Fiber optic amplifier
DCFirst Claim
1. A fiber optic amplifier, comprising:
- an optical fiber comprised of a material which will emit light in response to pumping;
a source of signals comprising light at a frequency of said emitted light;
a source of light for pumping said material; and
means for coupling both said signals and said light for pumping into an end of said optical fiber.
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Abstract
An amplifier for use with fiber optic systems comprises a neodymium YAG crystal placed in series with a signal-carrying optical fiber. The ND:YAG crystal is supplied by the optical fiber with both the signal to be amplified, and pumping illumination. The pumping illumination is coupled onto the optical fiber by a multiplexing coupler which is used to combine the signal to be amplified and illumination from a pumping illumination source onto a single optical fiber. The pumping illumination inverts the neodymium ions within the ND:YAG crystal. The signal to be amplified propagates through this crystal to stimulate emission of coherent light from the neodymium ions, resulting in amplification of the signal. Because this arrangement permits the ND:YAG crystal to be end-pumped with pumping illumination, and because the length of the ND:YAG crystal may be substantially greater that the absorption length for the crystal at the wavelength of the pumping illumination, virtually all of the pumping illumination may be absorbed within the ND:YAG crystal and used for amplification of the signal carried by the optical fiber.
65 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A fiber optic amplifier, comprising:
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an optical fiber comprised of a material which will emit light in response to pumping; a source of signals comprising light at a frequency of said emitted light; a source of light for pumping said material; and means for coupling both said signals and said light for pumping into an end of said optical fiber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A fiber optic amplifier, comprising:
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a fiber optic coupler including a pair of optical fibers juxtaposed to provide coupling of light at a first frequency between said fibers and to prohibit coupling of light at a second frequency between said fibers; a source of pumping illumination coupled to a first end of one of said pair of fibers, said pumping illumination comprising light having said first frequency; a source of a signal to be amplified, coupled to a first end of the other of said pair of fibers, said signal to be amplified comprising light having said second frequency; and a laser fiber formed of material which will possess a laser transition at said second frequency of said signal to be amplified if said material is pumped with said pumping illumination, said laser fiber coupled at one end to a second end of said other of said pair of fibers. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A fiber optic apparatus, comprising:
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a source of pump light comprising light having a first wavelength; an optical fiber comprising a laser material, said optical fiber emitting light at a second wavelength in response to pumping at said first wavelength; and an optical coupler having an input port and an output port, said input port coupled to said pump source to receive light from said pump source, said output port coupled to said optical fiber for pumping said laser material, said coupler being highly wavelength discriminating so as to selectively couple one of said first and second wavelengths without substantial coupling of the other of said first and second wavelengths.
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12. A method for amplifying a light signal carried by an optical fiber, comprising the steps of:
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combining said light signal and pumping illumination on a single optical fiber; and coupling said combined light signal and pumping illumination from said single optical fiber to one end of a fiber comprised of a material which will emit stimulated radiation at a wavelength of said light signal if pumped with said pumping illumination. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification