Amplification of femtosecond pulses in a passive, all-fiber soliton source

We report a theoretical and experimental study of the amplification of femtosecond soliton pulses generated by a passively mode-locked fiber laser in a high-gain erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). Results on the spectral and temporal evolution of 450-fs soliton pulses propagating within an EDFA are presented. Power gains as high as 30 dB and the generation of sub-100-fs Raman colored solitons are observed. The results are found to be well described by the theoretical model presented.