Abstract
We propose a configuration for a wideband optical parametric amplifier (OPA) using cascaded periodically poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) waveguides. These PPLN waveguides have different phase-matching characteristics by controlling the temperature of each waveguide, and thus, the input wideband signal is amplified complementarily. Pump light is shared across the PPLN waveguides. As a result, pump-power-efficient gain bandwidth extension can be achieved. We numerically calculate the gain spectrum of the proposed configuration and show that the optimization of the temperature state of the 2nd PPLN modules can suppress the generation of excessive gain, resulting in a flat gain spectrum. We experimentally demonstrate an 8.7-THz amplification bandwidth (1545.32–1618.86 nm) with a >15-dB gain in the lower frequency band of the proposed OPA. We also conduct simultaneous amplification experiments with a 67-channel 125-GHz-spaced 120-Gbaud WDM signal over 8.375 THz using the proposed configuration.
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