E-band Nd^3+ amplifier based on wavelength selection in an all-solid micro-structured fiber

Abstract

A Nd³⁺ fiber amplifier with gain from 1376 nm to 1466 nm is demonstrated. This is enabled by a wavelength selective waveguide that suppresses amplified spontaneous emission between 850 nm and 1150 nm. It is shown that while excited state absorption (ESA) precludes net gain below 1375 nm with the exception of a small band from 1333 nm to 1350 nm, ESA diminishes steadily beyond 1375 nm allowing for the construction of an efficient fiber amplifier with a gain peak at 1400 nm and the potential for gain from 1375 nm to 1500 nm. A peak small signal gain of 13.3 dB is measured at 1402 nm with a noise figure of 7.6 dB. Detailed measurements of the Nd³⁺ emission and excited state absorption cross sections suggest the potential for better performance in improved fibers. Specifically, reduction of the fiber mode field diameter from 10.5 µm to 5.25 µm and reduction of the fiber background loss to <10 dB/km at 1400 nm should enable construction of an E-band fiber amplifier with a noise figure < 5 dB and a small signal gain > 20 dB over 30 nm of bandwidth. Such an amplifier would have a form factor and optical properties similar to current erbium fiber amplifiers, enabling modern fiber optic communication systems to operate in the E-band with amplifier technology similar to that employed in the C and L bands.

Spectral Narrowing in a Subwavelength Solid-State Laser

“…In this work, we go a step further in the search for novel features on plasmon-assisted SSLs. On one side, we demonstrate the possibility to extend the operating wavelength of plasmon-assisted SSLs to a technologically relevant spectral region for telecom (E-band) and bioimaging. , On the other hand, we demonstrate that the interaction of plasmonic nanostructures with the active medium can induce a laser linewidth narrowing by up to 38% for lasing operation at the nanoscale.…”

Strategies for Upgrading an Operator's Backbone Network Beyond the C-Band: Towards Multi-Band Optical Networks

“…Fig.2a shows the xDFAs which are tailored for the second and third low-attenuation window transmission bands (following the ITU standardisation nomenclature) together with the corresponding attenuation and second order dispersion values. As an example, praseodymium-DFA (PDFA) and thulium-DFA (TDFA) are employed for the O-band and the S-band, respectively, while a neodymium-doped fibre amplifier (NDFA) has been proposed for the E-band [14]. These DFA deployments feature sufficiently flat gain performance over a substantial spectral range, along with relatively low noise figures, ensuring high Quality-of-Transmission (QoT).…”

Analysis of Available Components and Performance Estimation of Optical Multi-Band Systems

“…In particular, the Doped Fiber Amplifier (DFA) is a family of amplification components that shows desirable characteristics for an OMB system, such as the sufficient flat gain over a large spectral extent, the low noise figure, and the high output power. In Figure 1, we illustrate the attainable gain and the noise figure of indicative commercially available amplifiers for the O, S, C, and L-bands, while for the E-band, the experimental neodymium (N) DFA of [13] is considered. Another considerable DFA solution for the E-band can be the bismuth (B) DFA of [14].…”