* Syllabus: Optical Amplifiers ,basic concept, applications, types, doped fibre amplifiers, EDFA, basic theory, structure and working, Semiconductor laser amplifier, Raman amplifiers, TDFA, amplifier configurations, performance comparisonOptical Amplifier Optical amplifier is used to amplify the optical signal. There is no need to convert from optical to electrical and vice versa for amplification, when optical amplifiers are [Link]. Optical amplifier performs amplification without any conversion. high signal gain, high saturated output power, minimal noise generation, ultra-wide bandwidth Reduce transmission loss and increase distance between repeaters. Weak signal Amplified signal Pi P. Pump Source> The device absorbs energy supplied from an external source called pump > The pump supplies energy to electrons in an active medium which raises them to higher energy levels to produce population inversion . > An incoming signal photon will trigger these excited electrons to drop to lower levels through a stimulated emission process and emits photons of equal energy. The result is an amplified optical signal > Gain depends on wavelength, internal light intensity and amplifier medium E E Z n> ee AK->| Azo E & E (a) Absorption (b) Spontaneous emission (c) SimaApplications 4) Ill ™ Power Amp Configurations <In-line optical amplifiers (to increase distance of transmission) Ina single mode link the effects of fiber dispersion is small. In such a link complete regeneration of the signal is not necessary and simple amplification of the optical signal is sufficient. + Thus, an in-line amplifier can be used to compensate for transmission loss and increase the distance between regenerative repeaters Pre-amplifier (to improve the sensitivity of receiver) Itis a front end amplifier for an optical receiver. A weak optical signal is amplified before photo detection to increase signal to noise ratio. Compared with other front-end devices such as APD or heterodyne detectors, an optical pre-amplifier provides a large gain factor and broader bandwidth Power Amplifier Also called booster amplifier includes placing the device immediately after an optical transmitter to boost the transmitted power. This increases the transmission distance by 10-100km and compensate for coupler insertion loss and power splitting loss. LAN Booster-to send signal to broadcast or to multiple users,Selecting Amplifiers , Maximum , Type Gain Output power | Noise figure Power High output Not very ifier High gain power important ra Mee Medium Good noise Ce ect el output power figure Preamplifi " Low output Low value <5 er ee DANY power dB essentialOptical amplifier types:Erbium doped fiber amplifier(EDFA) » EDFA is an optical fiber of suitable length(about 10-30 m) whose core(Si) is doped with rare earth element such as erbium (Er?*). > EDFA works based on the concept of stimulated emission EDFA operates in the spectral band of 1530 to 1560 nm region > This fiber is pumped using a pump signal from a laser, typically at a wavelength of 980 nm or 1480 nm. > In order to combine the output of the pump laser with the input signal, the doped fiber is preceded by a wavelength-selective coupler. Y EDFA Block DiagramThe EDFA system consists of input signal (1550 nm), laser diode signal (980 nm or 1480 nm), isolator, WDM coupler, and splice. The optical input signal of wavelength 1550 nm is sent into the optical fiber. These light signals are transmitted through the optical fiber for very large distances without signal attenuation. The laser diode produces light of 980 nm or 1480 nm wavelength which is different from input optical signal wavelength. This laser light is mixed with the input optical signal by using a device called WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) coupler. The laser light and optical input signals are sent into the EDFA fiber. When the laser light interacts with the erbium ions, it stimulates them and produces an amplified optical signal of same wavelength (1550 nm) and direction of the input signal. This process is called stimulated emission of radiation.Energy level diagram & Transition process -EDFA + EDFA is pumped with two different wavelengths of photons: 980 nm or 1480 nm, + The 980 nm wavelength photons have more energy than the 1480 nm wavelength photons. Eneray £3 | _Pumetand Decay t lower state Metastable band aS 2 Ox fLg80-nm | [Link] ~~ phon Phowon [33am ~ 1550 nm “7550 nm 1 i ee Ty Photons (Ground-sate bandWhen the laser diode pumps the erbium ions with a 980 nm photons, the electrons in the ground state E, absorbs sufficient energy and jumps into the excited state E; (transition process 1) The lifetime of electrons in the energy state E; is approximately 1 us, which is very low. So after a short period of time, the electrons in the excited state E, will fall into the metastable state or excited state E,, by releasing energy in the form of heat (non-radiative emission) (transition process 3) A 1480 nm laser diode will pumps the electrons directly to the metastable state (transition process 3). These electrons then tend to the more populated lower end of the metastable state level (transition process 4). The lifetime of electrons in the metastable state or excited state E, is greater than the excited state Ey; so many electrons get populated in metastable state E>. In such case, the population of metastable state E greater than the ground state E). Thus, population inversion whi Useful for light amplification is achieved.After some time, the electrons in the metastable state E, will fall back to the ground state E,, by releasing its energy in the form of photons. This process of emission of photons is called spontaneous emission of radiation, (transition process 5) The photons emitted due to spontaneous emission will not travel in the same direction of incoming photons; instead they travel in random direction, So, these photons produce’ noise. Sponianeous emission of radiation is the major source of noise in EDFA. A small portion of the external photon will be absorbed by ions in the ground state, which raises these ions to the metastable state (transition process 6) The signal photon triggers an excited ions to drop to the ground level.. Thus, new photons is released at a wavelength of 1550 nm. This process of emission of photons is called stimulated emission of radiation. Likewise, millions of photons are released by stimulated emission (transition process 7) The wavelength and direction of these released photons are same as the input light signal. The photons emitted due to the stimulated emission are extra photons added to the input light signal of same wavelength and direction. Thus, light amplification is achieved at 1550 nm by using a 980 nm laser diodeWOM Fibre coupler Erbium doped fibre loop Fibre input output Inside an EDFA. Pump laser2. Co-directional Pumping Pump light injected in same direction as signal flow Better noise performance [Link] directional pumping Pump light injected in opposite direction as signal flow Higher gain Dual pumping ~ Bidirectional pumping = Pump light is injected from both direction of the signal flow. population inversion relatively Uniform along amplifier length = Gain :3848 EDFA Configurations spt 4 in TeAdvantages [Link] gain Low noise figure: 4.5 dB to 6dB [Link] distortion at high bit rates Immunity to cross talk EDFA amplifies the optical signals without optoelectronic and electro optical conversion. EDFA amplifies multiple optical signals simultaneously. ve not require high speed electronics The amplification is independent of a data rate. Disadvantages v Pump laser necessary v Need to use a gain equalizer for multistage amplification ¥ Difficult to integrate with other components Applications of EDFA ¥ Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)Noise Figure * Gain of an erbium-doped fiber with a length of L is the ratio of signal power at the fiber output to the signal power injected at the fiber input as: Ps(L) P5(0) + Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) noise generates during amplification process is added to the signal leading to decrease in signal to noise ratio(SNR) at the amplifier output. + SNR reduction ratio from input to output of the amplifier is defined as Noise Figure(NF). G= — (SNR)in =(SNR)out_ * Noise Figure can also be expressed in terms of gain and spontaneous emission factor (n,,) NF =2n, n2 n2-ni where , ny and ni and n2 are ionic population in two energy levelsEDFA Gain Charactet Ss For a given pump power the amplifier gain increases up to a certain length of fiber, and then begins to decrease after a maximum point, For a given amplifier length, the amplifier gain initially increases exponentially with the pump power and then goes to saturation after a certain level of pump power. ~ ~ poetoome i, peettow \ 20 40 aie aa 0 e aeons leone) 0 0 0 0100 Power (i) Fig:The variation of gain with fiber length The variation of gain with pump powerSemiconductor Laser Amplifier or SOA Semiconductor Optical Amplifier A semiconductor laser structure can be used as an amplifier that amplifies light waves passing through its active region. SOA is an optical amplifier based on semiconductor gain medium used to amplify optical signals. 1310 nm, 1400 nm, 1550 nm and 1610 nm wavelength selectable Ahigh fiber-to-fiber gain of 20 dB Up to 16 dBm output 1 MHz with 10 ns pulse width (optional) Similar to lasers, but with non-reflecting ends and broad wavelength emission Incoming optical signal stimulates emission of light at its own wavelength The process continues through the cavity to amplify the signalStructure: A thin layer of a different semiconductor material is sandwiched between the p-type and n-type regions. Such a device is called a heterostructure. This semiconductor material then forms the active region or layer. The material used for the active layer has a slightly smaller bandgap and a higher refractive index than the surrounding p-type and n-type regions. The larger refractive index helps to confine the light during amplification since the