A dual-pass Mach–Zehnder interferometer filter using a TCF loop mirror for double-wavelength fiber lasers

A dual-pass Mach–Zehnder interferometer filter using a section of twin-core fiber (TCF) loop mirror is proposed. The filter is theoretically and experimentally studied for various interferometer arm difference when TCF length is constant. Theoretical results are validated by the experimental demonstration and in good agreement with the experimental results. And then, by using the filter in a ring fiber laser, a stable and switchable dual-wavelength lasing is obtained experimentally. The 3-dB bandwidth and the SMSR of the output laser are 0.015 nm and higher than 62.4 dB, respectively. The peak power fluctuation and wavelength shift are also monitored to be less than 0.04 dB and 0.02 nm over an hour at room temperature. Furthermore, the output laser can be switched between single and dual wavelength by carefully adjusting the PCs. The experimental results show that the filter can suppress mode competition effectively, improve the SMSR availably, and enhance the stability of the output lasing.     

Incorporate, switchable dual-wavelength fiber laser with Bragg gratings written in a polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber

A stable, incorporate and switchable dual-wavelength fiber laser with two fiber Bragg gratings written in a photosensitive and polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber directly, that is, without splices in the laser cavity, is proposed and demonstrated. Simultaneous dual-wavelength oscillation is achieved at room temperature with a wavelength spacing of 0.343 nm. The power fluctuation and wavelength shift of single-wavelength oscillations are measured to be less than 0.24 dB and 0.013 nm over 2 h. The wavelength switchability between single- and dual-wavelength oscillations is realized by altering the voltage upon the electrostrictive ceramic actuator.     

Tunable dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser covering both C-band and L-band for high-speed communications

A simple, continuously tunable dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser (TDEDFL) structure for applications in high-speed communication systems is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The dual-wavelength tuning range is 58 nm covering both the C-band and L-band from 1547 to 1605 nm. We can not only obtain a 45% improvement over previously reported tuning ranges, but also tune the wavelength of each lasing output independently. The power equalization of the dual-wavelength outputs is less than 1.5 dB. We obtain extremely stable power variation and wavelength fluctuation at room temperature. Using this fiber laser, a 10-Gb/s data transmission over a 25-km single-mode fiber (SMF) can be made available with a power penalty of 0.5 dB is demonstrated with this laser.     

Dual-wavelength high-power Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser based on a few-mode fiber Bragg grating

We report a high-power dual-wavelength Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser based on a few-mode fiber Bragg grating (FMFBG). The FMFBG was fabricated by using a piece of fiber in a length of fiber with a cutoff wavelength of 1225 nm, which supported two modes at 1060 nm. The laser was pumped by a fiber pigtailed laser diode working at 915 nm. Single-wavelength, dual-wavelength and triple-wavelength laser oscillations were observed when the fiber laser operated under different low pump powers. However, stable dual-wavelength operation was achieved at higher pump power of 3.9 W and remained unchanged until the output power reached 5.67 W under the maximum available pump power of 10.7 W. The laser wavelengths were centered at 1059.12 and 1060.80 nm with a full-width at half-maximum of 37 and 43 pm, respectively. The signal-to-noise-ratio was greater than 50 dB and the beam quality factor (M²) was about 1.9.     

Multi-Wavelength Q-Switched Ytterbium-Doped Fiber Laser with Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We demonstrate a passively multi-wavelength Q-switched Ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL) based on a multi-wall carbon nanotubes embedded in polyethylene oxide film as saturable absorber. The YDFL generates a stable multi-wavelength with spacing of 1.9 nm as the 980 nm pump power is fixed within 62. 4 mW and 78.0 mW. The repetition rate of the laser is tunable from 10.41 to 29.04 kHz by increasing the pump power from the threshold power of 62.4 mW to 78 mW. At 78 mW pump power, the maximum pulse energy of 38 nJ and the shortest pulse width of 8.87 µs are obtained.     

Tunable microwave photonic notch filter using a dual-wavelength fiber laser with phase modulation

A novel tunable microwave photonic notch filter using a phase-modulated dual-wavelength fiber laser is presented. A stable dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser with a linear cavity is formed by a polarization-maintaining uniform fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG) and a polarization maintaining linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (PM-LCFBG), both of which were fabricated on a high-birefringence (Hi-Bi) fiber. It is found that a stable room-temperature dual-wavelength operation can be achieved due to the presence of two reflection peaks arising from the orthogonal states of polarization (SOP) of the PM-FBG. Experimental results show stable dual-wavelength lasing operation with a wavelength separation of ∼0.36 nm and a large optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of over 40 dB under room temperature. The dual-wavelength fiber laser is combined with a phase modulator and a segment of single-mode fiber (SMF) as a dispersive device to form a tunable microwave photonic notch filter. By stretching the PM-FBG to tune the wavelength separation of the dual-wavelength fiber laser, a tunable microwave photonic notch filter with various free spectral ranges (FSRs) and a rejection ratio greater than 35 dB was developed.     

Switchable dual-wavelength polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber laser using an optical circulator as the all-reflecting mirror

A simple and effective switchable dual-wavelength polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber laser is proposed and demonstrated. Only using a uniform fiber Bragg grating written directly in a segment of the photosensitive and polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber as the wavelength selector and an optical circulator as the all-reflecting mirror, a stable simultaneous dual-wavelength oscillation is achieved with a wavelength spacing of 0.364 nm experimentally by exploiting the polarization hole burning effect at room temperature. The output can be switched between single- and dual-wavelength by adjusting the polarization controller. The 3-dB bandwidth and the side mode suppression ratio of the laser’s outputs are measured to be less than 0.01 nm and more than 50 dB. The power fluctuation and wavelength drift are measured to be less than 0.50 dB and 0.020 nm over an hour.     

