Lucent Technologies Inc.

William E Derbyshire

Ralph Stephen Jameson

Khanh Cong Nguyen

A heater system for heating an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) of a fiber optic communication system operable in an environment. The heater system includes a pump laser for providing optical power to an erbium fiber in the EDFA. The pump laser is cooled by a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) when a predetermined maximum temperature is reached to maintain the temperature of the laser below the maximum temperature value. The temperature of the laser is sensed by a temperature sensor and is conveyed to a control circuit for generating a control signal. A heater unit is thermally connected to the erbium fiber and is controlled by the control signal in the event that the sensed temperature falls below a predetermined minimum value to maintain the temperature of the fiber above the minimum temperature value. A switch is connected between the control circuit, the TEC and the heater to automatically direct current to either the heater or the TEC depending on the sensed temperature.

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Lehigh, PA, United States of America

William E Derbyshire