dBm output power from an engineered cladding-pumped Yb-free EDFA for L-band WDM applications

We have demonstrated a saturated output power of +26 dBm with a cladding-pumped Yb-free erbium-doped fiber amplifier owing to the matching of the multimode pumps wavelength with the erbium absorption spectrum. These results corresponded to saturated output powers of +23 dBm with a single multimode module and +26 dBm with two sources used in combination. Moreover, in the flat-gain regime, an output power of +24 dBm has been obtained for only 1.76 W launched pump power. Since the amplifier incorporated only packaged devices, this will make its gain flatness characteristics and high output powers available soon for the next generations of high bit-rate WDM systems.