Optické zesilovače a lasery využívající optických vláken dopovaných erbiem

Abstract

Optical fibers have become a significant technology in transmitting information through modern communication networks, including high-speed transmission capabilities and immunity to electromagnetic interference, once a replacement for traditional metallic conductors. In some long-distance signal transmissions, power loss necessitates the use of optical amplifiers to account for attenuation. Optical amplifiers exist in different forms, including semiconductor optical amplifiers and Raman amplifiers or fiber optical amplifiers.

Optical fibers have become a significant technology in transmitting information through modern communication networks, including high-speed transmission capabilities and immunity to electromagnetic interference, once a replacement for traditional metallic conductors. In some long-distance signal transmissions, power loss necessitates the use of optical amplifiers to account for attenuation. Optical amplifiers exist in different forms, including semiconductor optical amplifiers and Raman amplifiers or fiber optical amplifiers. The increase in the diversity of optical fiber materials has increased their applications. Thus, for example, bismuth-doped optical fibers were considered for special gain characteristics of bismuth in the near-infrared spectrum. Ytterbium-doped fibers are predominantly used in high-power laser systems and ultrafast fiber laser designs. Erbium-doped fibers exhibit superior gain performance at the C-band (~1530 nm) and are therefore essential components in optical communication systems. These rare-earth-doped fibers hold great promise in optical amplification and laser applications. This work exploits the optical properties of erbium-doped fibers in order to design optical amplifiers and fiber lasers. To this end, I systematically analyzed the influences of various variables, such as pumping methods, fiber lengths, pump power, and pump signals in our experiments on optical amplifiers to determine the best gain values. For laser experiments, I successfully attained laser emission using Bragg grating structures and ring resonator designs. A new architecture introducing optical combiner and double clad erbium/ytterbium optical fiber was proposed. This innovative approach aims to enhance the power scalability and efficiency of high-power fiber lasers, addressing the limitations of conventional single-clad fiber designs. Preliminary results suggest that this architecture could be a promising pathway for developing next-generation optical systems.