EDFA Custom-Coded Simulation Block for Use in WDM Optical Fiber Communication System Studies

Abstract

An Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) custom-coded block (CCB) for simulation of multichannel amplification has been created in the COMDISCO Signal Processing Worksystem. The resultant model can achieve accurate results with reasonable speed and can be used readily for a wide range of different situations. In the EDFA CCB both forward and backward amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) are considered. Practical application of the block is demonstrated in the analysis of a four node wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical fiber ring network using EDFAs to compensate the section losses. We find that for such a system non-uniform sampling of the ASE spectrum offers an advantage for reducing storage requirements and running time of the simulation compared with uniform sampling. The CCB is also used in the simulation of a WDM optical fiber communication system using 9 cascaded EDFAs, which are highly saturated, to compensate for the transmission loss of the fiber. We find that the simulation results of the output signal level and ASE spectrum exhibit the same general pattern as previously published results, demonstrating the applicability of the EDFA CCB for such highly saturated cases.