Description: In spite of the tremendous information-carrying capacity of optical fibers, the performance of today's communication systems is limited by electronics speed in signal regeneration. There is a need for more efficient and cost-effective technologies to satisfy both transoceanic and terrestrial communication demands which continue to grow. Clearly the most exciting break-through has been the recent development of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), which overcome the speed and cost limitations of electronically "repeatered" systems and enjoy such clear advantages as polarization insensitivity, temperature stability, quantum-limited noise figure, and immunity to interchannel crosstalk. Written by one of the developers of this major new technology, Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers synthesizes - for the first time - many of the most important recent papers in the fast-growing literature to provide uniquely in-depth, interdisciplinary coverage of the theoretical foundations, essential characteristics, and practical applications of EDFAs. This wide-ranging book answers many of the most central questions researchers and designers may have, including how light is amplified in the doped fiber, the ultimate noise limits of fiber amplifiers, and the optimal locations of optical amplifiers in a system. Divided into three main sections, Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers first considers the fundamentals of light amplification and noise in single-mode fibers, as well as the principles of photodetection of digital signals with optical amplifiers. Its basic description of noise and photodetection bridges the gap between generic knowledge and basic formulas on the one hand, and first-principle analysis on theother. In addition, the book outlines several new frontiers of knowledge, including modeling, inhomogeneous broadening, and nonlinear photon statistics. The second part of the book examines the spectroscopic properties of erbium glass fibers as well as the gain, saturation, and noise features of EDFAs. Among the areas covered are laser line broadening...characterization of erbium-doped fiber parameters...energy transfer and cooperative up-conversion...characteristics of pump laser diodes and EDFA-related optical components...gain vs. signal power and amplifier saturation...and optimization of fiber amplifier parameters. Also included is a detailed comparison of EDFAs with other types of fiber amplifiers. The final section of Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers concentrates on the device and system applications of EDFAs. Here, discussion ranges from such topics as distributed, remotely-pumped, reflective, and bidirectional fiber amplifiers through fiber lasers, EDFA preamplifiers and digital linear systems to analog systems and local area networks. Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers will be an indispensable reference to researchers, development engineers, and systems designers in fiber-optic communications, particularly those new to EDFAs who will need retraining. It will also excel as an introductory text in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on system applications of fiber amplifiers.

Please Wait