Thulium-doped fiber amplifier for optical communications at 2µm

We report the first experimental realization and detailed characterization of thulium doped fiber amplifiers (TDFAs) specifically designed for optical communications providing high gain (>35dB), noise figure as low as 5dB, and over 100nm wide bandwidth around 2µm. A maximum saturated output power of 1.2W was achieved with a slope efficiency of 50%. The gain dynamics of the amplifier were also examined. Our results show that TDFAs are well qualified as high performance amplifiers for possible future telecommunication networks operating around 2µm