Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. announced the development of an S-band Lumped Raman Amplifier Module aimed at expanding the bandwidth available for high-volume optical communications. The amplifier supports the full S-band (approximately 70 nm) and achieves a typical gain of 30 dB with gain flatness of 0.4 dB or better, depending on configuration.
Unlike distributed Raman amplifiers, the lumped Raman design incorporates an internal amplification medium, making it suitable for expanding transmission capacity in metro and long-haul networks where S-band spectrum usage is being explored. This development addresses a growing need for greater bandwidth amid increasing data traffic from applications such as video streaming, cloud services, and AI workloads.
Key features:
• Wavelength band: Full S-band (approx. 1489.1 nm – 1525.4 nm)
• Gain: Up to 33 dB (High Gain Type); 13 dB (High Power Type)
• Noise figure: 4.7 dB (both types)
• Gain flatness: 1.0 dB (High Gain Type); 0.4 dB (High Power Type)
• Gain tilt control: ±3 dB
• Components: Uses FRL1441U series pump lasers and HNLF (High Nonlinear Fiber)
“This amplifier was developed to support bandwidth expansion for high-volume, long-distance optical transmission,” said Hideya Moridaira, President of Furukawa Electric.
The S-band amplifier was developed under NICT’s “Beyond 5G” research program. Sample shipments are expected to begin in the second half of 2025.