Boost Your Optical Network Signal With Advanced Amplifiers Like EDFA
Whilst many of us have heard the terms “fiber optics” or “optical fiber” technology used to designate a certain kind of cable or a light-based technology, few of us know what it is. In this article, we go over the fundamentals of fiber optic technology, how to utilize it, as well as its functions, advantages, and current applications. Let’s know more about how to boost optical Network signals with Advanced amplifiers like EDFA.
What Is Fiber Optics (Optical Fiber) Technology?
The diameter of a human hair is roughly what as fiber optics, also known optical fibers, are: long, thin strands of meticulously drawn glass. The bundles of these strands are known as fiber optic cables. They help us send light messages across great distances.
The data you see on a computer screen is encoded into the light signals at the transmitting source. Hence, the fiber sends “data” as light to the receiving end, where the light signal is converted into data. As a result, fiber optics serves as a transmission medium, or “pipe,” for messages that need to travel large distances quickly.
What Exactly Is EDFA?
A modulated laser beam is amplified directly by an EDFA, also known as an optical amplifier, an erbium-doped fiber amplifier, or an erbium amplifier, without the use of optoelectronic and electro-optical conversion. The tool makes use of a brief piece of optical fiber that has been doped with the rare earth element erbium.
External energy is used to transmit the signal-bearing laser beams via this fiber, often at IR wavelengths. The erbium-doped optical fiber’s atoms are excited by this “pumping,” which makes the laser beams traveling through it more intense. While brighter than the input beams, the beams that emerge from the EDFA still have all of their original modulation properties.
An optical amplifier amplifies light without converting it to an electrical signal, and it is an immensely significant device that facilitates today’s long-distance optical communication networks. EDFA, FRA, and SOA are the three main types of optical amplifiers.
Operational Theory Of EDFA
According to the particular optical structure, erbium-doped fibers, pump sources, and passive optical components are combined to boost optical power. After that, the EDFA optical amplifier is created.
A DWDM multiplexer connects the signal light and pump light from the pumping laser before sending them to an erbium-doped fiber (EDF). A two-stage pump is used by two pumping lasers. The pumping light stimulates EDF, which then creates the amplification function. As a result, the duty of amplification of the optical signal is carried out.
Roles And Components In EDFA Design
The EDFA in its simplest form consists of a section of EDFA (often 10–30 m), a pump laser, and an unit (generally known as a WDM) for combining the data and pump frequency so that they may be sent simultaneously through the EDF. The pump’s energy may spread in one of three ways—pumping, backward pumping, or even both routes simultaneously—depending on how the EDFA is designed. Whether at 980nm, 1480nm, or a combination of the two, the pump’s energy can be used. Generally speaking, the most common EDFA arrangement is the forward pumping setup using 980 nm pump energy.
This method makes the most effective use of 980nm semiconductor pump laser beams that are reasonably priced, reliable, and utilise little energy. It also gives the best total layout in terms of efficiency and price trade-offs.
As the input hits the accelerator via the input line, a tap is used to transmit a very small percentage of the signal strength (typically 1-2%) to an input sensor.
Following going via an isolator, the output is then linked with the pump energy generated by the 980 nm pump laser diode. As the integrated message and pump energy go along the EDF, signal amplification occurs. The signal then leaves the EDF and flows through a second isolator afterwards.
The Bottom Line
As EDFA technology is the most sophisticated among the numerous optical amplifier technologies, it is used to design the great majority of optical amplifiers. Moreover, EDFA may be widely used in contemporary optical networks because of its comparatively low cost and stable performance. I hope you have received all the information you wanted to know about optical network signals with advanced amplifiers like EDFA.
