Noise in optical amplifiers

Abstract This article presents an application of a recently published probablistic model for traveling wave optical amplification. Both optical signal and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise are modeled as bunches of photons traveling along the amplifying region with size varying according to simple random rules. The results of the theory enable one to obtain a complete and accurate characterization of the signal and noise counting at the amplifier output. On the basis of the above statistics, we find a realistic evaluation of the limits imposed by both quantum and ASE noise on the performances of a receiver including an optical amplifier at a preamplifier stage.