Schott unveils new optical fiber for use in erbium doped fiber amplifiers

The new development will be presented at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference from March 17 to 22 in Anaheim, CA. With this new amplifier medium, Schott is expanding its successful product range of Erbium doped phosphate glasses for planar waveguide amplifiers. Furthermore, the fiber requires significantly less space, enabling more compact designs for amplifiers and telecom equipment.

The new amplifier glass material enables shorter fiber lengths, reduced from 15 meters to as short as 15 centimeters for a C-band design. These newly achieved benchmark lengths enable components to consume less space, translating to a significant reduction of the overall system design and assembly costs.

Additionally, the new material achieves a wider gain spectrum in the C- and L- bands. In the C-band, for example, the Schott fiber utilizes a gain spectrum up to 50% wider than conventional silica gain media. For an L-band amplifier, efficient amplification can be achieved between 1560 nm and 1610 nm. In both cases, the gain spectrum is optimized for maximum gain flatness, which requires less filtering and translates into cost savings due to less pumping power needed.

The new Schott fiber is based on the highly reliable silicate glass. With this glass, the mechanical strength and long term reliability is superior to other non-silica amplifier fibers, such as tellurite or fluoride glasses. Schott has recognized the reliability concerns in the telecommunication industry by introducing the use of new materials in optical networks.

“Our company is known for its cutting-edge innovation, and this new product development is yet another example of our commitment to provide new materials and new products that represent an immediate and recognizable increase in performance and cost-savings to our customers,” said Roland Langfeld, Vice President of Research & Technology at Schott headquarters in Mainz, Germany.

As the market demands more cost-efficient ways to manage bandwidth, Schott's new amplifier fiber will be available for alpha sampling to select customers increasing their options for smaller, broadband amplifiers.