Erbium-doped fiber amplifier with automatic gain control
US6094298A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 6, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jul 25, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 6, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/1608
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is placed in a laser cavity to clamp the gain of the amplifier. The laser cavity is preferably formed to minimize the effects of relaxation oscillations and of spectral hole burning. In a preferred embodiment, the laser cavity supports a lasing wavelength which makes the saturation energy at the laser wavelength less than that at the signal wavelengths. In an erbium doped fiber implementation, the laser wavelength is shorter than that of the signal wavelengths and is separated from them by no more than approximately 75% of the width of the spectral hole. The compounding of relaxation oscillations may be substantially eliminated by varying the length of the fiber within each laser cavity within a system to change the photon round-trip time within each cavity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.