<s>
An	O
erbium-doped	B-Protocol
waveguide	I-Protocol
amplifier	I-Protocol
(	O
or	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
an	O
optical	O
amplifier	O
enhanced	O
with	O
erbium	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
a	O
close	O
relative	O
of	O
an	O
EDFA	O
,	O
erbium-doped	O
fiber	O
amplifier	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
fact	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
's	O
basic	O
operating	O
principles	O
are	O
identical	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
the	O
EDFA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
whereas	O
an	O
EDFA	O
is	O
made	O
using	O
a	O
free-standing	O
fiber	O
,	O
an	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
is	O
typically	O
produced	O
on	O
a	O
planar	O
substrate	O
,	O
sometimes	O
in	O
ways	O
that	O
are	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
methods	O
used	O
in	O
electronic	O
integrated	O
circuit	O
manufacturing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
the	O
main	O
advantage	O
of	O
EDWAs	B-Protocol
over	O
EDFAs	O
lies	O
in	O
their	O
potential	O
to	O
be	O
intimately	O
integrated	O
with	O
other	O
optical	O
components	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
planar	O
substrate	O
and	O
thus	O
making	O
EDFAs	O
unnecessary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
early	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
development	O
was	O
motivated	O
by	O
a	O
promise	O
(	O
or	O
a	O
hope	O
)	O
that	O
it	O
can	O
deliver	O
smaller	O
and	O
cheaper	O
components	O
than	O
those	O
achievable	O
with	O
EDFAs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bell	O
Labs	O
took	O
yet	O
another	O
approach	O
to	O
making	O
EDWAs	B-Protocol
by	O
using	O
a	O
so-called	O
"	O
silicon	O
optical	O
bench	O
"	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commercial	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
development	O
efforts	O
intensified	O
in	O
2000	O
's	O
when	O
Inplane	O
Photonics	O
joined	O
the	O
race	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
advanced	O
Inplane	O
Photonics	O
 '	O
photonic	O
circuits	O
containing	O
EDWAs	B-Protocol
were	O
used	O
by	O
Lockheed	O
Martin	O
in	O
their	O
development	O
of	O
new	O
high-speed	O
on-board	O
communication	O
systems	O
for	O
the	O
US	O
Air	O
Force	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EDWA	B-Protocol
and	O
EDFA	O
are	O
difficult	O
to	O
compare	O
without	O
a	O
proper	O
context	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EDWAs	B-Protocol
are	O
typically	O
characterized	O
by	O
higher	O
erbium	O
concentrations	O
and	O
background	O
losses	O
than	O
those	O
in	O
regular	O
EDFAs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
for	O
demanding	O
applications	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
important	O
to	O
minimize	O
noise	O
and	O
maximize	O
output	O
power	O
,	O
an	O
EDFA	O
may	O
be	O
preferred	O
over	O
an	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
if	O
the	O
physical	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
device	O
is	O
a	O
constraint	O
,	O
than	O
an	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
or	O
an	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
array	O
may	O
be	O
a	O
better	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
a	O
fiber	B-Device
laser	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
parameters	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
noise	O
figure	O
,	O
are	O
less	O
relevant	O
for	O
this	O
application	O
and	O
therefore	O
using	O
an	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
instead	O
of	O
an	O
EDFA	O
may	O
be	O
advantageous	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EDWA-based	O
lasers	O
can	O
be	O
more	O
compact	O
and	O
more	O
tightly	O
integrated	O
with	O
other	O
laser	O
components	O
and	O
elements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
technology	O
allows	O
one	O
to	O
potentially	O
produce	O
a	O
whole	O
system	O
using	O
a	O
single	O
integrated	O
optical	O
circuit	O
,	O
as	O
in	O
a	O
system-on-a-chip	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
an	O
assembly	O
of	O
individual	O
fiber-optic	O
components	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
such	O
systems	O
,	O
EDWA	B-Protocol
may	O
then	O
hold	O
an	O
advantage	O
over	O
EDFA-based	O
solutions	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
smaller	O
size	O
and	O
potentially	O
lower	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
