Low Absorption Erbium-Doped Fiber for High Performance ASE sources

Low Absorption Erbium-Doped Fiber for High Performance ASE sources | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 8 January 2026 V1 Latest version Share on Low Absorption Erbium-Doped Fiber for High Performance ASE sources Authors : Wei Liu 0009-0003-7699-9105 , Xinlin Wang , Jia Guo , Jianming Liu , and Wei Xu [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176786837.73395274/v1 137 views 33 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source is widely adopted in Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs) due to its high mean wavelength stability with low temporal coherence. However, the majority of current studies are based on the entire broad ASE spectrum. In practical applications, high-precision ASE sources are often employed after filtering. This study systematically compares the temperature-dependent characteristics of erbium-doped fibers (EDFs) with low and high Er3+ doping concentrations in a bidirectional forward optical path configuration of an ASE source. The optimized low-concentration Er3+-doped EDF was integrated into a filtered ASE source. Experimental results show it achieved a power conversion efficiency of 26.9 % and exhibited a temperature coefficient of 0.107 ppm/°C. Its performance exceeds that of the commercially standard EDF. This study provides important experimental evidence for optimizing ASE sources. Low Absorption Erbium-Doped Fiber for High Performance ASE sources Wei Liu, Xinlin Wang, Jia Guo, Jianming Liu, Wei Xu 1 College of Mechanical Engineering, University of South China,Hengyang 421001, China Email: [email protected] . Abstract: The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source is widely adopted in Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs) due to its high mean wavelength stability with low temporal coherence. However, the majority of current studies are based on the entire broad ASE spectrum. In practical applications, high-precision ASE sources are often employed after filtering. This study systematically compares the temperature-dependent characteristics of erbium-doped fibers (EDFs) with low and high Er 3+ doping concentrations in a bidirectional forward optical path configuration of an ASE source. The optimized low-concentration Er 3+ -doped EDF was integrated into a filtered ASE source. Experimental results show it achieved a power conversion efficiency of 26.9 % and exhibited a temperature coefficient of 0.107 ppm/°C. Its performance exceeds that of the commercially standard EDF. This study provides important experimental evidence for optimizing ASE sources. Introduction: The fiber optic gyroscope (FOG) is an angular velocity sensor based on the Sagnac effect, widely used in aircraft navigation and geophysical monitoring [1-4]. The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) sources offer broad spectral width, low coherence, and easy coupling with fiber systems, making them widely used in high-precision FOGs [5-8]. In practical FOG applications, the key performance metrics of an ASE source lie in the temperature-dependent characteristics and its power conversion efficiency. As the gain medium of the ASE source, the temperature-dependent characteristics of the erbium-doped fiber (EDF) directly affect the stability of the ASE. At present, the studies on the thermal stability of ASE sources mostly focus on the mean wavelength characteristics of the entire ASE broadband spectrum [9-13]. However, in practical high-precision FOG systems, the ASE broad spectrum typically requires filtering. Studies on the temperature dependence of this filtered output spectrum remain relatively scarce. This paper systematically investigates the influence of Er 3+ doping concentration and EDF length on the temperature stability of the mean wavelength in 1530 nm-band by filtering the broad ASE spectrum. A double-pass forward-pumping configuration was employed in the experiments. A comparative analysis was performed on the commercially standard EDF1 (with an absorption coefficient of 19.3 dB/m at 1530 nm) and a self-developed EDF2 (with an absorption coefficient of 5.4 dB/m at 1530 nm). Under strictly controlled pump power conditions, the output characteristics of these two EDFs with different doping concentrations and lengths were systematically examined at varying fiber lengths. Experimental setup: The optical path structure is illustrated in Fig. 1. A 980 nm pump laser was injected into the EDF via a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM). The backward ASE was re-amplified by re-entering the EDF through a reflector. A Gaussian filter isolator was connected at the end of the EDF to prevent reflected light from the rear optical path from re-entering the EDF and forming a lasing output. Passing the signal light through a Gaussian filter results in