Claims
- 1. A fiber amplifier for amplifying an optical signal having a signal wavelength, comprising:
a pump energy source capable of emitting energy at a pump wavelength; an optical fiber for transmitting the optical signal, the optical fiber having a plurality of discrete portions, each discrete portion comprising first and second components disposed at first and second respective locations and configured to substantially prevent energy having an intermediate wavelength in the discrete portion from entering other discrete portions of the optical fiber; and a plurality of waveguides, each waveguide coupled to the pump energy source and to one of the plurality of discrete portions of the optical fiber, each waveguide being configured to direct energy at the pump wavelength from the pump energy source to its corresponding discrete portion, thereby increasing an intensity of light at the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength in the corresponding discrete portion of the optical fiber.
- 2. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the intermediate wavelength of each of the plurality of discrete portions is equal to the pump energy wavelength Stokes shifted one or more times.
- 3. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein for at least one of the discrete portions the first and second components comprise reflectors configured to reflect substantially all energy impinging thereon at the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength and to transmit substantially all energy at the signal wavelength.
- 4. The fiber amplifier of claim 3, wherein the reflectors comprise fiber Bragg gratings.
- 5. The fiber amplifier of claim 3, wherein one of the plurality of waveguides is configured to couple energy at the pump wavelength into the at least one discrete portion.
- 6. The fiber amplifier of claim 5, further comprising a pump beam coupler attached to the at least one discrete portion and to the one of the plurality of waveguides, the pump beam coupler being configured to couple energy at the pump wavelength from the one of the plurality of waveguides into the at least one discrete portion.
- 7. The fiber amplifier of claim 5, wherein the at least one discrete portion includes a pump energy reflector configured to reflect substantially all energy impinging thereon at the pump wavelength.
- 8. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, further comprising a cavity fiber having first and second ends respectively attached to the first and second components of one of the discrete portions.
- 9. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein for at least one of the discrete portions the first component comprises a first coupler configured to couple energy having the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength into the discrete portion of the optical fiber.
- 10. The fiber amplifier of claim 9, wherein for the at least one of the discrete portions the second component comprises a second coupler configured to couple light having the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength out of the discrete portion of the optical fiber.
- 11. The fiber amplifier of claim 9, wherein the first and second couplers each comprise a wavelength division multiplexer.
- 12. The fiber amplifier of claim 9, wherein the first and second couplers each comprise a circulator.
- 13. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein at least one of the discrete portions further comprises a cavity fiber having first and second ends respectively attached to the first and second components of the at least one discrete portion.
- 14. The fiber amplifier of claim 13, wherein the at least one discrete portion and the cavity fiber define a ring cavity for energy having the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength.
- 15. The fiber amplifier of claim 14, wherein the first coupler is configured to couple energy having the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength out of the cavity fiber into the at least one discrete portion and the second coupler is configured to couple energy having the discrete portion's wavelength out of the at least one discrete portion and into the cavity fiber.
- 16. The fiber amplifier of claim 13, further comprising first and second reflectors disposed in the cavity fiber and configured to reflect substantially all energy impinging thereon at the pump wavelength.
- 17. The fiber amplifier of claim 16, further comprising a waveguide coupler attached to the cavity fiber and to one of the plurality of waveguides, the waveguide coupler being configured to couple energy having the pump wavelength from the waveguide into the cavity fiber.
- 18. The fiber amplifier of claim 17, wherein the waveguide coupler is located between the first reflector and the second reflector disposed in the cavity waveguide.
- 19. The fiber amplifier of claim 13, wherein the cavity fiber has a gain medium comprising an active material.
- 20. The fiber amplifier of claim 19, wherein the active material is GeO2.
- 21. The fiber amplifier of claim 19, wherein the active material is P2O5.
- 22. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the optical fiber has a gain medium comprising an active material.
- 23. The fiber amplifier of claim 22, wherein the active material is GeO2.
