Patent ID: 8145062

Claim:
An optical amplifier assembly, comprising: a combiner adapted to combine a first optical signal received from a first transmission fiber and a second optical signal received from a second transmission fiber into a third optical signal, the first optical signal comprising a first plurality of optical signal wavelengths and the second optical signal comprising a second plurality of wavelengths, wherein the first optical signal traverses the first transmission fiber in a first direction in a bi-directional optical link in which signals traveling from a first transmitter to a first receiver, and the second optical signal traverses the second transmission fiber in a second direction in the bi-directional optical link in which signals traveling from a second transmitter to a second receiver, wherein the first and second transmitters are remotely located from each other, and wherein the first and second receivers are remotely located from each other; an amplifier operable to receive the third optical signal and to amplify each of the wavelengths in the third optical signal; and a separator operable to receive the third optical signal and to separate the third optical signal into the first optical signal and the second optical signal, wherein the first optical signal is communicated in the first direction and the second optical signal is communicated in the second direction after being separated by the separator.