Fiber-amplifier cascades with gain equalization in multiwavelength unidirectional inter-office ring networks

Erbium-doped fiber-amplifier cascades using a simple gain equalization scheme employing demultiplexers with attenuators are shown capable of supporting a 16-office wavelength-routed unidirectional ring network. The gain equalization yields a network with nearly uniform signal power distribution, which is robust to wavelength dropping assignments, permitting a flexible evolution plan.>