Introduction to Semiconductor Optical Amplifier

Optical amplifier, with the introduction in 1990s, conquered the regenerator technology and opened doors to the WDM technology. It is mainly used to amplify an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. There are many types of optical amplifiers, namely Raman amplifiers, erbium doped-fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). This article will make a clearer introduction to SOA amplifier, and analyze its advantages and disadvantages.

 

The Basics of Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)

 

SOA optical amplifiers use the semiconductor as the gain medium, which are designed to be used in general applications to increase optical launch power to compensate for loss of other optical devices. Semiconductor optical amplifiers are often adopted in telecommunication systems in the form of fiber-pigtailed components, operating at signal wavelengths between 0.85 µm and 1.6 µm and generating gains of up to 30 dB. Semiconductor optical amplifier, available in 1310nm, 1400nm, 1500nm, 1600nm wavelength, can be used with singlemode or polarization maintaining fiber input/output.

 

Key Points of SOA Amplifier

 

1310 nm, 1400 nm, 1550 nm and 1610 nm wavelength selectable

High fiber-to-fiber gain of 20 dB

Up to 16 dBm output

1 MHz with 10 ns pulse width (optional)

PM Panda fiber input/output (optional)

Similar to lasers, but with non-reflecting ends and broad wavelength emission

Incoming optical signal stimulates emission of light at its own wavelength

Process continues through cavity to amplify signal

Working principle of SOA amplifier

 

The basic working principle of a SOA is the same as a semiconductor laser but without feedback. SOAs amplify incident light through simulated emission. When the light traveling through the active region, it causes these electrons to lose energy in the form of photons and get back to the ground state. Those stimulated photons have the same wavelength as the optical signal, thus amplifying the optical signal.

 

SOA Over EFDA in DWDM Networks

 

As the solution below, 120km Metro Networks by Using an SOA amplifier. You may wonder why not use EDFA in the above networks.

 

Theoretically, SOA optical amplifiers are not comparable with EDFA in the terms of performance. The noise figure of SOA optical amplifier is typically higher, the gain bandwidth can be similar, SOAs exhibit much stronger nonlinear distortions in the form of self-phase modulation and four-wave mixing. Yet, the semiconductor optical amplifier is of small size and electrical pumped, which is often less expensive than EDFA. Additionally, SOA can be run with a low power laser.

 

How to Choose SOA Optical Amplifier?

 

When selecting SOA amplifier, you have to check the every detailed parameter in the product data sheet. But, seriously, do you understand it? No, please read the following part.

 

The key parameters used to characterize a SOA amplifier are gain, gain bandwidth, saturation output power and noise.

 

Gain is the factor by which the input signal is amplified and is measured as the ratio of output power to input power (in dB). A higher gain results in higher output optical signal.

 

Gain bandwidth defines the range of bandwidth where the amplification functions. A wide gain bandwidth is desirable to amplify a wide range of signal wavelengths.

 

Saturation output power is the maximum output power attainable after amplification beyond which no amplification is reached. It is important that the SOA has a high power saturation level to remain in the linear working region and to have higher dynamic range.

 

Noise defines the undesired signal within the signal bandwidth which arises due to physical processing in the amplifier. A parameter called noise figure is used to measure the impact of noise which is typically around 5dB.

 

Conclusion

 

SOA amplifier is the economic, high-performance solution for long-hual WDM networks. SOA amplifier, due to its features, can be used in Booster and in-line amplification, optical network, general purpose test and measurement and fiber sensing. However, it also has its limit. In semiconductor optical amplifiers, electron-hole recombination occurs which will affect the performance of the whole line. fiber-mart offers EDFA, SOA, Raman optical amplifiers of excellent quality and price.

how about the Optical Amplifier Market

Optical Amplifiers are evolving. There are various types including the EDFA, Raman, and Semiconductor configurations. The EDFA optical amplifier units can be used in telecom and datacom (SONET/SDH/DWDM/Gigabit Ethernet) applications to change an electrical signal into an optical signal and vice versa.

 

According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the study, "Optical Amplifiers are used to update the communications networks to manage broadband, to update the data center networks to make them manage traffic with higher speeds, to implement the backbone network for mobile communications.

 

"Everything is going mobile. This evolution is driven by mobile smart phones and tablets that provide universal connectivity. With 6 billion cell phones in use and one billion smart phones, soon to be 6 billion smart phones, a lot of people have access to mobile communication. Video, cloud-based services, the internet, and machine-to-machine (M2M) provide mobile connectivity. All these devices are networked and drive significant traffic to the broadband network, stimulating the need for optical transceivers."

