US 2024/0162675 A1Published application

Dual-Band ASE Source Utilizing A Reflective Topology

AssigneeII-Vi Delaware, Inc.

InventorsIan Peter McClean, Martin R. Williams

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Abstract

An arrangement for generating amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) over the combination of the C-band and L-band wavelength ranges is proposed, based on a reflective topology that reduces the number of individual components (compared with separate C-band and L-band ASE sources) required to generate the broadband ASE output. A pair of ASE generators are used, where at least one of the generators is configured to include a reflective element at a termination of the included gain fiber. The inclusion of the reflective element allows for the generated emission to pass through the gain fiber twice (emulating the operation of a conventional dual-stage ASE source). A long wavelength portion of the ASE created by a first ASE generator may be used as a seed input by the remaining ASE generator of the pair to further increase the efficiency of extending the ASE along the L-band wavelength range.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A dual-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source operational across a combination of the C-band wavelength range and the L-band wavelength range, the dual-band ASE source comprising

a first ASE generator comprising at least one section of rare-earth doped fiber, responsive to the presence of an optical pump beam to generate ASE spanning a first wavelength region along the C+L wavelength range as a first generator output;
and
a second ASE generator comprising at least one section of rare-earth doped fiber and responsive to the presence of an optical pump beam to generate ASE spanning a second wavelength region along the C+L wavelength range as a second generator output, the combination of the first and second generator outputs forming an output of the dual-band ASE spanning across the C+L band, wherein at least one of the first and second ASE generators is configured as a reflective module incorporating a reflective element at a termination of the at least one section of rare-earth doped fiber to create an optical path length greater than a physical length of the at least one section of rare-earth doped fiber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.