Abstract

830-nm pumped erbium doped fiber amplifiers The two major pump wavelengths for erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) are at 980 nm and 1480 nm. Other possible pump wavelengths such as 514 nm and 830 nm have not been considered practical because of lack of semiconductor pump lasers (514 nm) or initially poor results regarding the gain coefficient and problems with excited state absorption (830 nm). Fueled by the abundant availability of inexpensive 830-nm lasers, the 830-nm pump band has been revisited. Recent and still improving re-suits indicate that 830-nm pumping is viable. Gain coefficients as high as 1.3 dB/mW have been achieved.

© 1991 Optical Society of America