Gain and bandwidth investigation in a near-zero ultra-flat dispersion PCF for optical parametric amplification around...

In this work, we explore the fiber optical parametric amplifiers (FOPAs) gain and bandwidth spectra of near-zero ultra-flattened photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) around the communication wavelength. The parametric gain and spectral bandwidth have been explored for all the three zero-dispersion wavelengths (ZDWs) of the near-zero ultra-flat fiber. Our numerical analysis establishes a dispersion profile with D=0±0.35  ps/nm/km for a bandwidth of 440 nm around the communication wavelength to fully exploit the four-wave mixing effect with three ZDWs for broadband applications. It has been observed that the broader gain spectrum of FOPAs can be achieved with the near-zero and ultra-flattened dispersion curve with proper tuning of the pumping condition. A broader bandwidth with sufficient peak gain value has been achieved with small negative anomalous dispersion (β2≤0) and positive value of fourth-order dispersion parameter (+ve  β4) around the pumping wavelength. Wider bandwidth of the parametric amplifier has been observed around the second ZDW with a negative slope of the dispersion curve. A total bandwidth ≈520  nm could be achieved with the ultra-flat dispersion nature of the optimized PCF. The design methodology of achieving wider gain by tuning the pumping wavelength for favorable higher-order dispersion parameters would be very useful for future dispersion engineered devices.