LAUSR

Abstract. A hybrid optical amplifier is proposed using a combination of Er-Yb codoped waveguide amplifier (EYDWA) and fiber optical parametric amplifier (FOPA). The scheme is investigated for 100  ×  40  Gb  /  s dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) system at 0.2-nm channel spacing. The parameters are optimized to achieve a flat gain of >30.6  dB, with a gain ripple of 2.67 dB. This is obtained over a wavelength range of 1542 to 1562 nm at −10-dBm optimum input power per channel, without using any costly gain flattening scheme. For higher input powers up to 10 dBm, an increase in gain ripple from 2.67 to 6.13 dB is observed. The gain ripple of 2.67 dB of the proposed EYDWA–dual pump FOPA configuration is also much better than 10.32 dB for the hybrid EYDWA–single pump FOPA. The obtained high and flat gain, along with the low noise figure, confirms the usefulness of the proposed amplifier for applications in long-haul DWDM systems.