Cooperative upconversion effects on the characteristics of Er3+ doped and Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped waveguide amplifiers

By solving the rate equations and the propagation equations based on the energy transfer process of Er3+ and Yb3+ ions, the effects of the cooperative upconversion (UC) on the gain and noise characteristics of the Er3+ doped and Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped waveguide amplifiers are analyzed. Comparisons are performed between the amplifiers on waveguide length, pump power, Er3+ ion concentration and ion concentration ratio N-Yb/N-Er, respectively. Results show that it is very necessary to consider the UC in the optimization design and analysis of waveguide amplifiers. (C) 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.