Signal-induced refractive index changes in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

This paper reports the measurement and analysis of signal power-induced changes in the refractive index spectrum of an aluminosilicate erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). For a constant 980 nm pump power of 11 mW, a 1553 nm signal power of 4.6 mW caused a peak-to-trough change in refractive index of (3.8/spl plusmn/0.4)/spl times/10/sup -8/ across the EDFA gain spectrum. A Kramers-Kronig transform of the signal-induced change in absorption coefficient agreed well with the measured change in refractive index. This result conflicts with the behavior of the system predicted by a homogeneously broadened two-level model and suggests limitations in the representation of the Er/sup 3+/:glass system by a discrete set of homogeneously broadened transitions.