In-line one-pump parametric amplifier with independent polarization gain: A field-trial demonstration

• Published in: Microwave and optical technology letters Vol. 55; no. 5; pp. 1104 - 1107
• Main Authors: Marconi, Jorge D., Fugihara, Meire C., Callegari, Fulvio A., Fragnito, Hugo L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.05.2013; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Amplification; Amplifiers; four wave mixing; Gain; Microwaves; Noise levels; nonlinear optical devices; optical parametric amplifiers; optics communications; Parametric amplifiers; Polarization; polarization dependent gain; polarization diversity technique; Rare earth metals
• ISSN: 0895-2477; 1098-2760
• DOI: 10.1002/mop.27481

We present a one‐pump parametric amplifier with polarization independent gain working as an in‐line amplifier within an experimental field‐trial optical network. The polarization independent gain is obtained by using a polarization diversity technique (PDT). Five signals modulated at 10 Gb/s were transmitted through the network, and a gain variation as low as 0.05 dB, independent of the signal polarization, was obtained. The bit‐error‐rate (BER) for the amplified signals was measured. For a BER of 10−9, a power penalty as low as 0.7 dB is shown. These measurements were compared with the identical ones obtained when the parametric amplifier with the PDT was replaced by an Erbium‐doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). The fiber optical parametric amplifier (FOPA) with the PDT presents a power penalty of 0.7 dB in relation to the value obtained with the EDFA. These results show that parametric amplifiers that use the PDT are able to reach a performance comparable to those obtained with the current technology of optical amplifiers based on rare earth doped fibers. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:1104–1107, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27481