Abstract: A circuit having two optical amplifiers each of which comprises a pump source, an active medium such as an optical fiber, and means for recovering pump energy that is unused in its active medium so that said energy can be reinjected into the other amplifier. The recovery means is such that in each amplifier, reinjection is performed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the main pump energy is injected. By way of example, each amplifier includes a recovery terminal constituting both an outlet for the unused pump energy and an inlet for reinjection the pump energy as recovered from the other amplifier. A single conductor provides an optical link between the recovery terminals of the two amplifiers. The circuit can be used in a repeater for long distance transmission of optical signals, in particular for undersea transmission.

Abstract: A device for assessing the transmission quality of an optical amplifier includes a coupler for sampling on the upstream side of the amplifier equipment relative to the direction of propagation of the optical signal to be amplified by the amplifier equipment part of the power of an optical signal propagating in the direction opposite to the propagation direction and corresponding to that part of the noise generated by the amplifier equipment transmitted in the direction opposite to the propagation direction. It also includes a coupler for sampling on the downstream side of the amplifier equipment relative to the propagation direction part of the power of an optical signal propagating in the propagation direction and corresponding to the optical signal after amplification by the amplifier equipment superimposed on that part of the noise generated by the amplifier equipment and transmitted in the propagation direction.

Abstract: A frame synchronization device for a synchronous digital bit stream divided into blocks by means of a block code and structured in frames comprises a frame alignment word configuration recognition circuit generating for each recognized configuration a recognition signal that is directed to a frame alignment acquisition control circuit through the intermediary of a configuration selection circuit. This circuit operates under the control of a time window definition circuit driven by a block timebase and a frame timebase and is adapted to select only recognition signals corresponding to alignment word configurations correctly placed relative to the blocks. The sorting done by the configuration selector eliminates most imitation alignment words and therefore accelerates significantly the synchronization process.