an output spectrum with a symmetric, near-Gaussian shape, which effectively enhances the thermal stability of the average wavelength of the output light. The spectral and power data of the ASE source were collected using an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA, Yokogawa AQ6370D) and an optical power meter (Thorlabs PM100D). The specific parameters of the two EDFs are listed in Table 1. EDF1 is a widely commercialized product from Fibercore. EDF2 was fabricated using a production method that combines the inorganic metal chloride Vapor-Phase Deposition (VPD) technique with the Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) process. Fig 1 Schematic of the ASE sources [1]¿p#1 newcommands Table 1. Parameters of the EDF1 and EDF2. [1]¿p#1 newcommands Parameters EDF1 EDF2 Numerical aperture (NA) 0.225 0.24 Peak Absorption @1530 nm(dB/m) 19.2 5.4 Background Loss @1200 nm (dB/km) 7.67 16.2 Cutoff Wavelength (nm) 934 996 Mode Field Diameter @1550 nm (µm) 5.65 5.42 Core Diameter (µm) 4.7 4.6 Cladding Diameter (µm) 125 125 [1]¿p#1 newcommands During the experiment, only the EDF was placed inside the temperature chamber (ATH-80L-6D), while all other components were maintained at room temperature (20 °C). The pump drive current was set to 120 mA, corresponding to a pump power of 66.1 mW, which was determined based on the typical operating power of EDF1 in practical applications. Under these conditions, the temperature of the chamber was varied from -60 °C to 150 °C in steps of 5 °C or 10 °C, and both the optical spectrum and output power were measured at each temperature point. Experimental result: The temperature-dependent drift in this study was calculated within the range from -50 °C to 75 °C. Fig. 2 illustrates the relationship between the mean wavelength of the ASE source and temperature for different lengths of EDF. The ASE spectra based on the two types of EDF show similar temperature dependence. As the fiber length increases, the mean wavelength of the ASE output drifts toward longer wavelengths. This drift is due to the more pronounced signal light reabsorption effect with increased fiber length, which causes the overall spectrum to move toward longer wavelengths [14]. Image (image2.png) is missing or otherwise invalid. Fig 2 Variation of mean wavelength with temperature for ASE sources utilizing (a) EDF1 and (b) EDF2 with different lengths. Fig 3 Variation of mean wavelength drift with total absorption at 1530nm. Fig. 3 shows the smallest temperature-dependent drift of the mean wavelength ASE output. And the total absorption on the horizontal axis equals the fiber length multiplied by the absorption coefficient. This result is obtained using 2.8 m of EDF1 and 10 m of EDF2. These two fiber lengths exhibit the best stability in terms of temperature-dependent drift. Their temperature-dependent drifts are 17.0 ppm and 13.4 ppm, respectively, with EDF2 outperforming EDF1. Image (image4.png) is missing or otherwise invalid. Fig 4 Variation of output power with temperature for ASE sources utilizing (a)EDF1 and (b)EDF2 of different lengths. Image (image5.png) is missing or otherwise invalid. Fig 5 The ASE output power of EDF1 (2.8m) and EDF2 (10m) at different absorbed pump powers. Fig. 4 shows the output power versus temperature for EDF1 and EDF2 at different lengths. The output power of EDF2 decreases with increasing temperature. This is because temperature leads to a decrease in the fluorescence lifetime of erbium Er 3+ , resulting in a linear reduction of the absorption coefficient as temperature rises [15]. Within a certain length range, this manifests as a decrease in output power with increasing temperature. When the fiber length is excessive, the reabsorption of signal light becomes more pronounced, causing the overall spectrum to drift toward longer wavelengths. The filter isolator removes a portion of the main peak around 1530 nm. After this filtering, the ASE spectrum drifts toward shorter wavelengths as temperature rises. This drift leads to an increase in output power with increasing temperature. As shown in Fig. 5, under the condition of minimum mean wavelength drift and pump power of 66.1 mW, the ASE output power of EDF1 and EDF2 is 13.53 mW and 14.67 mW, respectively. The power conversion efficiency of EDF2 is 26.9 %, superior to that of EDF1 at 24.5 %. And the use of an excessively long fiber in combination with a filter results in minimal variation of output power with temperature. For instance, EDF1 at 3.6 m exhibits a power temperature drift of 0.04 %, while overly long EDF2 demonstrates a similar trend. Fig. 6 illustrates the relationship between the spectral width and temperature for EDF1 and EDF2 of different lengths. The spectral width of both fibers increases with rising temperature, while the EDF2 exhibits an overall larger spectral width than the EDF1 under the same total