Gain flattened and improved EDFA using microbending long-period fibre gratings

Abstract

A new method for flattening the gain spectrum of erbium-doped fibre amplifiers (EDFAs) is proposed. This method is based on microbending long-period fibre gratings, that are simply fabricated by bending the fibre. By adjusting the spectral profiles of the filters mechanically, a gain flatness of <1 dB has been obtained, and gain improvement of <5.32 dB over the 33 nm wavelength range at two different pump powers of 34 and 86 mW, respectively.