Patent ID: 7274880

Claim:
An optical communication system comprising: a transmitter for transmitting an optical signal; a receiver for detecting said optical signal; and an optical fiber communications link interposed between said transmitter and said receiver, said optical fiber communications link comprising: a plurality of optical fiber spans of varying span lengths and span loss coupled between said transmitter and said receiver; and a plurality of Raman assisted EDFA hybrid amplifiers, each being associated with a different one of said spans and having a Raman amplifier variable gain portion, an EDFA gain portion, and an optical attenuator coupled to an output of said EDFA gain portion, each of said EDFA gain portions being configured to provide substantially the same gain as each of the others of said EDFA gain portions, wherein each of said Raman amplifier variable gain portions is configured to provide a different associated gain compared to each of the others of said Raman amplifier variable gain portions whereby each of said EDFA gain portions of said plurality of Raman assisted EDFA hybrid amplifiers has substantially the same total input power as each of the others of said EDFA gain portions of said plurality of Raman assisted EDFA hybrid amplifiers throughout said optical fiber communications link regardless of said varying span lengths and span loss.