Chapter Five

Optical Amplifiers
Outline
Basic Concepts Optical Amplifiers
 Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers
Erbium Doped - Fiber Amplifier
Raman – Amplifiers
 Optical Amplifier
An optical amplifier is a device which amplifies the
optical signal directly without ever changing it to
electrical form.
The light itself is amplified.
which increases the strength of the optical signal.
 Reasons to use the optical amplifiers:
 Reliability
 Flexibility Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
 Low Cost
Cont……
Characteristic of optical amplifier
 Types of Optical Amplifier
There are two types of optical amplifiers used in
optical networks-
1. Solid state Optical Amplifiers
➤Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers
2. Fiber Amplifiers
➤Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers ( EDFAs )
➤Raman Amplification ( RA )
Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)
 SOA is a semiconductor element. By performing
antireflective processing on the crack plane of a
semiconductor laser and eliminating the resonant
structure, light can penetrate from outside the
semiconductor and amplify the signals (Light)
through excited emission.
 Cont…..

 SOAs have two primary regions, active and passive. When the
signal passes through the active region, the electrons in the active
region lose energy (as photons) and reach the ground state.
 These excited photons have the same wavelength as the signal itself
and the same phase. Therefore, this phenomenon amplifies the
origins signal as it leaves the active region.
SOA advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
1. Compactness
2. Integration potential
3. High power output
4. Broad choice of operating wavelength (400-2000 nm)
5. Low price with high volume production
Disadvantages
1. High coupling loss
2. Polarization dependence
3. High noise figure (as compared with EDFA)
SOA applications
Amplifier (Power booster – immediately
following the LD,
in-line amplifier,
detector - preamplifier)
Optical Switch Element
Wavelength Converter
 Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA)
 EDFA is an optical amplifier with erbium ions added to the core of
the optical fiber.
 It features high gain and low noise, independent polarization , and
can amplify optical signals in the 1.55 μm band or 1.58 μm band.
Amplified wavelength: about 1550nm
Pump wavelengths: 980 and/or 1480.
An erbium doped fiber amplifier consists of a short length of doped
optical fiber by small controlled amounts of the rare earth
element erbium.
 This rare earth element contributes to the amplification process in
the presence of a pump signal.
A pumping laser excites erbium ions in the fiber, which can then
give their energy to the optical signals passing through.
The principle of operation is similar to the principle of a laser.
Configuration of EDFA
Cont…..
Advantage and Disadvantage
 Advantages
 EDFA has high pump power utilization (>50%)
 Directly and simultaneously amplify a wide wavelength
band (>80nm) in the 1550nm region, with a relatively flat
gain
 Flatness can be improved by gain-flattening optical filters
 Gain in excess of 50 dB
 Low noise figure suitable for long haul applications
 Disadvantages
Size of EDFA is not small
It can not be integrated with other semiconductor devices
 RAMAN amplifier
• Fiber Raman Amplifier (FRA) is also a
relatively mature optical amplifier.
• In a FRA, the optical signal is amplified due to
stimulated Raman scattering (SRS).
• The fiber gain media of the former is generally
within 10 km.
• In addition, it requires on higher pump power,
• It is mainly used to amplify the optical signal
band of which EDFA cannot satisfy.
RAMAN amplifier
Cont…
 Application Optical Amplifier
1. Pre-Amplifier :- is usually installed at the receiver end of
the DWDM network to amplify the optical signal to the required
level to ensure that it can be detected by the receiver.
 There will be great power loss after the optical signal goes
through the 80km optical fiber.
 Generally, a pre-amplifier should offer high gain to ensure that
the optical signal is detectable.
Booster Amplifier
 Is installed in the transmitting end of the fiber optic network, which can
amplifier amplify the optical signal launched into the fiber link.
 It is usually used in DWDM network where the multiplexer attenuates the
signal channels.
 Please note, a DCM (Dispersion Compensation Module) is added in this
network to further ensure the transmission quality.
 A booster amplifier usually provides low gain and high output power
 In-line Amplifier
 In-line amplifier is installed in the fiber optic link every 80-
100km as shown in the following picture
 The gain provided by the pre-amplifier and booster amplifier
might not be enough due to the optical loss caused by long haul
transmission.
 It has moderate gain and has similar output power to those of
booster amplifier.
 Improvement of System Gain
Improvement Improvement Key
in gain(dB) in length(km) technology

Booster 10 - 15 40 - 60 High efficiency

Preamplifier 5 – 10 (APD) 20 - 40 Low noise

In-line 15 -30 60 - 120 Low noise

Remote pump 5 -15 30 - 60 High pumping

Figure .illustrates the effect on a degraded optical signal once it has been 1R, 2R, or 3R
regenerated.
Summary