Response of fibre optic parametric amplifiers to channel add/drop in agile all-photonic networks

Using numerical simulations, we investigate the performance of fibre optical parametric amplifiers (FOPAs) within the context of agile, multi-wavelength photonic networks. In particular, we study the steady-state and dynamic response of FOPAs following changes in network operating conditions. These include changes in the gain spectrum (gain tilt) due to variations in the total input power to the amplifier or as a result of channel add/drop, as well as the characteristics of the gain transients following channel add/drop. Initially, we examine the worst case scenario where all channels are in-phase and exactly equispaced. We compare these results with the ones obtained for random initial phases and inexact channel spacings. We find that the complex nature of the interactions occurring in a FOPA make it very difficult to predict their behaviour a priori and their deployment in WDM systems will require special attention. Moreover, we confirm that unequal spacing can vastly improve the performance of multichannel FOPAs.