Abstract
We demonstrate two adaptive methods to equalize mode-dependent gain (MDG) in multi-mode erbium-doped
fiber amplifiers (MM-EDFAs). The first method uses a spatial light modulator (SLM) in line with the amplifier pump
beam to control the modal powers in the pump. The second method uses an SLM immediately after the MM-EDFA to directly
control the modal powers in the signal. We compare the performance of the two methods applied to a MM-EDFA with a
uniform erbium doping profile, supporting 12 signal modes in two polarizations. We show that root-mean-squared MDGs
lower than 0.5 and 1 dB can be achieved in systems having frequency diversity orders of 1 and 100, respectively,
while causing less than a 2.6-dB loss of mode-averaged gain.
© 2014 IEEE
PDF Article
More Like This
Cited By
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription