Wideband EDFA Based on Erbium Doped Crystalline Zirconia Yttria Alumino Silicate Fiber

A wideband erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is demonstrated using an Erbium-doped zirconia fiber as the gain medium. With a combination of both Zr and Al, we could achieve a high erbium doping concentration of 4320 ppm in the glass host without any phase separations of rare-earths. The Erbium doped fiber (EDF) is obtained from a fiber preform, which is fabricated in a ternary glass host, zirconia-yttria-aluminum codoped silica fiber using a MCVD process. Doping of Er₂O₃ into Zirconia yttria-aluminosilicate based glass is done through solution doping process. The maximum gain of 21.8 dB is obtained at 1560 nm with 2 m long of EDF and co-pumped with 1480 nm laser diode. At high input signal of -4 dBm, a flat-gain at average value of 8.6 dB is obtained with a gain variation of less than 4.4 dB within the wavelength region of 1535-1605 nm and using 3 m of EDF and 100 mW pump power. The corresponding noise figure is maintained below 9.6 dB at this wavelength region.