Fast optimization of multipump Raman amplifiers based on a simplified wavelength and power budget heuristic

Abstract

We report a simple budget heuristic for a fast optimization of multipump Raman amplifiers based on the reallocation of the pump wavelengths and the optical powers. A set of different optical fibers are analyzed as the Raman gain medium, and a four-pump amplifier setup is optimized for each of them in order to achieve ripples close to 1 dB and gains up to 20 dB in the C band. Later, a comparison between our proposed heuristic and a multiobjective optimization based on a nondominated sorting genetic algorithm is made, highlighting the fact that our new approach can give similar solutions after at least an order of magnitude fewer iterations. The results shown in this paper can potentially pave the way for real-time optimization of multipump Raman amplifier systems.