structure now forms a dielectric waveguide Lightinput Amplified output —+ ° 2. Cleaved suface 0 aved surface with anttelection ¥ antcflection Residual reflectivity Residual relectiviy R,Working: The basic working principle of an SOA is the same as a semiconductor laser but without feedback. SOAs amplify incident light through stimulated emission. When the light travelling through the active region, it causes these electrons to lose energy in the form of photons and get back to the ground state. Those stimulated photons have the same wavelength as the optical signal, thus amplifying the optical signal. nts } Quantum Dots: =: ll ale Output Signal Saturable SOASOA Types: 1. Fabry-perot SOA (FPA) 2. Travelling Wave Amplifier (TWA)1. _Fabry-perot SOA (FPA): > The Fabry-Perot Semiconductor Optical Amplifier is same as the Fabry- Perot laser. A laser's two end surfaces are cleaved to make them works as mirrors. > The Light entering the active region is reflected many times from cleaved facets and having been amplified. > When the light enters FPA it gets amplified as it reflects back and forth between the mirrors until emitted at a higher intensity. > Itis sensitive to temperature and input optical frequency. > Using a Fabry-Perot resonator, which provides optical feedback, can increase the gain of SOA. > FPA has very high gain within a narrow bandwidth. In other words, FP SOA is a laser diode where gain is less than loss. Resonance Fabry-Perot SOA si Ss irene output F Owns Reflective facets Wavelength2. Travelling Wave Amplifier (TWA): > Tocreate a traveling wave SOA, the resonance in the Fabry-Perot cavity must be suppressed. Reflectivity must be extremely small (<0.1%) for the SOA to act as. TWamplifier. > Three special approaches are used to reduce the reflectivity of these mirrors: with an antireflection coating, tilting the active region with respect to facets and using buffer material between the active region and the facets (using transparent window). > Traveling wave amplifier is an active medium without reflective facets so that input signal is amplified by a single passage through the active medium as shown in Fig . Since the gain of TWA can be increased by extending the length of the active medium, > They widely used because they have a large optical bandwidth, and low polarization sensitivity. ‘Travellimg-wave SOA = Input Output is 7 Antireftetion ‘WavdlehigihEnd surfaces are cleaved to make them works as mirrors. Lots of reflection so higher probability of spontaneous emission -more noise. When the light enters FPA it gets amplified as it reflects back and forth between the Narrow optical bandwidth, High sensitive to temperature. End facets are either antireflection coated or cleaved at an angle so that internal reflection does not take place Reflectivity must be extremely small (<0.1%) Less spontaneous emission so the signal is smoother and it has better noise characteristic. ‘The input signal gets amplified only once during a single pass through the device. Large optical bandwidth Low polarization sensitivity, less sensitive toAdvantages of SOA: * Work in any wavelength (+) * Have high integration, compact and low power consumption (+) Disadvantages of SOA: * Gain fluctuation with signal bit rate (-) * Cross talk between different wavelengths (-)Raman fiber amplifier A Raman amplifier is based on a nonlinearity effect called Stimulated Raman Scattering. Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) The monochromatic light is scattered when it is allowed to pass through a substance. The scattered light contains some additional frequencies other than that of incident frequency. This is known as Raman effect. SRS occurs when the light wave (photon, 4,) interacts with the silica molecules in the fiber. Due to this interaction the molecule vibrates and absorbs some energy from the photon. As a result, the photon is scattered which is called optical phonon. The wavelength of scattered photon(phonon) is larger (frequency less) than the incident photon (4g>A,) and the modified photon is called stoke photon The light wave which is hit on the molecule is hy he fiber of wavelength equal to scattered led pump wave because , it supplies the power to the generated wave.(E e If any signal propagates through photon(A,), then that signal is amplified by SRS effect. If two or more signals at different wavelengths are simultaneously injected into the fiber, SRS can cause power to be transferred from the lower wavelength to the higher wavelength.