G&H Launches 50 W Optical Fiber Amplifier for High-Data-Rate Satellite Uplinks

September 2026 – Torquay, UK

New high-power EYDFA is designed for optical feeder links, helping optical ground stations meet growing satellite data transmission requirements

G&H has launched a new 50 W Optical Fiber Amplifier developed specifically for optical feeder links, expanding its fiber-optic technology portfolio for high-data-rate satellite communications.

As satellite networks generate increasing volumes of data, the connections between space-based networks and terrestrial infrastructure are becoming an important part of the communications challenge. Optical feeder links offer a route to high-capacity satellite uplinks, but require ground-based transmitters capable of delivering high optical power while maintaining the integrity of the transmitted data.

G&H’s new high-power Erbium/Ytterbium co-doped Fiber Amplifier (EYDFA) has been designed to address this requirement, maximizing output power while minimizing data distortion. Developed for integration into optical ground stations, the amplifier combines high-power optical performance with a practical 19-inch, 3U rack-mountable architecture.

Operating across the 1536–1565nm C-band, the amplifier is designed to operate at a selected wavelength using an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) filter, with a tunable filter available for applications requiring flexible wavelength operation. It supports DP-QPSK and OOK modulation and is available with polarization-maintaining and non-polarization-maintaining options.

The system also incorporates USB, RS-232 and Ethernet control interfaces, alongside internal protection monitoring designed to enable safe shutdown in the event of an error condition. Input, intermediate-stage and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) power monitoring provide additional visibility into amplifier operation. The system is water cooled for thermal management at high optical powers.

“The amount of data generated in space is increasing rapidly and getting that data efficiently between terrestrial and space-based networks creates a new set of photonic engineering challenges. Optical feeder links have the potential to provide the capacity these networks will require, but doing so depends on generating high-power optical signals without compromising the information they carry.

“Our 50 W amplifier applies the high-power fiber expertise we have developed at G&H to that challenge. It gives optical ground-station developers a practical platform for building higher-power uplinks as the requirements of satellite communications continue to evolve,” said Dr. Peter Kean, R&D Director at G&H Torquay.

The new amplifier builds on G&H’s development work in high-power fiber amplification for satellite communications. G&H has previously contributed to European programs investigating technologies for future optical feeder links, including the VERTIGO project and the European Space Agency’s EPOS project, where development has focused on increasing the technology readiness of high-power optical amplification for next-generation satellite links.

That work complements G&H’s wider heritage in photonic technologies for space communications. The company has supplied fiber-optic technologies for satellite applications and has also developed compact laser-transmitter technology for direct-to-Earth optical communications, including the transmitter incorporated within the SmallCAT terminal aboard Norway’s NorSat-TD satellite.

While developed primarily for optical ground stations supporting satellite uplinks, the new amplifier is also suitable for applications including deep-space communications and terrestrial free-space optical communications, where high optical output power and controlled signal amplification are required.

The 50 W Optical Fiber Amplifier is the latest addition to G&H’s growing portfolio of technologies for space-based optical communications, combining expertise in fiber optics, photonic engineering and high-reliability optical technology.