E-band neodymium-doped fiber amplifier: model and application

Area of Science:

• Fiber optics
• Laser physics
• Materials science

Background:

• Neodymium-doped fiber amplifiers are crucial for telecommunications.
• Accurate modeling is needed to optimize performance, especially in the E-band (1350-1450 nm).

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a time-dependent model for neodymium-doped fiber amplifiers operating in the E-band.
• To analyze amplifier behavior under various operating conditions and power levels.

Main Methods:

• Developed a time-dependent model using rate equations for ion populations and radiation intensities.
• Incorporated both copropagating and counterpropagating amplified spontaneous emission.
• Inferred wavelength-dependent excited state absorption cross sections from experimental data.

Main Results:

• Achieved agreement between model predictions and experimental gain curves at low to intermediate powers (< ~1 mW).
• Extended agreement to saturation levels (~100 mW) by incorporating a proposed system loss.
• Validated the model's accuracy across a range of seed wavelengths and powers.

Conclusions:

• The developed time-dependent model accurately predicts the performance of neodymium-doped fiber amplifiers in the E-band.
• The model, with a minor adjustment for system loss, is effective even at high saturation power levels.
• This work provides a valuable tool for designing and optimizing E-band fiber amplifiers.