Optical repeater having independently controllable amplification factors

• US 6,956,693 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2003
• Issued: 10/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Shohei
• Primary Examiner(s): Hellner, Mark
• Application Number:
  US10/628,493
• Publication Number:
  US 20040114213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 359/341.2, 359/341.32, 359/341.33, 398/173
• US Class Current: 359/341.2
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06754 Fibre amplifiers H01S3/06708 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/094011 with bidirectional pumping, i.e. with injection of the pump light from both two ends of the fibre
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/094061 Shared pump, i.e. pump light of a single pump source is used to pump plural gain media in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/09415 the pumping beam being parallel to the lasing mode of the pumped medium, e.g. end-pumping
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/13013 by controlling the optical pumping
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/2383 Parallel arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/302 in an optical fibre

Abstract

An optical repeater includes: a first forward pumping coupler and a first backward pumping coupler inserted in an uplink optical fiber consecutively along the transfer direction of the optical signals therein; a second backward pumping coupler and a second forward pumping coupler inserted in a downlink optical fiber consecutively along the transfer direction of the optical signals therein; a first light source for supplying a pump light having a controlled power level to the first backward pumping coupler and the second forward pumping coupler; a second light source for supplying a pump light having a controlled power level to the first forward pumping coupler and the second backward pumping coupler. Each of the pumping couplers is a Raman amplifier.

Claims

1. An optical repeater comprising:

a first backward pumping optical coupler and a first forward pumping optical coupler inserted in a first optical fiber transferring therethrough first optical signals;

a second backward pumping optical coupler and a second forward pumping optical coupler inserted in a second optical fiber transferring therethrough second optical signals;

a first light source for supplying a first pump light having a first power level to said first backward pumping optical coupler and said second forward pumping optical coupler;

a second light source for supplying a second pump light having a second power level to said first forward pumping optical coupler and said second backward pumping optical coupler; and

a driver for driving said first and second light sources to control said first power level and said second power level.

2. The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein each of said first and second light sources comprises a plurality of laser diodes having different emission wavelengths.

3. The optical repeater according to claim 2, wherein each of said laser diodes of said first and second light sources has a central emission wavelength different from central emission wavelength of any of the others of said laser diodes of said first and second light source.

4. The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein said driver controls at least one of said first and second power levels based on a power level of said first optical signals and/or a power level of said second optical signal.

5. The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein said first backward pumping optical coupler and said first forward pumping optical coupler are arranged consecutively along a transfer direction of said first optical signals, and said second backward pumping optical coupler and said second forward pumping optical coupler are arranged consecutively along a transfer direction of said second optical signal.

6. The optical repeater according to claim 5, further comprising a first optical isolator interposed between said first backward pumping optical coupler and said first forward pumping optical coupler, and a second optical isolator interposed between said second backward pumping optical coupler and said second forward pumping optical coupler

7. The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein each of said pumping optical couplers is a Raman amplifier.

8. The optical repeater according to claim 7, wherein said driver controls said first and second power levels so that amplification factors of said first and second optical signals by said optical repeater change independently of each other.

9. The optical repeater according to claim 7, wherein said driver controls said first and second power levels so that amplification factors of said first optical signals and said second optical signals by said optical repeater are fixed and changed, respectively.

10. The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein each of said first and second optical fibers includes therein a rare earth doped fiber, and each of said pumping optical couplers introduces said first or second pump light to said rare earth doped fiber.

11. The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein said driver controls at least one of said first and second power levels based on a control signal component included in said first and/or second optical signals

12. The optical repeater according to claim 1, wherein said first and second optical fibers are uplink and downlink fibers, respectively.