Abstract: Provided is a wideband ASE light source, which has a high output and a little ripples in a wide band and the output of which is stable. In a wideband ASE light source constructed of a pumping light source that generates a pumping light, an erbium-doped optical fiber that generates all ASE light by incident pumping light, a reflector that is arranged at one terminal portion of the erbium-doped optical fiber and reflects the ASE light radiated from the erbium-doped optical fiber, an optical multiplexer that is arranged between a terminal portion of the erbium-doped optical fiber and the pumping light and optically multiplexes and demultiplexes the pumping light with or from the ASE light and an optical isolator that is arranged between the third terminal portion of the optical multiplexer and an output terminal and removes a return light to the erbium-doped optical fiber, the optical multiplexer has a maximum value of isolation in a wavelength band of 1570 nm to 1600 nm.

Abstract: An optical fiber coupler for optical fiber amplifier use in the field of optical communications is provided. The optical fiber coupler comprises: a rare earth-doped fiber as an optical amplifying element; a quasi rare earth-doped fiber for entrance of input signal light; a fused-stretch fiber portion as a multiplexing element which connects a part of the rare earth-doped fiber and a parts the quasi rare earth-doped fiber, wherein the fused-stretch fiber portion formed by stretched a fused mixture of parts of the rare earth-doped fiber and the quasi rare earth-doped fiber; and a single mode fiber which is jointed at a fused joint portion to another shortened rare earth-doped fiber connected to the fused-stretch fiber portion on a side connected by the quasi rare earth-doped fiber. The quasi rare earth-doped fiber has substantially equal propagation constant to the rare earth-doped fiber without substantially containing rare earth elements.

Abstract: A broadband ASE light source is provided which comprises an amplifying optical fiber doped with rare earth; a pumping light source and an output port both which are connected to one end of the amplifying optical fiber via a multiplexer; and a reflecting or circulating member which is connected to the other end of the amplifying optical fiber, whereby the amplifying optical fiber emits ASE light containing a first and second wavelength bands through the port. Particularly, a second pumping light source may be connected to the other end of the amplifying optical fiber via another multiplexer to widen the wavelength band to longer wavelength side. Further, using the amplifying Er-doped optical fiber with the pumping light sources having wavelength of a 980 nm band, the ASE light source can be emit a flattened broadband of 1530 to 1610 nm, combining the two wavelength bands of 1530 to 1570 mn and 1570 to 3610 nm.

Abstract: In an optical amplifier wherein pumping laser light and signal laser light are multiplexed and supplied as input to a fiber doped with a rare earth element, by decreasing the number of connected sections, loss due to the connection to the rare earth-doped fiber is decreased, thereby to improve the amplifying characteristics and to simplify the production step. a pair of fibers, each which is connected by a transmitting optical fiber 1 and a rare earth-doped fiber 4, at a connected sections, are heated and fused with each other are aligned in part length to a fused jointed portion 3 which is stretched in the vicinity of the connected section 2 on the rare earth-doped fiber side, thereby forming an optical coupler.