OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS

Optical amplifiers
operate solely in the optical domain with no inter-conversion of photons to electrons
provide better performance over regenerative repeaters which require optoelectronic
devices and electronic circuits.
can be placed at intervals along a fiber link to provide linear amplification
Two main categories of optical amplifiers:
A. Semiconductor Laser amplifiers (SLAs) - amplification is done by simulated
emission from injected carriers
B. Fiber amplifiers (FA) - amplification is provided by stimulated Raman scattering or
Brillouin scattering or doping with Erbium or Neodimuim (Nd).
Traveling wave semiconductor laser
amplifier (TWSLA), Erbium doped
fiber and Raman fiber amplifiers
provide wide spectral bandwidth -
WDM applications.

Brillouin fiber amplifier has a very
narrow spectral bandwidth ~50MHz
- used for channel
selection within a
WDM system.
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
Semiconductor Laser Amplifiers (SLA)
Two major types: - the resonant, Fabry-Perot amplifier (FPA)
- the nonresonant (single pass), traveling-wave amplifier (TWA)
SLA is based on the conventional
semiconductor laser structure
(gain- or index-guided).
In FPA, the reflectivities of the
facets are between 30 to 35 percent
whereas in TWA the reflectivities
are less than 0.001.
FPA
for operation FPA is biased below the normal lasing threshold current
when an optical signal enters the FPA, it gets amplified as it reflects back and forth
between the mirrors until it is emitted at a higher intensity
easy to fabricate but the optical signal gain is very sensitive to variations in amplifier
temperature and input optical frequency
used within nonlinear applications such as pulse shaping and bistable elements
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
Gain and bandwidth of an FPA
Using the standard theory of FP interferometers, the cavity gain of SLA as a function
of signal frequency f is
( )
( )( )
( ) |
2
2 1
2
2 1
2 1
sin 4 1
1 1
S S
S
FP
G R R G R R
G R R
f G
+

=
where R
1
= input facet reflectivity
R
2
= output facet reflectivity
the single pass phase shift
( )
f
f f
m
o
t
|

=
f
m
= cavity resonance frequencies
of = longitudinal-mode spacing
G
FP
reduce to G
S
when R
1
=R
2
=0
G
FP
peaks whenever f coincides with
one of the cavity-resonance frequencies
and drop sharply in between them.
Amplifier bandwidth is determined by
the sharpness of the cavity resonance
The 3dB single longitudinal mode
bandwidth is
( )
( )
(
(

=
=

2 1
2 1
2 1 1
2
1
sin
2
2
S
S
m FPA
G R R
G R R f
f f B
t
o
| | L g G
S
exp =
the single pass gain
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
Traveling-wave Amplifier
TWA operating in the single-pass amplification mode in which the Fabry-Perot
resonance is suppressed by the reduction in facet reflectivity
antireflection coating is applied to the laser facets - a thin layer of silicon oxide or
silicon nitride
Light output against current characteristic for SLA with different values of facet
reflectivity R
Antireflection facet coatings have the effect of increasing the lasing current threshold
In practice SLAs are operated at current far beyond the normal lasing threshold current
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
feedback is reduce as the reflected
beam at the facet is physically
separated from the forward beam
some feedback can still occur as
the optical mode spreads beyond
the active region.
the optical beam spreads in the
transparent window before arriving
at the semiconductor-air interface.
The reflected beam spreads even
further on the return trip and does
not couple much light into the thin
active layer.
Buried-facet or window facet
structure -
Angled-facet or tilted-stripe structure -
The combination of an antireflection coating and these structures can produce reflectivities
below 10
-3
to 10
-4
.
TWA Structures
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
Gain of a TWA
The single pass gain in the active medium of the SLA is
| | ( ) | |
(

|
|
.
|

\
|

+
I
= I = = L
I I
g
L g L g G
S
m S
o o
1
exp exp exp
0
where I = the optical confinement factor
the effective loss coefficient per unit length
g
m
= the material gain coefficient
g
0
= the unsaturated material gain coefficient in the absence of the input signal
I
S
= the saturation input signal intensity

= o
the single pass gain decreases with increasing input signal intensity I
the g
m
is reduced by a factor of 2 when I = I
S

The phase shift associated with the single pass amplifier,
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
+ =
S
S
I I
I bL g
2
0
0
| |

t
|
nL 2
0
=
where
and b is the linewidth broadening factor
both single pass gain and phase are functions of optical intensity
for a constant signal intensity (e.g. with frequency modulation) there is no inherent
signal distortion
for a time-varying intensity the gain and phase may change with time, causing signal
distortion.
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
Bandwidth of a TWA
The 3-dB bandwidth of a TWA is determined by the full gain width of the amplifier
medium rather than the Fabry-Perot gain profile- the 3dB bandwidth of a TWA is three
order of magnitude larger than that of an FPA.
The passband comprises peaks and
troughs whose relative amplitudes are
determined by the facet reflectivities,
single pass gain, and input intensity.

The ratio of the peak-trough of the
passband ripple,
2
2 1
2 1
min
max
1
1
|
|
.
|

\
|

+
= = A
R R G
R R G
G
G
G
S
S
FP
FP
If AG exceeds 3dB, the amplifier bandwidth is set
by the cavity resonances rather than by the gain
spectrum.
To keep AG < 2, the facet reflectivities should
satisfy the condition
17 . 0
2 1
< R R G
OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
Backward Gain within a TWA
The gain of the backward traveling signal G
b
is defined as the ratio of the power in the
backward traveling signal P
b
to the input signal power P
in
into the amplifier.
( )
( ) |
|
2
2 1
2
2 1
2
2 1
2
2 1
sin 4 1
sin 4
S S
S S
in
b
b
G R R G R R
G R R G R R
P
P
G
+
+
= =
backward gain is
approaching the
potential forward
gain at high facet
reflectivity
even at low facet
reflectivity (0.01%)
the backward gain
is still very
significant (10dB)
optical isolators
may be required to
avoid the interaction
of backward signals
between the devices.