident light;
a first front-end pumping light source that generates first pumping light supplied to said first front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a first front-end pumping light introducing means that introduces the first pumping light to said first front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a first back-end optical fiber amplifier that amplifies outgoing light of said first front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a second front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a second front-end pumping light source that generates second pumping light supplied to said second front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a second front-end pumping light introducing means that introduces the second pumping light to said second front-end optical fiber amplifier from an outgoing side which is opposite to an incident side;
a second back-end optical fiber amplifier that amplifies outgoing light of said second front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a back-end pumping light source that generates third pumping light supplied to said first back-end optical fiber amplifier;
a back-end pumping light introducing means that introduces the third pumping light to said first back-end optical fiber amplifier;
and
an optical connecting means that (1) connects an outgoing side of said first back-end optical fiber amplifier and said back-end pumping light introducing means to each other, or (2) connects the outgoing side of said first back-end optical fiber amplifier and the incident side of said second front-end optical fiber amplifier to each other thereby causing the second front-end optical fiber amplifier to amplify outgoing light of said first back-end optical fiber amplifier.

9 more elements

An optical amplifier apparatus comprising:

a first front-end optical fiber amplifier that amplifies incident light;
a first front-end pumping light source that generates first pumping light supplied to said first front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a first front-end pumping light coupler that introduces the first pumping light to said first front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a first back-end optical fiber amplifier that amplifies outgoing light of said first front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a second front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a second front-end pumping light source that generates second pumping light supplied to said second front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a second front-end pumping light coupler that introduces the second pumping light to said second front-end optical fiber amplifier from an outgoing side which is opposite to an incident side;
a second back-end optical fiber amplifier that amplifies outgoing light of said second front-end optical fiber amplifier;
a back-end pumping light source that generates third pumping light supplied to said first back-end optical fiber amplifier;
a back-end pumping light coupler that introduces the third pumping light to said first back-end optical fiber amplifier;
and
an optical switch that (1) connects an outgoing side of said first back-end optical fiber amplifier and said back-end pumping light coupler to each other, or (2) connects the outgoing side of said first back-end optical fiber amplifier and the incident side of said second front-end optical fiber amplifier to each other thereby causing the second front-end optical fiber amplifier to amplify outgoing light of said first back-end optical fiber amplifier.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/567,646Filed 11 Aug 2004
Priority: JP 2003-29276513 Aug 2003
Published: 19 Jul 2007
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

H04B 10/294
Signal power control: in a multiwavelength system, e.g. gain equalisation
H01S 3/06758
Fibre amplifiers: tandem amplifiers
H01S 3/094003
By coherent light: the pumped medium being a fibre
H01S 3/005
Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range: optical devices…