The erbium-doped fibre amplifier is demonstrated
Groups at the University of Southampton and at AT&T Bell Laboratories independently demonstrated practical low-noise optical amplification in erbium-doped fibre in the 1.55 µm band. The effect on submarine systems was immediate in principle and took a decade in practice: a cable could now be amplified rather than regenerated, which meant its capacity was no longer fixed by the electronics buried on the seabed and could be raised later by changing equipment on shore.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- The erbium-doped fibre amplifier · technology · not located
- David Payne · person · United Kingdom · not located
- The submarine optical repeater · technology · not located
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
Low-noise erbium-doped fibre amplifier at 1.54 µm
Supports the 1987 demonstration of practical low-noise erbium-doped fibre amplification by two independent groups, and its consequence for submarine systems — optical amplification instead of electronic regeneration. V55 verification basis: NOT read. The retrieved results attributed the 1987 demonstration to the Southampton group and to Bell Labs and named the researchers; the journal volume and page numbers are deliberately omitted because they were not checked, and the priority question between the two groups is not adjudicated here.
Electronics Letters (Mears, Reekie, Jauncey and Payne, University of Southampton); with contemporaneous Bell Laboratories work by Desurvire, Giles and colleagues · 1987 · Partly verified
R. J. Mears, L. Reekie, I. M. Jauncey and D. N. Payne, low-noise erbium-doped fibre amplifier operating at 1.54 µm, Electronics Letters, 1987; and the contemporaneous AT&T Bell Laboratories work on erbium-doped fibre amplification
Recorded on The erbium-doped fibre amplifier
- TAT-1 opens with 36 telephone circuits
- The erbium-doped fibre amplifier is demonstrated
- TAT-8, the first transoceanic fibre cable, enters service
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- TAT-8, the first transoceanic fibre cable, enters service · 1988-12-14
- TAT-1 opens with 36 telephone circuits · 1956-09-25