Status of the Bismuth-doped fiber amplifiers (BDFA) for O-band transmission and their applications

We review the progress of BDFA development for O-band amplification. Currently, BDFAs can provide up to 35 dB small signal gain, less than 5.5 dB noise figure, and up to 29 dBm output power over 1270-1360 nm. We discuss amplifier design issues including pump wavelength and bandwidth allocation, as well as components performance and availability. Recent transmission experiments including LAN-WDM and CWDM modules reach extension over the spooled fiber and installed cables will be presented. Future milestones in BDF/BDFA development would also be suggested. Since with the implementation of BDFAs the transmission over O-band would no longer be power budget limited, we will briefly discuss the options of chromatic dispersion compensation over O-band.