 

The optical amplifier component market is intensely competitive. There is increasing demand for optical components as communications markets grow in response to more use of smart phones and more Internet transmission of data. The market for network infrastructure equipment and for communications semiconductors offers attractive long-term growth: Data center growth is in response in part to the growth of bid data, and in part to the incredible bandwidth being consumed by video content. New programming is moving to broadcast quality short videos that can be downloaded by users Users can download broadcast quality news or training videos as broadband networks become universally available.

 

Low bandwidth video does not directly drive adoption of optical components. It indirectly does by creating demand for broadband data transport. Video capability at the high end of the market is creating need for network high speed of transmission just because of the quantity of data being transmitted.

 

The Optical Transport Network (OTN) is a set of optical network elements connected by optical fiber links. Optical network elements provide transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision and survivability of communication channels. Carrier Ethernet is emerging. Optical transceiver, transmitter, receiver, and transponders support the implementation of the new network capacity.

 

Optical amplifier components are an innovation engine for the network supporting end to end data transport over optical systems. Optical components support and enable low-cost transport throughout the network. Optical components are needed for high speed network infrastructure build-outs. These are both for carriers and data centers. Network infrastructure build-out depends on the availability of consultants who are knowledgeable.

 

Optical amplifiers are evolving to be compliant with the 10Gbps Small Form Factor Pluggable (XFP) Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) specification for next generation optical transceiver devices. There is expected to be tremendous investment in wireless cell tower base stations as the quantity of network traffic grows exponentially. Carriers worldwide are responding to the challenges brought by the massive increase in wireless data traffic. The advent of big data and exponential growth of data managed by the enterprise data centers is a significant market factor.

 

The global optical amplifier market at $900 million in 2012 is anticipated to reach $2.8 billion by 2019. Growth is driven by the availability of high speed processors and component devices that support increased speed and traffic on the optical networks. The migration to all optical networks is ongoing.

 

Markets are driven by the availability of 100 Gbps devices and the vast increases in Internet traffic. Internet traffic growth comes from a variety of sources, not the least of which 1.6 billion new smart phones sold per year. Smartphone market growth is causing the need for investment in backhaul and cell tower technology.

 

Worldwide optical transport market revenues are forecast to grow rapidly through 2019. This is in the context of a world communications infrastructure that is changing. Technology is enabling interaction, innovation, and sharing of knowledge in new ways.

Introduction to Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)

by www.fiber-mart.com

Optical amplifier, with the introduction in 1990s, conquered the regenerator technology and opened doors to the WDM technology. It is mainly used to amplify an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. There are many types of optical amplifiers, namely Raman amplifiers, erbium doped-fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). This article will make a clearer introduction to SOA amplifier, and analyze its advantages and disadvantages.

The Basics of Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)

 

SOA optical amplifiers use the semiconductor as the gain medium, which are designed to be used in general applications to increase optical launch power to compensate for loss of other optical devices. Semiconductor optical amplifiers are often adopted in telecommunication systems in the form of fiber-pigtailed components, operating at signal wavelengths between 0.85 µm and 1.6 µm and generating gains of up to 30 dB. Semiconductor optical amplifier, available in 1310nm, 1400nm, 1500nm, 1600nm wavelength, can be used with singlemode or polarization maintaining fiber input/output.

 

Key Points of SOA Amplifier

 

1310 nm, 1400 nm, 1550 nm and 1610 nm wavelength selectable

High fiber-to-fiber gain of 20 dB

Up to 16 dBm output

1 MHz with 10 ns pulse width (optional)

PM Panda fiber input/output (optional)

Similar to lasers, but with non-reflecting ends and broad wavelength emission

Incoming optical signal stimulates emission of light at its own wavelength

Process continues through cavity to amplify signal

Working Principle of SOA Amplifier

 

The basic working principle of a SOA is the same as a semiconductor laser but without feedback. SOAs amplify incident light through simulated emission. When the light traveling through the active region, it causes these electrons to lose energy in the form of photons and get back to the ground state. Those stimulated photons have the same wavelength as the optical signal, thus amplifying the optical signal.

 

SOA Over EFDA in DWDM Networks

 

As the solution below, 120km Metro Networks by Using an SOA amplifier. You may wonder why not use EDFA in the above networks.

 

Theoretically, SOA optical amplifiers are not comparable with EDFA in the terms of performance. The noise figure of SOA optical amplifier is typically higher, the gain bandwidth can be similar, SOAs exhibit much stronger nonlinear distortions in the form of self-phase modulation and four-wave mixing. Yet, the semiconductor optical amplifier is of small size and electrical pumped, which is often less expensive than EDFA. Additionally, SOA can be run with a low power laser.

 

How to Choose SOA Optical Amplifier?

 

When selecting SOA amplifier, you have to check the every detailed parameter in the product data sheet. But, seriously, do you understand it? No, please read the following part.