- 24. The fiber amplifier of claim 22, wherein the active material is P2O5.
- 25. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the pump energy source comprises a splitter configured to couple pump energy into the plurality of waveguides.
- 26. The fiber amplifier of claim 25, wherein splitter is configured to variably couple pump energy into the plurality of waveguides.
- 27. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the pump energy source comprises a laser.
- 28. The fiber amplifier of claim 27, wherein the pump energy source comprises a plurality of lasers.
- 29. The fiber amplifier of claim 28, wherein each of the plurality of lasers corresponds to one of the discrete portions of the optical fiber.
- 30. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the pump energy source comprises laser diode.
- 31. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the pump energy source has a power of less than 5 W.
- 32. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the pump energy source has a power of less than 2 W.
- 33. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the pump energy source has a power of less than 1 W.
- 34. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the pump energy wavelength is between 1300 nm and 1400 nm.
- 35. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein at least one of the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength is between 1400 nm and 1500 nm.
- 36. The fiber amplifier of claim 1, wherein the signal wavelength is between 1500 nm and 1600 nm.
- 37. A fiber amplifier for amplifying an optical signal having a signal wavelength, comprising:
an optical fiber having a plurality of discrete portions, each discrete portion comprising:
first and second components positioned at first and second respective locations in the discrete portion and configured to substantially prevent light having an intermediate wavelength in the portion from entering other portions of the optical fiber; and a coupler configured to couple pump energy from a pump energy source into the discrete portion so that the pump energy interacts with the optical fiber to increase the intensity of the intermediate wavelength in each portion.
- 38. The fiber amplifier of claim 37, wherein for at least one of the discrete portions the first and second components comprise reflectors configured to reflect substantially all energy impinging thereon at the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength and to transmit substantially all energy at the signal wavelength.
- 39. The fiber amplifier of claim 37, wherein at least one discrete portion includes a pump energy reflector configured to reflect substantially all energy impinging thereon at the pump wavelength.
- 40. The fiber amplifier of claim 37 further comprising a cavity fiber having first and second ends respectively attached to the first and second components of one of the discrete portions.
- 41. The fiber amplifier of claim 40, wherein the at least one discrete portion and the cavity fiber define a ring cavity for energy having the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength.
- 42. The fiber amplifier of claim 41, wherein the first coupler is configured to couple energy having the discrete portion's intermediate wavelength out of the cavity fiber into the at least one discrete portion and the second coupler is configured to couple energy having the discrete portion's wavelength out of the at least one discrete portion and into the cavity fiber.
- 43. A fiber amplifier, comprising:
an optical fiber having first and second sections coupled to each other, wherein the first section is a double clad fiber laser, and the second section is an optical amplifier having a gain medium including P2O5.
- 44. The fiber amplifier of claim 43, wherein during operation the fiber amplifier amplifies energy propagating in the second section of the optical fiber having a signal wavelength between 1,300 nm and 1,400 nm.
- 45. The fiber amplifier of claim 43, further comprising a pump energy source configured to pump the first section of the optical fiber.
- 46. The fiber amplifier of claim 45, wherein the pump energy source comprises a pump diode.
- 47. The fiber amplifier of claim 43, further comprising a first coupler disposed in the second section and configured to couple energy having a signal wavelength out of the optical fiber.
- 48. The fiber amplifier of claim 43, further comprising a second coupler disposed in the second section and configured to couple energy at the first wavelength out of the optical fiber.
- 49. The fiber amplifier of claim 47, wherein the first wavelength is related to the signal wavelength by a Stokes shift of more than 1,000 cm−1.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/US02/24409, which has an international filing date of Aug. 1, 2002, and is entitled “Optical Fiber Amplifier”, and which in turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/310,195, which was filed Aug. 3, 2001 and is entitled “Multi-Pump Discrete Raman Amplifier”. The foregoing applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60310195 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/US02/24409 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
Child |
10771002 |
Feb 2004 |
US |