Multi-core optical amplifying fiber device and multi-core optical fiber amplifier

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9722388-B2
Application number	US-201514976922-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2015
Priority date	Jun 21, 2013
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

A multi-core optical amplifying fiber device includes a plurality of multi-core optical amplifying fibers including a plurality of core portions doped with amplification medium and a cladding portion formed at outer peripheries of the plurality of core portions; and a connection portion connecting the core portions of the plurality of multi-core optical amplifying fibers to one another. The connection portion connects the core portions to restrain deviation, between every connected core portions, of amplification gain for a total length of the core portions connected one another.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A multi-core optical amplifying fiber device comprising:
first and second multi-core optical amplifying fibers each including a plurality of core portions and a cladding portion formed at outer peripheries of the core portions; and
a connection portion connecting the core portions of the first and second multi-core optical amplifying fibers to one another, wherein
the core portions of the first multi-core optical amplifying fiber are doped with amplification medium,
the core portions of the second multi-core optical amplifying fiber comprise a first core portion doped with amplification medium and a second core portion not doped with amplification medium, and
the connection portion connects the core portions to restrain deviation, between every connected core portions, of amplification gain for a total length of the core portions connected one another with respect to deviation of amplification gain between every connected core portions of the first multi-core optical amplifying fiber.

2. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection portion connects the core portions to restrain deviation between every connected core portions and of average gain coefficient for a total length of the core portions connected one another.

3. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection portion is configured by connecting the first and second multi-core optical amplifying fibers directly.

4. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 1 , wherein the connection portion has a plurality of single-core optical fibers including a core portion and a cladding portion formed at an outer periphery of the core portion, and the core portions of the multi-core optical amplifying fibers are connected to one another via the single-core optical fiber.

5. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 4 , wherein an optical loss portion is inserted in the single-core optical fiber.

6. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 4 , wherein the core portion of the single-core optical fiber is doped with amplification medium.

7. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 1 , wherein, in the second multi-core optical amplifying fiber, only one of the core portions is doped with the amplification medium and other ones of the core portions are not doped with the amplification medium.

8. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 1 , wherein, in the second multi-core optical amplifying fiber, only at least two of the core portions are doped with the amplification medium and other ones of the core portions are not doped with the amplification medium.

9. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 1 , wherein
the core portions doped with the amplification medium of the second multi-core optical amplifying fiber are connected to at least one of the core portions of the first multi-core optical amplifying fiber, and
gain coefficient of the core portions of the first multi-core optical amplifying fiber connected to the core portions doped with the amplification medium of the second multi-core optical amplifying fiber is small.

10. The multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to claim 1 , wherein the first multi-core optical amplifying fiber comprises two multi-core optical amplifying fibers, and two ends of the second multi-core optical amplifying fiber are connected to the two multi-core optical amplifying fibers respectively.

11. A multi-core optical fiber amplifier comprising:
the multi-core optical amplifying fiber device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and 7 to 10 ;
a pumping light source outputting a pumping light made be inputted to the core portion of the multi-core optical amplifying fiber included in the multi-core optical amplifying fiber device; and
an optical multiplexer making the pumping light be inputted to the core portions of the multi-core optical amplifying fiber.

12. The multi-core optical fiber amplifier according to claim 11 , wherein
the first multi-core optical amplifying fiber has a double-cladding structure, and
the multi-core optical fiber amplifier is a cladding-pumping optical fiber amplifier in which the pumping light is inputted into an inner cladding portion of the double-cladding structure and which pumps each of the core portions.

Assignees

• Furukawa Electric Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tadakuma Masateru
• Maeda Koichi
• Tsuchida Yukihiro
• Takasaka Shigehiro
• Sugizaki Ryuichi

Classifications

• H01S3/06766

  C-band amplifiers, i.e. amplification in the range of about 1530 nm to 1560 nm · CPC title

• H01S3/094019

  Side pumped fibre, whereby pump light is coupled laterally into the fibre via an optical component like a prism, or a grating, or via V-groove coupling · CPC title

• H01S3/094007

  Cladding pumping, i.e. pump light propagating in a clad surrounding the active core · CPC title

• H01S3/094038

  End pumping · CPC title

• H01S3/06783

  Amplifying coupler · CPC title