A REVIEW OF RECENT SYSTEM DEMONSTRATIONS INCORPORATING 1.3-MU-M PRASEODYMIUM-DOPED FLUORIDE FIBER AMPLIFIERS

This paper provides a review of recent system demonstrations incorpora ting 1.3-mu m praseodymium doped fluoride fiber amplifiers (PDFFA's), following a brief historical perspective on the amplifiers development , the analogue and digital systems experiments, which have been conduc ted to date incorporating these new amplifiers, are described. Beyond this review material recent systems experiments conducted at BT Labs a re also described. These experiments investigate the application of hi gh performance PDFFA's to both, analogue, FM-SCM transmission, and hig h-speed (5 and 10 Gb/s), digital transmission systems. The results of a recent 10-Gb/s field transmission experiment are also presented. Thi s paper also provides a perspective on the potential significance of 1 .3-amplifiers to both long-haul point-to-point transmission systems an d to optical fiber access networks based on passive optical network st ructures.