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Definition
Raman amplification is based on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), a nonlinear
effect in fiber-optical transmission that results in signal amplification if optical
pump waves with the correct wavelength and power are launched into the fiber.
Overview
This tutorial gives an introduction into the complex design issues of wavelength
division multiplexing (WDM) systems applying Raman amplification. It first
presents an overview of traditional WDM systems, predicts problems that might
arise for future configurations, and shows how Raman amplification could be of
help. Then, a behavioral description of SRS is provided, and repeater designs are
discussed. Finally, several system examples are shown to demonstrate typical
fields of applications of Raman amplification.
Topics
1. Traditional Configuration of WDM Systems
2. How Can Raman Amplification Be of Help?
3. Erbium- Doped Fiber versus Raman Amplification
4. Raman Amplification in Wideband WDM Transmission
5. Raman Amplification to Build Bidirectional WDM Systems
6. Raman Amplification and Fiber Nonlinearities
7. Conclusion
Self- Test
Correct Answers
Glossary
1. Traditional Configuration of WDM
Systems
A typical configuration of a point-to-point WDM system is comprised mostly of
the following:
• An optical multiplexer
• An optical demultiplexer
The dramatically increasing service demand driven by the rapid growth of the
Internet generates new challenges for WDM system designers. Common design
approaches reach their limits, and the usage of comprehensive modeling
techniques becomes more and more important. Additionally, to achieve the
demanding targets created by the application-oriented business developments,
future systems must comply with upgraded performance criteria, such as the
following:
There are several new design approaches to meet these criteria, including the
following:
The physical property behind DRAs is called SRS. This occurs when a sufficiently
large pump wave is co-launched at a lower wavelength than the signal to be
amplified. The Raman gain depends strongly on the pump power and the
frequency offset between pump and signal. Amplification occurs when the pump
photon gives up its energy to create a new photon at the signal wavelength, plus
some residual energy, which is absorbed as phonons (vibrational energy) as
shown in Figure 2.
The position of the gain bandwidth within the wavelength domain can be
adjusted simply by tuning the pump wavelength. Thus, Raman amplification
potentially can be achieved in every region of the transmission window of the
optical transmission fiber. It only depends on the availability of powerful pump
sources at the required wavelengths. The disadvantage of Raman amplification is
the need for high pump powers to provide a reasonable gain.
Also, the Raman effect on its own might be used for signal amplification in
transmission windows that cannot be covered properly by EDFAs. Some
frequency regions of a wideband WDM signal could be amplified by common
EDFA structures, while others are amplified using the Raman effect and proper
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pumping. The upgrade of already existing systems by opening another
transmission window where Raman amplification is applied could be an
attractive application.
The transversal power distribution of the signal over an amplified fiber span is
strongly dependent on the applied amplification scheme and can be controlled by
the Raman pump power and pump direction. Figure 6 shows the transversal
span power profile employing different hybrid EDF/Raman amplification
schemes.
One hundred test carriers are used to sample the Raman gain response over a
bandwidth of approximately 82 nm. Each launched with an average power of –3
dBm into 60 km SSMF. The accumulated fiber attenuation is completely
compensated using the SRS effect of eight counter-propagating Raman pumps.
At the receiver, 100 power detectors are used to evaluate the Raman gain
response at the output of the fiber. Figure 8 shows the optical spectrum at the
receiver. The gain ripple is less than 2 dB over 81 nm. Note that there is still
enough power margin to introduce a gain-flattening filter at the output of the
fiber span to achieve a total gain ripple of less than 0.5 dB.
The average launch powers of the eight Raman pumps vary only between 19.5
and 21.5 dBm. The flat gain response of the amplifier is achieved by selecting the
emission frequencies of the pumps carefully. The eight Raman pumps are spaced
unequally over about 86 nm, with an offset to the WDM signal band of 77 nm to
163 nm, as depicted in Figure 9. Note that the four pumps emitted at the smallest
wavelengths are about equally spaced and that the other four are spaced much
wider.
Intuitively, there are two reasons for this spacing arrangement. First, the Raman
gain response is strongly asymmetrical. It has an almost linear increase for
wavelength offsets between signal and pump of less than 100 nm and then a
sudden decrease after the gain peak (see Figure 3).
Second, there are strong pump-to-pump interactions, as the Raman pumps are
spaced over 86 nm for which the Raman efficiency is already very large. Pumps
emitted at the very low wavelengths amplify the WDM signal band as well as the
pumps at the higher wavelengths.
