Patent ID: 8081880
Filing Date: 2011-12-20
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
1. An optical fiber communications link having a pair of fibers carrying signals in opposite directions, a pair of remotely optically pumped amplifiers (ROPA) namely, a transmit ROPA and a receive ROPA, located proximal to each end of said pair of fibers carrying signals in opposite directions, and a system to deliver pump power to said pair of remotely optically pumped amplifiers (ROPA) at each end of said pair of fibers comprising: a pump module for injecting light into said second fiber at said one end; a WDM splitter, located in said second fiber at a distance from said one end corresponding to the position of the Tx ROPA in said first fiber, for WDM splitting off a portion of the ROPA pump power provided by said injected light, with the remaining pump light continuing on in said second fiber to pump an active fiber of said Rx ROPA spliced into said second fiber and a portion of said pump power is provided to said Tx ROPA, said portion of said pump power provided to said Tx ROPA having a different wavelength than a remaining portion of said pump power provided to said Rx ROPA and wherein said WDM splitter is adapted to allow signal passage in a signal transmission direction of said second fiber; a coupler to couple said portion of said ROPA pump power into an active fiber of said Tx ROPA; wherein, said Tx ROPA in said first fiber and said Rx ROPA in said second fiber are pumped from said pump module located at said one end, without the use of dedicated pump delivery fibers and without co-propagating Raman interactions between the signals and said injected light.