electrical and optical

Evaluating a book often is strongly dependent on the level of expertise and experience of the reviewer, especially in a new field like this. Speaking as one who has been in other areas of science and technology for decades but who has been recently trying to learn this new subject, it is safe to say that both Desurvire's and Becker's book have merit and they complement each other. I found Becker's book much easier reading and a pleasant respite from Desurvire's sometimes incredible density (did he really write that whole thing by himself?), but there are portions of several chapters in Desurvire that are enlightening and reasonably clear even to a novice. The technology of optical amplifiers is probably still maturing and as time goes on new texts on optical amplifiers will be written and they will draw on and improve on these two books both in content and style but for the present these two appear to be necessary for workers in the field. If you are beginner, you might want to start with Becker.

The book covers the most issue of EDFA, from components used in EDFA to optical system, even simulation software (I have used the software, but it is not easy to learn and not flexible for EDFA design). It seems to me, the authors have deep experienced working background in this field. There are a lot of practical examples. It is a very good reference book to my work (optical fiber system engineer). The authors give a brief and clear theoretical description, just to reminder your knowledge. It is toll; I like this style and would like to recommend it as the best book.

I found this book useful to catch up with the current issues in EDFA design. It gives a fair idea of the subject. The approach taken for optical communication link issues is not rigorous and is oversimplified. The book gives good introduction to OASIX package for EDFA design.Probably good for someone who is not interested in detailed theory of EDFA.

Desurvire remains 'The Bible' for serious EDFA scientists and Engineers alike.