Abstract

We analyze numerically an erbium-doped segmented-cladding fiber (SCF) for optical amplification. The fiber has a uniform high-index core and a leaky cladding consisting of alternating high and low refractive-index angular segments of equal size, where erbium is doped in the core and the high-index cladding segments. By choosing the fiber parameters properly, the fiber can offer effective single-mode operation at both the signal (1530 nm) and pump (980 nm) wavelengths with an ultralarge core. We calculate the mode-field distributions in the fiber at these two wavelengths with a full-vector finite-element method. We obtain the gain characteristics and the pump threshold of the fiber by solving the propagation rate equations. With a typical erbium-ion concentration of 0.7$\, \times 10 ^{25}~{\hbox {ions}}/{\hbox {m}} ^{3}$, an input pump power of 280 mW, and an input signal power of 0.1 $\mu $W, the maximum gain achievable varies from $\sim {14} $ dB to $\sim {37} $ dB with an optimal fiber length of several meters, when the core diameter varies from 40 $ \mu{\hbox {m}}$ to 28 $ \mu{\hbox {m}}$. The threshold pump power required is of the order of 100 mW at 0.1-$\mu $W input signal power, and the saturation output signal power is of the order of 100 mW at 280-mW input pump power. The noise figure is $\sim {4} $ dB. Our analysis suggests that, by using a high enough pump power, a few meters of erbium-doped ultralarge-core SCF can provide a small-signal gain comparable with that of a conventional erbium-doped fiber.

© 2008 IEEE

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