Low-loss fusion splicing of erbium-doped optical fibers for high performance fiber amplifiers

An optimization process is described for reducing the fusion splice loss between Er-doped and standard single mode fibers, which differ significantly from each other in their physical and optical properties. As a result of this process, an average splice loss of 0.11 dB at 1300 nm in such fiber pairs has been achieved. The experimental splice loss data approached the theoretically predicted values. High-gain fiber amplifier experiments using the low-loss splicers obtained in the Er-doped and standard fiber combination are also discussed