Dual pump broadband fiber-optic parametric amplifier based on near-zero dispersion photonic crystal fiber with single zero dispersion wavelength

Abstract

A broadband fiber-optic parametric amplifier (FOPA) based on near-zero dispersion profile with single zero dispersion wavelength (ZDW) by selective liquid infiltration technique is numerically investigated. Here, the gain and bandwidth for an FOPA incorporating “dual pumping” scheme are thoroughly investigated by varying the fiber length, operating wavelength (central wavelength), and pump power. The structure is engineered in such a way that the dispersion profile is having near-zero dispersion value (negative β2) for a wide wavelength range and small positive β4 around the pump wavelength; thereby, the phase mismatch term remains within the favorable value for a wide wavelength leading to wider FOPA sources. The structure also supports reasonable high nonlinearity and low propagation loss. Our numerical investigation results in an FOPA with optimized bandwidth of around 180 nm close to communication wavelength. Finally, a detailed comparative study of the single pump scheme and dual pump scheme for FOPA/amplifier gain and spectrum bandwidth has been performed for identical fiber parameters. It has been observed that dual pump scheme provides smoother/flatter spectrum (lesser gain fluctuation) around the center of the optimized profile with slightly lesser bandwidth compared to single pump operation. Additionally, it was observed that the dual pump FOPA supports higher pump power thereby enabling higher FOPA unaltered peak gain (3 dB) throughout the bandwidth (the peak and dip of the gain spectrum difference remaining within 3 dB) than that of single pump scheme.