absorption condition. When the mean wavelength drift is minimized, the temperature-dependent variation in the spectral width of EDF1 is approximately 1.5 %, whereas that of EDF2 is about 1.4 %, slightly lower than that of EDF1. Image (image6.png) is missing or otherwise invalid. [1]¿p#1 newcommands Fig 6 Variation of spectral width with temperature for ASE sources utilizing (a)EDF1 and (b)EDF2 of different lengths. Conclusion: We studied the temperature-dependent characteristics of EDFs with low and high Er 3+ concentrations in an ASE source employing Gaussian filter isolator. Experimental results revealed that EDF2 achieved lower temperature-dependent drift of the mean wavelength and higher optical power conversion efficiency than the commercial standard EDF1. The ASE operating temperature range is from -50 °C to 75 °C. Within this range, EDF2 exhibited a minimum mean wavelength drift of 13.4 ppm. EDF2 achieved this performance at its optimal length of 10 m. EDF1 fiber showed a drift of 17.0 ppm at its optimal length of 2.8 m. EDF2 therefore outperformed EDF1 in terms of mean wavelength drift stability. At their respective optimal lengths, the EDF2 achieved a power conversion efficiency of 26.9 %, exceeding the 24.5 % obtained with EDF1. For both fibers, optimizing the fiber length proved to be an effective approach to reducing the temperature-dependent drift of the ASE mean wavelength. When the fibers were used excessively long in the ASE optical path, the combination of increased length and spectral filtering produced very small output power variations with temperature; for example, EDF1 at 3.6 m exhibited a power variation of only 0.04 %. Over-extended EDF2 showed a similar behavior. With respect to spectral width and its temperature-dependent change, the differences between the two fiber types were relatively minor. Thus, the EDF2 provides both lower mean-wavelength temperature drift and higher optical power conversion efficiency than EDF1, making it well suited for constructing highly temperature-stable ASE sources. References 1. Xu H, Wang L, Zu Y, et al. Application and development of fiber optic gyroscope inertial navigation system in underground space[J]. Sensors, 2023, 23(12): 5627. 2. Song N, Xu X, Zhang Z, et al. Advanced interferometric fiber optic gyroscope for inertial sensing: A review[J]. Journal of light wave technology, 2023, 41(13): 4023-4034. 3. 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Journal of Optics, 2018, 20(9): 093001. 9. Wan H, Zhang D, Sun X. Stabilization of a superfluorescent fiber source with high performance erbium doped fibers[J]. Optical Fiber Technology, 2013, 19(3): 264-268. 10. Vostrikov E, Kikilich N, Zalesskaya Y, et al. Stabilisation of central wavelength of erbium‐doped fibre source as part of high‐accuracy FOG[J]. IET Optoelectronics, 2020, 14(4): 218-222. 11. Kikilich N, Aleinik A, Pogudin G, et al. Stabilization of the mean wavelength of an erbium-doped fiber source as part of high-accuracy FOG with increased spectrum width[J]. Applied Optics, 2022, 61(23): 6827-6833. 12. Kikilich N, Aleinik A, Pogudin G, et al. Stabilization of the mean wavelength of an erbium-doped fiber source as part of high-accuracy FOG with increased spectrum width[J]. Applied Optics, 2022, 61(23): 6827-6833. 13. Guo J, Zhang H, Lin W, et al. Optimization of Erbium-Doped Fiber to Improve Temperature Stability and Efficiency of ASE sources[C]//Photonics. MDPI, 2025, 12(2): 115. 14. Wu X, Zhang L, Liu C, et al. High-stable, double-pass forward superfluorescent fiber source based on erbium-doped photonic crystal fiber[J]. Applied Physics B, 2014, 114(3): 433-438. 15. Qi, Y.; Chen, W.M.; Lei, X.H.; Zhang, W.; Li, J.F.; Xu, H.Y.; Liu, X.M. Temperature Effects on Erbium-Doped Optical Fiber Properties. Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis 2016, 36, 2006-2010. Supplementary Material File (image3.tiff) Download 1.39 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 08 January 2026 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords erbium fibre optic gyroscopes spontaneous emission Authors Affiliations Wei Liu 0009-0003-7699-9105 University of South China View all articles by this author Xinlin Wang University of South China View all articles by this author Jia Guo University of South China View all articles by this author Jianming Liu University of South China View all articles by this author Wei Xu [email protected] University of South China View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 137 views 33 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Wei Liu, Xinlin Wang, Jia Guo, et al. Low Absorption Erbium-Doped Fiber for High Performance ASE sources. Authorea . 08 January 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176786837.73395274/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. 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