Raman amplifiers for WDM optical communications

Summary form only given. Raman amplification is certain to play an ever increasing role in optical communication systems due to its remarkable versatility. With the capability to generate gain at any wavelength in both distributed and discrete configurations, Raman amplification has enabled many exciting new demonstrations of novel communication systems at 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 μm. In this talk, we will review these recent results and will discuss noise and pump-laser issues associated with the use of Raman amplification