Figure 10 shows the pumps' power profile along the fiber. Starting with almost
equal pump powers at the far end of the fiber, the pumps at the higher
wavelengths are first amplified by the pumps at the lower wavelengths. Further
When modeling such systems, it is crucial that the power exchange between the
co- and counter-propagating signals and pumps (pump-to-pump, pump-to-
signal, and signal-to-signal) is accurately considered. Therefore, simplified
approaches neglecting, for example, pump depletion are not suitable. Accurate
modeling is only possible if all bidirectional interactions are modeled.
Typical signal and pump spectra are shown in Figure 12. The nonflatness of the
signal spectrum is due to the Raman gain shape. It can be overcome with gain
flattening filters placed right after the EDFAs.
It is quite interesting to look at Figure 13, which shows the signal and pump
propagation in both directions. The L-band signal launched in the backward
direction at the far fiber end (z = 100 km) experiences a significant Raman
amplification of the backward-propagating C-band pump wave, which is also
launched at the far end. On the other hand, the C-band signal, which is launched
in the forward direction at the near fiber end (z = 0 km) experiences Raman
amplification of the forward-propagating L-band pump. Such signal
amplification by foreign pump waves is possible because of the large bandwidth
of Raman gain. Thus, the signal is amplified two times, one time by the foreign
pump in the vicinity of the launch point and the second time by its own pump at
the fiber output.
Figure 15 shows the eye-closure penalty versus channel power for the three
investigated amplification schemes after propagation over the DSF.
Figure 15 clearly indicates optimum values for the channel powers with respect to
eye-closure penalty. At low channel powers, performance is limited by amplifier
noise, while for high channel powers, it is limited by fiber nonlinearities, namely
cross-phase modulation (XPM) and four wave mixing (FWM). Regardless of the
applied amplification scheme, all three penalty curves rise with almost equal
gradient.
For comparison, Figure 16 shows the eye-closure penalty versus channel power
for the three investigated amplification schemes after propagation over standard
SMF.
For both considered propagation fibers, the optimum launch powers differ by up
to 7 dBm, depending on the applied amplification scenario. This has an impact on
WDM systems using a high number of channels, as more channels can be
amplified with the same amount of pump power. Also, the minimum values of
eye-closure penalty differ, which indicates that different total transmission
distances are possible.
The results of this example case study show the importance of including
nonlinear propagation effects in the system design process when deciding on
optimum signal and pump powers.
Self-Test
1. A Raman amplifier uses intrinsic properties of _____ fibers to obtain signal
amplification.
a. silica
b. erbium
c. pure
d. clear optical
a. EDFA
b. WDM
c. SRS
d. DSF
3. ___________ occurs when the pump photon gives up its energy to create a
new photon at the signal wavelength, plus some residual energy, which is
absorbed as phonons.
a. convergence
b. amplification
c. vibration
d. positioning
a. true
b. false
a. SRS
b. EDFA
c. DRA
d. WDM
a. true
b. false
a. conceptually harder
b. more cost-effective
c. topologically simpler
d. more expensive
a. true
b. false
a. true
b. false
a. true
b. false
Correct Answers
1. A Raman amplifier uses intrinsic properties of _____ fibers to obtain signal
amplification.
a. silica
b. erbium
c. pure
d. clear optical
See Topic 2.
a. EDFA
b. WDM
c. SRS
d. DSF
See Topic 2.
3. ___________ occurs when the pump photon gives up its energy to create a
new photon at the signal wavelength, plus some residual energy, which is
absorbed as phonons.
a. convergence
c. vibration
d. positioning
See Topic 2.
a. true
b. false
See Topic 2.
a. SRS
b. EDFA
c. DRA
d. WDM
See Topic 2.
a. true
b. false
See Topic 3.
a. conceptually harder
b. more cost-effective
c. topologically simpler
See Topic 3.
a. true
b. false
See Topic 3.
9. Further down the fiber, when the power of the low-wavelength pumps is
reduced due to energy transfer to high wavelengths and fiber attenuation, the
effect of pump-to-pump amplification is reduced.
a. true
b. false
See Topic 4.
a. true
b. false
See Topic 6.
Glossary
DCF
dispersion compensating fiber
DRA
distributed Raman amplifier
DSF
dispersion shifted fiber
DWDM
dense wavelength division multiplexing
EDFA
erbium-doped fiber amplifier
FBG
fiber Bragg grating
FWM
four wave mixing
OSNR
optical signal-to-noise ratio
SRS
stimulated Raman scattering
SSMF
standard single mode fiber
WDM
wavelength division multiplexing
XPM
cross-phase modulation