Miniaturized Fiber-Based Amplifier Products Target Telecomm Applications

State-of-the-art Erbium Micro-Fiber Amplifiers (EMFAs) pumped with laser dioides has resulted in what are said to be the world's first miniaturized optical fiber-based amplifier products for the telecomm market. The EMFA technology, developed by NP Photonics, uses a proprietary erbium-doped glass to reportedly produce high optical gain over just a few centimeters of fiber rather than over many meters as with traditional erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). The EMFAs are driven by Spectra-Physics's Telcordia-compliant laser diodes. The first products developed by the joint effort are the Scorpion Amplet MMP-7012 and Scorpion Gainlet MMP-7010. The Scorpion Amplet mates EMFA gain fiber and semiconductor pump laser together with all the necessary passive components, drive electronics and control software to make a turnkey amplifier system. The product includes feedback control electronics incorporating photodiode monitoring, isolation and optional gain flattening filters. Additional intelligence options can be added with a software upgrade. The Telcordia-compliant Scorpion Amplet delivers 15 dB of gain over the entire C Band, offering similar functionality as traditional EDFAs for metro and access applications, but in a much smaller package. Higher gain Amplets based on EMFA technology will be available in the future. The Scorpian Gainlet is a gain block consisting of an EMFA gain fiber coupled to a pump laser. It delivers customizable gain over the entire C Band and is said to be an ideal building block for channel and band amplification, as well as for integration into DWDM components as loss compensators. For more information, contact: Daryl Eigen at NP PHOTONICS, Tucson, AZ. (520) 799-7486; or Bill Holtkamp at SPECTRA-PHYSICS, Mountain View, CA. (650) 966-5579.