System impact of EDFA gain fluctuation in WDM optical packet networks

Abstract

In all the considered situations, even with gain locking turned on, the power per channel P/sub ch/ should always be kept below approximately -22 dBm, corresponding to a total useful EDFA output power of +4 dBm, a much lower level than the EDFA nominal output saturation power (16 dBm). Efficient gain locking is thus a fundamental issue in any true packet optical network.