OTh4C.3.

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OFCINFOEC Technical Digest 2013 OSA

Amplifier Technologies for Unrepeatered links, Submarine

Transmissions
H. Bissessur
Alcatel-Lucent Suhmarine Networks. Centre de Villarceaux. Route de Villejust.

91625 Nozay.

France

Email: Hans.Bissessur@Alcatel-Lucent.com

Abstract: We present the amplifier technologies, based on high-order Raman amplification, that
are currently used in unrepeatered systems. We describe their principle of operation and discuss
the physical effects which limit their application.
oels codes: (060.2320) Fiber optics amplifiers and oscillators; (140.4480) Optical amplifiers; (190.5650) Raman effect.

Introduction
Unrepeatered submarine systems operate without active elements on the line and therefore provide a simple and
cost-effective solution for a few hundred km long systems. Since the pumps have to be provided from the terminals,
sophisticated amplification schemes have been devised. This paper describes these technologies, which rely mainly
on high power boosters (usually with Yb co-doping), Raman amplification and remote amplifiers.
Unrepeatered configurations
Distributed Raman amplification is especially interesting in unrepeatered systems, since it provides gain over the
fibre and improves the Noise Figure (NF) of the link, with a pump located in the terminal. Raman amplification can
be applied at the transmitter end (co-propagation with the signal) or at the receiver end (counter-propagation) [1-3].
The ultimate capacity and reach are obtained with a Remote Optically Pumped Amplifier (ROPA), which consists of
a piece of erbium doped fibre placed at about 100 km from the receiver end [4-6]. Its pump is located in the terminal
and conveyed to the ROPA over the line fibre (see Fig. 1).

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Raman or
ROPA
Transmitter

'"
.

5
0

B!-5
Receiver

u;

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Distance (km)
section
Figure 1: Schematic of an unrepeatered link with Co Raman pumping and Raman or ROPA counter amplification, and signal power profile.

Characteristics of high-order Raman pumping

In a standard (1 sl order) pumping scheme, the pump wavelengths are around 1450 nm in order to amplify channels in
the C-band. The signal gain depends on the fibre type (via its attenuation, effective area and Raman efficiency); its
value (in dB) is directly proportional to the pump power (in W). From there, the transmission distance can be
increased with a high-order Raman pumping scheme which is based on the energy transfer from a primary
wavelength to longer wavelengths that takes place over the line fibre [7]. The Stokes wavelength can be favoured
d
either by a low-power laser line or a Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG). In our implementation, 3r order pumping is
applied, which means that the pump is 3 Stokes shifts away from the signal. The primary wavelength is 1275 nm;
the longer wavelengths are typically 1360 nm and 1455 nm. As described in Fig.2, the 1275 nm high pump power is
launched into the fibre and produces Raman amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) around 1360 nm; an FBG at
1360 nm reflects the ASE back into the fibre, while Rayleigh scattering reflects the ASE back from the other end.
Thus a high 1360 nm line is created inside the transmission fibre, which gives Raman gain around 1455 nm, which
in tum amplifies the low power line at 1455 nm. Fig. 2 shows the simulated power profiles of the different pumps
and the signal along the fibre: saturation of the pumps and energy transfer to the higher wavelength can be clearly
seen. The spectrum measured at point B (on Fig.1) confirms the generation of the line around 1360 nm, the
amplification of the pump at 1455 nm, as well as the generation of ASE in the C band (see Fig.3). In a high-order
scheme, there is a threshold (until the pump at 1455 nm is created inside the fibre) after which the gain in dB is
linear, as can be seen in Fig.3. A similar scheme has been used recently to fabricate a laser operating via Rayleigh

978-1-55752-962-6/13/$31.00 2013 Optical Society of America

OTh4C.3.pdf

OFCINFOEC Technical Digest 2013 OSA

scattering (called random distributed feedback laser [8]). Further improvement can be achieved by moving to even
higher order Raman pumping, at the expense of the pump power [9J.
When this scheme is applied to a line with a ROPA, the upper pump wavelength is shifted to 1485 nm. The
pump reaches the ROPA over the transmission line; the ROPA needs to be located at a reasonable distance
(typically 100 km) from the terminal in order to receive sufficient pump power. The signal is then amplified by the
ROPA and by Raman gain over the fibre.
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20

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Fiber Bragg Grating

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20

0
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Rayleigh Scattering

40
60

1275 nm pump
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o

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Distance (km)
Figure 2: Schematic of 3rd order Raman source and evolution of optical powers (pumps and signal) along the line fibre.

