Gain characteristics of a 210 km hybrid Raman/erbium-doped fiber amplified loop

As an alternative to using gain flattening filters or other optical devices that add attenuation to balance the gain in the optical spectrum, we have studied the effects of combining gain from Raman amplifiers and erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) in a fiber recirculating loop. We have shown a parameter range for which the gain profile is flat, and have analyzed the variation of the gain tilt as a function of the individual contributions of the Raman and EDFA amplifiers.