According to a new study released by ElectroniCast Corp., the global consumption of optical fiber amplifiers will increase from $2.65 billion in 2000 to over $3.4 billion in 2005.
"The demand for optical amplifiers has increased dramatically with the growth of DWDM," ElectroniCast President Stephen Montgomery said. "With DWDM, multiple wavelengths are added to carry data to be multiplexed and transported over a single fiber."
Raman fiber amplifiers offer improved gain over wide bandwidths. High traffic optical amplification is increasingly required as network capacity increases. However, Raman amplifiers generally require high pumping power to combine a low noise figure with high gain. Several companies are developing high power laser diode chips for this application. Other companies are developing fiber-based lasers that claim to be better in power efficiency and relatively high power outputs. "The combination of Raman amplification with EDFAs offer very low noise broadband amplifier solution. Raman amplification also allows access to wavelengths where high performance EDFAs are not available," Montgomery said.
About ElectroniCast:
Founded in 1981, ElectroniCast provides forecasting for the fiber optic, optoelectronic, and photonic industries. This includes technology forecasting, markets and applications forecasting, strategic planning, competitive analysis, and marketing/sales consultation. For more information, visit www.electronicast.com.