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25

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1540

500

1580

1000
1500
2000
Pump Power (mW)

2500

3000

Figure 3. Left: Spectrum of the launched power (pink) and the output power at point B with 3" order counter-pumping. Right: Raman gain vs
the pump power over different types of fibre (pump is at 1455 nm for l;t order pumping and 1275 nm for 3" order pumping).

The Raman gain process being extremely fast, any fluctuations in the pump - in particular its relative intensity
noise (RIN) - can cause fluctuations in the Raman gain and therefore in the signal power. In the first order scheme,
d
the RIN noise is transferred from the pump to the signal in a straightforward manner. In the 3r order scheme, the
RIN is transferred from the pump at 1275 nm to the pump at 1360 nm, the pump at 1455 nm and finally the signal,
even if the 1360 nm line is obtained by amplifying the ASE with an FBG, as can be seen in Fig.3 in the case of co
pumping. The RIN measured on the signal is a perfect copy of the fundamental pump's RIN up to a frequency
around 10 MHz, where it is cut off by the walk-off between the pump and the signal, as predicted in [10]. In these
curves, the levels (y-scale) have been adjusted for comparison; the upper level of the transferred RIN actually
depends on the amount of Raman gain. Detailed formula and comparison between fibre types can be found in [IIJ.

0.1

10

100

Frequency (MHz)
Figure 4: RIN measured on the 1275 nm pump (as launched) and on the signal after PSCF fibre with 3" order pumping.

OFCINFOEC Technical Digest 2013 OSA

OTh4C.3.pdf

Performance limiting factors

Like an EDFA, a distributed Raman amplifier adds spontaneous noise to the signal. The amount of generated noise
depends on the frequency difference between the pump and the signal, more noise being generated at the shorter
signal wavelengths. Therefore, the noise factor of a Raman amplifier is tilted in favour of the higher wavelengths.
As the Raman gain increases, the signal's minimum power level is pushed deeper into the fibre and the OSNR
increases. With up-to-date high-power Raman pumps, the signal gain can exceed 40 dB. However, several physical
effects limit the maximum useable gain. For example, the level of Double Rayleigh scattering (DRS), which
superimposes a delayed copy to the signal, increases with the Raman gain [12]. Fig. 5 shows the BER and OSNR as
a function of the power of a counter-propagating Raman pump. As the Raman pump is ramped up, the BER of the
signal decreases, but then reaches a noor before increasing again, although the Raman gain and the OSNR
(measured from the ASE) still increase. The optimum Raman gain, which depends on the fibre type, is usually
between 25 and 30 dB.

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-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
-60

1460

Counter Raman power (W)

1480

1500

1520

1540

1560

1580

1600

1620

Wavelength (nm)

Figure 5: Left: Practical lirnitation of the Raman gain. Right: spectrum at the output of the remote section showing the growth of the ASE at
1580 nm.

In a system with a ROPA, the DRS limit is usually higher because the pump wavelength is at 1485 nm whereas
the signal is around 1550 nm and therefore experiences lower Raman gain. The pump power is often limited by the
line fibre lasing around the ASE peak at 1580 nm: as the pump is increased, the Raman gain becomes higher than
the Rayleigh renection, thus producing a laser cavity. The whole system then becomes unstable (see Fig.5 right).
Finally, the useable gain can be limited by non-linear interactions: Four Wave Mixing can take place between
pumps [13-14] or between the pump and the signal [15] especially over NDSF fibre, where the chromatic dispersion
is small at the pump wavelengths. The pump and the signal can also interact through Cross Gain Modulation [16].
Conclusion
High-order Raman amplification has been applied successfully to increase the reach in unrepeatered system. The
optimum pump setting is found by considering the different limiting effects, i.e., a combination between DRS, lasing
threshold and non-linear interactions such as FWM, whose importance depends on the fibre characteristics.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge P. Bousselet, I. Brylski, S. Etienne, J. Lestrade and D. Mongardien from Alcatel
Lucent who contributed to all these results.
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