Experimental Characterization of Remote Optically Pumped Amplifier

The performance of a remote optically pumped amplifier (ROPA) was experimentally characterized, allowing to analyze the impact of operational and constructive parameters on the amplification of a set of 20 channels wavelength multiplexed occupying the extended C-band. With the support of simulations reproducing the experimental setup, the influence of the pumping and signal input power, the doped fiber length, and the Erbium saturation factor were analyzed. Additionally, a simple optimization methodology to reduce the splice loss between fibers with dissimilar mode field diameters (as the Erbium-doped and the standard single-mode fibers) was presented. The results allowed the inference of some ROPA operational properties on unrepeatered optical links, which can be employed as inputs for the definition of some parameters on the optimization of this kind of system.