Design and performance evolution of ultra-wideband EDFA amplification in WDM optical communication systems

Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) has become a cornerstone in modern optical communication systems especially with C-band (1,530–1,665 nm), however, the demand of high optical capacity makes it necessary to extend the use of EDFA to L-band and U-band. In this paper, an EDFA has been designed and stimulated to be used with ultra-wide band applications, utilizing series and parallel-configurations. The proposed systems are simulated, and the performance analysis is conducted using Optisystem 15.0 software. The results show that both configurations presented ultra-wide flatness gain bandwidth. The series-configuration achieves superior gain flatness of 160 nm from 1,530 to 1,690 nm, with a gain ripple of 0.95 dB, and a maximum gain of 45.35 dB at 1,570 nm. While, the parallel-EDFA demonstrated an ultra-bandwidth with flexible gain control by adjusting the splitter coupling ratio. The optimum results were obtained at 0.1 coupling ratio with a total pump power of 540 mW. A flat gain for a wide range, 1,530–1,690 nm, and ripples of 5 dB are recorded. These results highlight the trade-off between the two architectures and demonstrate their potential to meet the growing demands of 5G/6G, IOT, and AI on optical communication systems infrastructure.