Advantages Of Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

-

Introduced in the 1990s, the optical amplifier gave new dimensions to the regenerator technology and opened new opportunities to the WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology as well. Mainly, it is used for directly amplifying an optical signal without having to convert it into an electrical signal.

As you may already know, there are several kinds of optical amplifiers including erbium-doped-fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), Raman amplifiers, and the popular semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs).

Semiconductor optical amplifiers make use of a semiconductor as a gain medium. These are specially designed to increase the optical launch power in order to compensate for the loss of optical devices in general applications.

SOAs are frequently used in telecommunication systems as fibre-pigtailed components that are capable of generating gains of a maximum of 30 dB and usually operate at signal wavelengths ranging from 0.85 µm to 1.6 µm.

Advantages Of Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

Advantages of SOAs:

1. Semiconductor optical amplifiers are electrically pumped and are small in size, making them highly efficient.

2. They are less expensive as compared to other types of optical amplifiers like the Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA). Also, they can be easily used in modulators, semiconductor lasers, etc.

3. SOAs are capable of conducting all types of non-linear operations like cross-phase modulation, cross-gain modulation, four-wave mixing and wavelength conversion.

4. Semiconductor optical amplifiers can be easily run with a low-power laser.

To know about the disadvantages of SOAs, check our blog: Advantages And Disadvantages Of Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Explained: How Does FP Laser Work?

-
Image
The Fabry Perot– FP laser , also known as the Fabry Perot Interferometer (FPI), is a type of laser that is widely used in the telecommunications industry, astronomy, and other fields. This laser’s primary application is for low-data-rate short-distance transmission over distances of up to 20 kilometers. It should be noted that the FP laser is a more advanced version or substitute for the DFB (Distributed Feedback) laser. The spectrum width is the fundamental distinction between DFB and Fabry Perot lasers. On the one hand, the Fabry Perot laser has a wide spectrum width and is a multi-longitudinal mode laser, whereas the DFB laser has a narrow spectrum width and is a single longitudinal mode laser. To know the working of FP laser, Check our blog .
Read more

DFB Laser vs. DBR Laser: 4 Major Differences

-
Image
The late 1990s to the early 2000s telecom revolution prompted laser manufacturers to innovate and design more varieties of lasers to meet the growing demand in telecom applications. One of the best ways to meet the need for low signal lasers is to use distributed feedback lasers (DFB lasers). These lasers have not only contributed to addressing the needs of the telecommunications industry but have also caused the disappearance of DBR lasers (Distributed Bragg Reflectors) from the market. In this post, we'll look at the differences between DFB lasers and DBR lasers. But before that, we will take a quick look at what DFB laser is and what DBR laser is. What Is A DFB Laser? A DFB laser is a type of diode laser that generates resonance and oscillation in the cavity using diffraction gratings rather than mirrors. A distributed feedback (DFB) laser's purpose is to sharpen the output of conventional Fabry-Perot lasers . The substitution of mirrors with grating offers DFB la...
Read more

Distributed Feedback Laser: Working and Its Importance

-
Image
In recent years, we've been introduced to various advanced lasers that have been developed to address the growing demand for communication. The DFB laser is one such name on the list. DFB Lasers produce a single-mode output and are much more stable than Fabry-Perot Lasers and Distributed Bragg Reflector Lasers. A diffraction grating placed along the active region of the chip can accomplish this. Distributed feedback lasers are commonly used as a light source for metro, long-distance, and underwater applications due to their narrow spectral width and wavelength stability. In this blog, we'll look at how distributed feedback lasers work and how important they are. But first, let us define the DFB laser and its various types. What Is DFB Laser and What Are Its Different Types? A DFB laser is a narrow linewidth laser diode or optical fiber laser in which the grating occurs throughout the cavity rather than just at the two ends. The diode's structure creates a one-dime...
Read more