Spectral dependence of gain and noise in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

A two-level model of the erbium-doped fiber amplifier is used to analyze the dependence of the amplifier gain saturation, saturated output power, and excess noise factor on pump and signal wavelengths. Measured data are presented confirming that the dependence of the gain, output saturation power, and noise of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers on the signal and pump wavelength can be described by simple equations derived from the model.<<ETX>>