Erbium Fiber Amplifiers is a comprehensive introduction to the increasingly important topic of optical amplification. Written by three Bell Labs pioneers, the book stresses the importance of the interrelation of materials properties, optical properties, and systems aspects of optical fiber amplifiers. The floppy disk included with the book contains a PC based educational version of the sophisticated commercial amplifier simulation package OASIX (sold by the Specialty Fiber Group of Lucent Technologies). This powerful numerical simulation software allows one to simulate the performance of a real erbium fiber amplifier, and obtain its properties such as signal gain and noise generated. Several parameter sets are included, each of which represents a commercially available type of erbium doped fiber usedin different kinds of amplifiers (e.g. preamplifiers and power amplifiers). The user can vary, via Windows based input screens, various amplifier characteristics such as fiber length, pump power, signal power, and additional signals. The output is savedin a file which can be read by any spreadsheet or plotting package for graphical representation of the results.
The software allows the reader to explore on his or her own the concepts of amplifier performance discussed in the book, and gain a more intuitive and interactive educational experience leading to a richer understanding of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and their applications.