‘ If any signal propagates through the fiber of wavelength equal to scattered photon(Az), then that signal is amplified by SRS effect. + If two or more signals at different wavelengths are simultaneously injected into the fiber, SRS can cause power to be transferred from the lower wavelength to the higher waveleneth, dar li pect ‘ The shift to a particular longer wavelength is referred to as the stokes shift for that wavelength* The figure given below shows the Raman gain spectrum for a pump laser operating at 1445 nm and illustrates the SRS induced power to a signal at 1535 nm, which is 90 nm away from the pump wavelength. Peak Stokes shift (90 nm) — Gain peak Raman gain curve, Data signal at 1535 nm jan pump 5 SRS-generated interference signal at 1535 nmRaman amplifier -System setup Power Broadband Power ss © Wen cee tap Transmission ty Output Taput sa 1 Monitoring Pump Monitoring photodiode power photodiode Mm, Inputs from 42 —-— | pump lasers 43 —"~ ” 14XX-nm pump-pump combiner Setup for a typical Raman amplification system + Here a pump combiner multiplexes the outputs from four pump lasers operating at different wavelengths onto a single fiber. This combined pump power then is coupled into the transmission fiber in a counter propagating direction through a broadband WOM coupler. The differences in the power levels measured between the two monitoring photodiodes gives the amplification gain. The gain —flattening filter(GFF) is used to equalize the gains at different wavelengths.Raman amplifier -System setup Power Broadband Power ss © Wen cee tap Transmission ty Output Taput sa 1 Monitoring Pump Monitoring photodiode power photodiode Mm, Inputs from 42 —-— | pump lasers 43 —"~ ” 14XX-nm pump-pump combiner Setup for a typical Raman amplification system + Here a pump combiner multiplexes the outputs from four pump lasers operating at different wavelengths onto a single fiber. This combined pump power then is coupled into the transmission fiber in a counter propagating direction through a broadband WOM coupler. The differences in the power levels measured between the two monitoring photodiodes gives the amplification gain. The gain —flattening filter(GFF) is used to equalize the gains at different wavelengths.Advantages of Raman amplifier : + Compatible with installed SM fiber * Variable wavelength amplification possible * Avery broadband operation may be possible * Can result in lower average power over a span, so it good for lower crosstalk * Can be used extends EDFAs * Flexible gain wavelength + Low noise + Simple structure + The non-linear effect can be reduced Disadvantages of Raman amplifier : * High pump power require + Sophisticated gain control needed * Noise is also an issue + Low efficiency * High costThulium-doped fiber amplifier (TDFA) Fluoride based fiber is doped with rare earth element such as Thulium, Fluoride glass is known by the name ZBLAN (Zirconi Aluminium, Sodium).Since it’s constituents are ZrF,, BaF, Major Component: ZrF (54%) TDFA operates in the spectral band of 1450 to 1530 nm region (S-band). Complex due to large number of levels. TDFA is pumped with two different wavelengths of photons: 1400 nm or 1050 nm. m, Barium, Lanthanum, aF, AIF;, and NaF. Block Diagram > > = >The TDFA system consists of input signal (1470 nm), laser diode signal (1400 nm or 1050 nm), isolator, WDM coupler, and splice. The optical input signal of wavelength 1470 nm is sent into the optical fiber. The laser diode produces light of 1400 nm or 1050 nm wavelength which is different from input optical signal wavelength. This laser light is mixed with the input optical signal by using a device called WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) coupler. The laser light and optical input signals are sent into the TDFA fiber. When the laser light interacts with the Thulium ions, it stimulates them and produces an amplified optical signal of same wavelength (1470 nm) and direction of the input signal. This process is called stimulated emission of radiation,(One wavelength for pumping a S-band TDFA is 1.4 Thulium ion shows a weak Ground-State Absorption (GSA: level 0 ->level 1) and a strong Excited-State Absorption (ESA: level 1ylevel 3) at 1.4 um, and amplification takes place by the following steps: Asmall fraction of Tm ions are excited to the level 1(due to weak GSA) lons at the level 1 are mostly excited to the level 3 (due to strong ESA), lons at the level 3 emit a photon and drop to the level 1 Repeat the cycle 2 and 3 without returning to the ground state level 4 level 3 level 2 level 1 level 0+ Another choice of pumping wavelength is 1.05 um . This scheme would be superior for high-power amplification than the 1.4-4m pumping level 3 i. Ay level 1. Asmall fraction of Tm ions are excited to the level 2 tons at the level 2 drop to level 1 by releasing energy in the form of heat (non-radiative emission) 3. _lonsat the level 1 are mostly excited to the level 4 4. lonsat the level 4 drop to level 3 by releasing energ emission) 5. lonsat the level 3 emit a photon and drop to the level 1 6. Repeat the cycle 3 -Swithout returning to the ground state in the form of heat (non-radiativePerformance comparison fie Gain (dB) Wavelength (am) Bandwidth (348) Max. Saturation (48m) Polarization Sensitivity Noise Figure (dB) Pump Power Time Constant Size Switchable Cost Factor iN >40 1530-1560 30-60 No 5 25 dBm 10%s Rack mounted No Medium Raman > 25 1280-1650 Pump dependent 0.75 x pump No 5 >30 d8m 105s Bulk module No High >30 1280-1650 60 18, Yes 8 < 400 mA 2x 109 Compact Yes Low