REMOTE ALL-OPTICAL NANOSECOND GAIN SWITCHING OF AN ERBIUM-DOPED FIBER AMPLIFIER

摘要

All-optical gain switching of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier located up to 50 km away from the signal and control lasers is demonstrated. The amplifier is deactivated by optical control pulses within the amplifier bandwidth that strongly saturate the gain at the signal wavelength. Fall times are approximately equal to the control pulse duration of 21 ns. From 25 km, a maximum extinction ratio of 16 dB is demonstrated with the signal at 1527 nm and the control pulse at 1554 nm. The dynamic range for remote switching is limited by a stimulated Raman scattering of the control pulses. [References: 10]