Why EDFA Is Important in Optical Communication Networks?

Optical amplifier is a vital technology for optical communication networks, since it can directly amplify an input optical signal without needing to transform it first to an electronic signal. As we know, there are three common types of optical amplifier: EDFA (Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier), Raman amplifier and semiconductor optical amplifier. And this article is just to provide an introduction to EDFA.

Basics of EDFA

EDFA is made of erbium-doped fiber (EDF), pump light source, optical couplers, optical isolators, optical filters and other components. Among them, a trace impurity in the form of a trivalent erbium ion is inserted into the optical fiber’s silica core to alter its optical properties and permit signal amplification. What’s more, EDFA has low noise and can amplify many wavelengths simultaneously, making EDFA widely used in optical communications. Here is an operating principle chart of EDFA.

Advantages of EDFA Amplifier

• Its amplifying area happens to coincide with the minimum loss area of single-mode fiber. This reduces the transmission loss of the light signal which can be transmitted relatively far distance.
• It is transparent to digital signal format and data rate.
• It has a low noise figure close to the quantum limit, which means that multiple amplifiers can be cascaded. It is this feature that makes EDFA suitable for long haul applications.
• It can directly and simultaneously amplify a wide wavelength band (>80nm) in the 1550nm region with a relatively flat gain.
• Its flatness can be improved by gain-flattening optical filters

Fiberstore EDFA Amplifiers

In order to bring more high performance and good experience to our customers, FS.COM supplies optical amplifiers including CATV (Community Antenna Television) EDFA, SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) EDFA and DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) EDFA. The following chart only shows part EDFAs in Fiberstore.

CATV EDFA

CATV EDFA is an important optical relay transmission equipment of 1550nm optical fiber communication system. It is mainly used in long distance optical fiber transmission of television image signal, digital transmission system, telephone voice signal data signal. Our CATV EDFA amplifiers employ high reliability and matured electric circuit design, which are characterized with quality and reliability.

Part number	Description
17467	13dBm Output 1550nm CATV EDFA Fiber Optic Amplifier
17486	14dBm Output 1550nm CATV EDFA Fiber Optic Amplifier
17487	15dBm Output 1550nm CATV EDFA Fiber Optic Amplifier
17488	16dBm Output 1550nm CATV EDFA Fiber Optic Amplifier
17489	17dBm Output 1550nm CATV EDFA Fiber Optic Amplifier

SDH EDFA

SDH EDFA is specially designed for the transmission system. Highly stable pump Laser, unique ATC (Automatic Temperature Control) and APC (Automatic Power Control) circuit are employed to ensure high stability and reliability of output power. SDH EDFA fiber amplifier have the characteristics of low noise figure, wide input power, tunable output power and high reliability, compatible with 1.55um digital signal optical fiber cable transmission systems.

Part number	Description
17598	SDH EDFA 13dBm Output Single Channel Optical Amplifier
17600	SDH EDFA 15dBm Output Single Channel Optical Amplifier
36454	SDH EDFA 17dBm Output Single Channel Optical Amplifier
36482	SDH EDFA 23dBm Output Single Channel Optical Amplifier
17599	SDH EDFA 20dBm Output Single Channel Optical Amplifier

DWDM EDFA

The DWDM EDFA is designed for the dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) applications. The device has excellent gain flatness, low noise and wide operating wavelength range. It also has a good network control interface. According to the functions, DWDM EDFA can be divided into three types.

DWDM EDFA booster amplifier—placed immediately after the transmitter, it is used to increase the output power at the beginning of the link. In a point-to-point connection, the transmission distance is up to 120 km by using a booster amplifier.

DWDM EDFA pre-amplifier—placed in the middle of an optical link, it is used to increase the power level at the end of the transmission line according to receiver sensitivity.

DWDM EDFA inline-amplifier—placed in front of an optical receiver, it is used to compensate the attenuation of the link.

Part number	Description
31366	DWDM EDFA C-band 40 Channels 26dB Gain Booster Amplifier
36509	DWDM EDFA C-band 40 Channels 26dB Gain Pre-Amplifier
36595	DWDM EDFA C-band 40 Channels 26dB Gain In-Line Amplifier

Conclusion

To sum up, EDFA performs a significant function in optical networks, allowing the transmission of data over long distances. This article gives a short introduction to EDFA amplifiers and Fiberstore's solutions. If you want to know more details, please contact sales@fs.com.

Sources:http://www.cwdm-dwdm-oadm.com/blog/a/80/Why-EDFA-Is-Important-in-Optical-Communication-Networks