Raman enhanced parametric amplifier based S-C band wavelength converter: Experiment and simulations

We report a theoretical and experimental characterization of a Raman enhanced fiber based parametric amplifier, extending prior work. A 10 dB gain enhancement in S-band single pump optical parametric amplification, 10 dB net conversion efficiency enhancement, and S/C band wavelength conversion by simultaneous Raman amplification using a highly nonlinear fiber is shown, and numerical simulations support these experimental results. An experimental study of the noise figure is such a system, reported for the first time, revealed that an improvement could be obtained - almost 7 dB in our experimental set up - which can be further improved, as discussed.