Pascal Baniel

Noise and gain band management of thulium-doped fiber amplifier with dual-wavelength pumping schemes

Three dual-wavelength pumping schemes (1550 nm + 1064, 1047, or 1400 nm) have been experimentally assessed for the thulium-doped fiber amplifier in terms of power and noise performance. It is shown that 1047- and 1550-nm pumping gives a better power performance than 1064- and 1550-nm pumping at fixed gain peak wavelength (GPW). In addition, the most efficient pumping scheme appears to be 1400- and 1550-nm pumping for GPW higher than 1475 nm, and 1047 and 1550 nm for lower GPW. Noise figures lower than 6 db (with -5-dBm signal input power) are exhibited regardless the pumping schemes (although a 0.8-dB increase is reported for the 1400- and 1550-nm pumping).

Viscosity matching of new PbF2-InF3-GaF3 based fluoride glasses and ZBLAN for high NA optical fiber

New multicomponent PbF2–InF3–GaF3 bulk glasses have been investigated. They show lower phonon energy (540 cm−1) in comparison with 580 cm−1 for ZBLAN. Large PbF2 concentration provided glasses with high refractive index up to 1.582 and the viscosity curves revealed an excellent thermal compatibility with ZBLAYN glass. A multimode fiber with a numerical aperture of 0.51, a loss of 0.85 dB/m at 1.3 μm was fabricated using the rotational casting method.

Novel pumping schemes for thulium doped fiber amplifier

With 1064 nm pumping, 5 dB extra gain is exhibited, and with a two-wavelengths pumping, 5 nm gain broadening and 16 nm gain shifting are experimentally shown for the thulium doped fluoride fiber amplifier.

Optimal pumping schemes for gain-band management of thulium-doped fiber amplifiers

It is shown that, used in conjunction with 1550-nm pumping, 1047-nm pumping is more suitable to operate the TDFA in the short wavelength band while 1400-nm pumping is more efficient for the long wavelength band.

Gas film levitation: a unique containerless technique for the preparation of fluoride glass rods

Abstract Containerless fabrication of fluoride glass rods using the gas film levitation technique has been developed to overcome some of the present limitations in the classical preparation by melt routes, namely (i) crucible interaction and associated contamination (platinum particles, chemical reactions) and (ii) mould interaction (mechanical stresses, surface defects). Further, the shaping ability of this technique allows the preparation of rod-like preforms for subsequent fibre drawing. Previous results have shown the ability of the technique to directly prepare test samples (discs) around 6 g in weight having Rayleigh light scattering losses near the intrinsic minimum values. In this paper, the preparation of fluoride glass rods (ZBLAN) by the gas film levitation technique is described and preliminary results on light scattering of glass rods thus prepared are presented. Present levitators are designed to process glass rods up to 50 g in weight in a batch process. An advanced levitation configuration, being developed to prepare long rods using a continuous replenishment process, is briefly presented.

Spectral hole burning measurement thulium-doped fiber amplifiers

An accurate technique was implemented to measure spectral hole burning in rare-earth amplifiers at room temperature, showing that thulium-doped fiber amplifiers exhibit hole depths four times lower than those of C -band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers.

Influence of processing parameters on the scattering properties of fluorozirconate glasses prepared by the gas film levitation technique

Fluoride glasses for optical fibre applications were prepared using a containerless processing technique (the gas film levitation technique) to prevent the contamination of the glass melts by the crucible. Bulk glass samples of high optical quality were obtained by starting directly from a powder mixture of the different fluoride precursors. Differential scanning calorimetry, laser scanning tomography and light scattering measurements were used to measure the properties of the levitated glasses as compared to crucible-made glasses prepared in the same conditions. The bulk levitated glasses had an extended thermal stability range along with improved optical properties over the crucible-made glasses.

Spectroscopic studies of tm doped glasses for s-band amplifiers

We present a spectroscopic background in order to optimize Tm doped S-band Optical fluoride fiber amplifiers.We measure the excited state absorption spectra between 1 and 1.5 µm and discussed the choice of amplifier pump wavelengths.

Spectral hole burning measurement in the thulium-doped fiber amplifier

An accurate technique was implemented in order to measure the spectral hole burning in rare-earth amplifiers at room temperature, showing that TDFA exhibits hole depths four times lower compared to C-band EDFAs.

Scattering properties of ZrF4-based glasses prepared by the gas film levitation technique

The Gas Film Levitation (GFL) technique, based on aerostatic lubrication on a porous membrane, allows containerless processing and shaping of large material samples. This method is applied to the preparation of ZBLAN fluoride glasses, which are promising candidates for low-loss infrared fibre applications. Fluoride glass samples of high optical quality are obtained starting directly from a powder mixture of the different fluorides. Laser Scanning Tomography and light scattering measurements are used to characterize the as-made samples.