ABSTRACTIn this study, the noise figure (NF) improvement is demonstrated in double‐pass C‐band erbium‐doped fiber amplifier. It is used the short length of unpumped erbium doped fiber (EDF) within a circulator‐based loop mirror which is reduced amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). The unpumped EDF attenuates part of the ASE that is then reflected back for a double pass configuration which in turn, helps to improve the gain and NF. The proposed configuration has lower NF and higher gain than conventional double pass scheme. Thus, it can be easily applied for practical application. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:2525–2528, 2013