Noise in wavelength conversion by cross-gain modulation in a semiconductoroptical amplifier

A study of the noise properties of wavelength conversion using cross-gain m odulation in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) has been made, emphasi sing the effect on system performance. Experimentally, amplified spontaneou s emission noise added to the pump beam was used to simulate this signal ha ving passed through a number of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. Results indi cate that improvements in detected Q factor can be observed if the SOA is o perated under high saturation conditions, and a simple steady-state nonline ar gain model accounts for these results quite accurately.