We experimentally explore and demonstrate the potential of a birefringent fiber loop (BFL) to compensate for the pattern effects (PE) induced in a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA), which is driven by optical data whose intensity, temporal and spectral characteristics heavily stress the RSOA. By properly tailoring the BFL comb-like profile and adjusting the relative offset between the BFL maximum transmission and carrier signal position, the BFL improves the RSOA pattern-dependent performance even though the input pulses’ modulation bandwidth exceeds the 3 dB cut-off frequency of the RSOA optical response. The extensive set of obtained experimental results confirms the BFL capability to enhance the RSOA operation even under strong saturation, since the BFL acts in a beneficial manner on the amplified pulses by reducing their overshoot to an acceptable level, restoring their spectral position, reshaping their eye diagram and increasing their input power dynamic range. These notable improvements, combined with the construction from off-the-shelf components, straightforward implementation, simplicity of operation and flexibly tunable transmission characteristics, render the BFL an attractive solution for efficiently combating the RSOA PE and resolving its undesirable complications.

中文翻译：

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双折射光纤环路的反射式半导体光放大器图案效应补偿

我们通过实验探索并证明了双折射光纤环路 (BFL) 补偿反射式半导体光放大器 (RSOA) 中引起的图案效应 (PE) 的潜力，RSOA 由强度、时间和光谱特性严重强调的光学数据驱动RSOA。通过适当调整 BFL 梳状轮廓并调整 BFL 最大传输和载波信号位置之间的相对偏移，即使输入脉冲的调制带宽超过 3 dB 截止频率，BFL 也能提高 RSOA 模式相关性能。 RSOA 光响应。获得的大量实验结果证实了 BFL 即使在强饱和度下也能增强 RSOA 操作的能力，因为 BFL 通过将脉冲过冲降低到可接受的水平、恢复其光谱位置、重塑其眼图并增加其输入功率动态范围，以有益的方式作用于放大的脉冲。这些显着的改进，结合现成组件的结构、简单的实施、操作简单和灵活可调的传输特性，使 BFL 成为有效对抗 RSOA PE 并解决其不良并发症的有吸引力的解决方案。