Encyclopedia … combined with a great Buyer's Guide!

VLib
Virtual
Library
Sponsoring this encyclopedia:     and others

Gain

Definition: a measure of the strength of optical amplification

More specific terms: small-signal gain, laser gain, Raman gain

German: Verstärkung, Verstärkungsfaktor

Categories: lasers, optical amplifiers

Formula symbol: g, G

Units: %, dB or dimensionless number

How to cite the article; suggest additional literature

Author:

In photonics, the term gain is usually used to quantify the amplification of optical amplifiers. Different meanings occur in the literature:

Apart from its magnitude, important properties of gain are its spectral bandwidth and its saturation characteristics.

The gain achieved e.g. in a fiber amplifier or the gain medium of a laser depends on the population densities in different electronic levels, which themselves depend on the optical intensities. Rate equation modeling may be used for calculating the gain and investigating its dependence on various influences.

Questions and Comments from Users

Here you can submit questions and comments. As far as they get accepted by the author, they will appear above this paragraph together with the author’s answer. The author will decide on acceptance based on certain criteria. Essentially, the issue must be of sufficiently broad interest.

Please do not enter personal data here; we would otherwise delete it soon. (See also our privacy declaration.) If you wish to receive personal feedback or consultancy from the author, please contact him e.g. via e-mail.

Your question or comment:

Spam check:

  (Please enter the sum of thirteen and three in the form of digits!)

By submitting the information, you give your consent to the potential publication of your inputs on our website according to our rules. (If you later retract your consent, we will delete those inputs.) As your inputs are first reviewed by the author, they may be published with some delay.

Bibliography

[1]R. Paschotta, tutorial on "Fiber Amplifiers", part 2 on gain and pump absorption

(Suggest additional literature!)

See also: gain media, gain bandwidth, gain clamping, optical amplifiers, fiber amplifiers, gain saturation, gain narrowing, gain switching, gain efficiency, homogeneous saturation, inhomogeneous saturation
and other articles in the categories lasers, optical amplifiers

preview

If you like this page, please share the link with your friends and colleagues, e.g. via social media:

These sharing buttons are implemented in a privacy-friendly way!