 

The key parameters used to characterize a SOA amplifier are gain, gain bandwidth, saturation output power and noise.

 

Gain is the factor by which the input signal is amplified and is measured as the ratio of output power to input power (in dB). A higher gain results in higher output optical signal.

 

Gain bandwidth defines the range of bandwidth where the amplification functions. A wide gain bandwidth is desirable to amplify a wide range of signal wavelengths.

 

Saturation output power is the maximum output power attainable after amplification beyond which no amplification is reached. It is important that the SOA has a high power saturation level to remain in the linear working region and to have higher dynamic range.

 

Noise defines the undesired signal within the signal bandwidth which arises due to physical processing in the amplifier. A parameter called noise figure is used to measure the impact of noise which is typically around 5dB.

 

Conclusion

 

SOA amplifier is the economic, high-performance solution for long-hual WDM networks. SOA amplifier, due to its features, can be used in Booster and in-line amplification, optical network, general purpose test and measurement and fiber sensing. However, it also has its limit. In semiconductor optical amplifiers, electron-hole recombination occurs which will affect the performance of the whole line.

Introduction to Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)

by www.fiber-mart.com

Optical amplifier, with the introduction in 1990s, conquered the regenerator technology and opened doors to the WDM technology. It is mainly used to amplify an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. There are many types of optical amplifiers, namely Raman amplifiers, erbium doped-fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). This article will make a clearer introduction to SOA amplifier, and analyze its advantages and disadvantages.

 

The Basics of Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA)

 

SOA optical amplifiers use the semiconductor as the gain medium, which are designed to be used in general applications to increase optical launch power to compensate for loss of other optical devices. Semiconductor optical amplifiers are often adopted in telecommunication systems in the form of fiber-pigtailed components, operating at signal wavelengths between 0.85 µm and 1.6 µm and generating gains of up to 30 dB. Semiconductor optical amplifier, available in 1310nm, 1400nm, 1500nm, 1600nm wavelength, can be used with singlemode or polarization maintaining fiber input/output.

 

Key Points of SOA Amplifier

 

1310 nm, 1400 nm, 1550 nm and 1610 nm wavelength selectable

High fiber-to-fiber gain of 20 dB

Up to 16 dBm output

1 MHz with 10 ns pulse width (optional)

PM Panda fiber input/output (optional)

Similar to lasers, but with non-reflecting ends and broad wavelength emission

Incoming optical signal stimulates emission of light at its own wavelength

Process continues through cavity to amplify signal

Working Principle of SOA Amplifier

 

The basic working principle of a SOA is the same as a semiconductor laser but without feedback. SOAs amplify incident light through simulated emission. When the light traveling through the active region, it causes these electrons to lose energy in the form of photons and get back to the ground state. Those stimulated photons have the same wavelength as the optical signal, thus amplifying the optical signal.

 

SOA Over EFDA in DWDM Networks

 

As the solution below, 120km Metro Networks by Using an SOA amplifier. You may wonder why not use EDFA in the above networks.

 

Theoretically, SOA optical amplifiers are not comparable with EDFA in the terms of performance. The noise figure of SOA optical amplifier is typically higher, the gain bandwidth can be similar, SOAs exhibit much stronger nonlinear distortions in the form of self-phase modulation and four-wave mixing. Yet, the semiconductor optical amplifier is of small size and electrical pumped, which is often less expensive than EDFA. Additionally, SOA can be run with a low power laser.

 

How to Choose SOA Optical Amplifier?

 

When selecting SOA amplifier, you have to check the every detailed parameter in the product data sheet. But, seriously, do you understand it? No, please read the following part.

 

The key parameters used to characterize a SOA amplifier are gain, gain bandwidth, saturation output power and noise.

 

Gain is the factor by which the input signal is amplified and is measured as the ratio of output power to input power (in dB). A higher gain results in higher output optical signal.

 

Gain bandwidth defines the range of bandwidth where the amplification functions. A wide gain bandwidth is desirable to amplify a wide range of signal wavelengths.

 

Saturation output power is the maximum output power attainable after amplification beyond which no amplification is reached. It is important that the SOA has a high power saturation level to remain in the linear working region and to have higher dynamic range.

 

Noise defines the undesired signal within the signal bandwidth which arises due to physical processing in the amplifier. A parameter called noise figure is used to measure the impact of noise which is typically around 5dB.

 

Conclusion

 

SOA amplifier is the economic, high-performance solution for long-hual WDM networks. SOA amplifier, due to its features, can be used in Booster and in-line amplification, optical network, general purpose test and measurement and fiber sensing. However, it also has its limit. In semiconductor optical amplifiers, electron-hole recombination occurs which will affect the performance of the whole line. fiber-mart offers EDFA, SOA, Raman optical amplifiers of excellent quality and price.