Flat and compact switchable dual wavelength output at 1060 nm from ytterbium doped fiber laser with an AWG as a wavelength selector

A dual-wavelength ytterbium doped fiber laser with a narrowest spacing of 0.53 nm and widest spacing of 12.2 nm at 1064 nm is presented in this paper. An arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) together with an optical channel selector (OCS) have also been incorporated in the proposed setup that works as a switchable mechanism giving 23 different wavelength tunings. Producing an average output power of ?8 dB m and side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of 59.65 dB, this dual-wavelength fiber laser is quite stable with an output power variance as low as 0.47 dB giving it an advantage due to its switching ability and stable dual-wavelength output powers.     

A stable dual-wavelength fiber laser with tunable wavelength spacing using a polarization-maintaining linear cavity

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a stable dual-wavelength erbium-doped polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber laser with tunable wavelength spacing using an all-PM linear cavity that makes use of two reflection peaks from the PM fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG). Experimental results show stable dual lasing lines with a wavelength separation of ∼0.22 nm and a large optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of over 40 dB under room temperature. By applying axial strain to the PM-FBG, the center wavelengths of the two lasing lines can be tuned over several nanometers and the wavelength separation between the lasing lines can also be tuned to as small as 0.05 nm, which, to our knowledge, is the smallest wavelength spacing ever obtained from a stable room-temperature dual-wavelength fiber laser. The proposed laser configuration has the advantages of simple structure, low loss, stable dual-wavelength operation and a very small lasing linewidth of ∼5 kHz . PACS 42.55.Wd; 42.81.-i; 42.81.Gs     

A pump power controlled 1,060 nm multiwavelength fiber ring laser using nonlinear polarization rotation of SOA

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a both channel spacing and wavelength-tunable 1,060 nm multiwavelength fiber laser using nonlinear polarization rotation of semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). The SOA in the cavity can not only provide the gain but also generate a pump power controlled phase-shift between two orthogonal linear states of polarization. The experimental result shows that the fast and continuous wavelength tuning is achieved with external light injection, while the channel spacing of the multiwavelength laser can be varied by adjusting the length of polarization maintaining fiber. When an external laser source with 13 dBm power is injected into the SOA as a control pump, optically tunable operation of up to 20 wavelength channels, from 1,042 to 1,058 nm, with a wavelength spacing of 0.8 nm has been demonstrated with the signal-to-spontaneous-noise ratio over 40 dB at room temperature. The lasers are stable with a maximum power fluctuation per channel of less than 0.5 dB during 2-h test.     

Tunable single- and dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser based on Sagnac filter with a high-birefringence photonic crystal fiber

In this paper, we observed and experimentally investigated a high-performance single- and dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser based on a Sagnac filter which contains a section of high-birefringence photonic crystal fiber (HB-PCF) and a polarization controller. Incorporation of the high-birefringence photonic crystal fiber can suppress multimode oscillation, improve power stability and increase the optical signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Wavelength tunable was achieved by using a polarization controller in the Sagnac filter. Highly stable single-, dual-wavelength oscillations are tunable within a wavelength range from 1550 to 1562 nm and SNR as high as 57 dB with narrow line width about 0.011 nm, is experimentally demonstrated.     

A stabilized tunable dual wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser with equal output power

Tunable dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser with good stability is experimentally demonstrated. Output power of as high as +5.26 dBm is obtained in dual ring configuration. Both laser output can be tuned to as closed as 0.8 nm spacing between each other, with tuning range of 31.33 nm. The stability of both outputs was tested that results in less than ±0.8 dB and ±0.01 nm in power and wavelength fluctuation, respectively.     

双波长Yb∶YAG连续激光理论及实验研究

报道了Yb∶YAG双波长激光振荡阈值的理论结果,实验获得了连续双波长激光输出.实验中,采用紧凑的平凹腔结构、940nm光纤耦合LD端面泵浦方式,Yb∶YAG晶体作为激光晶体,采用10%、15%和20%的输出耦合镜,分别实现了单波长和双波长激光输出,在最高泵浦功率为20 W时,输出耦合率分别为10%、20%,最高获得3.94W的1 050nm激光和3.40 W的1 030nm激光,对应的光光转换效率分别为19.7%和17.0%;当输出耦合率为15%、泵浦功率为11.7 W时,获得0.79 W的双波长激光,对应的光光转换效率为6.8%,功率比为1∶1.3,通过光栅光谱仪测量得到双波长谱线中心分别为1 030.31nm和1 047.50nm;当1 030nm激光功率为3.0 W时,30min内输出功率RMS稳定性优于0.18%.该实验结果与理论分析相吻合,可应用于设计稳定可靠的掺Yb双波长激光器.     

Stable dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser with switchable spacing employing controllable channel loss

A stable dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser with switchable spacing is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. An arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) incorporating two fiber optic switches (OS) is used to as the wavelength selector. The ring cavity is divided into two cavities by a 30:70 optical coupler. Equalized dual-wavelength outputs are achieved by controlling the variable optical attenuator (VOA) inserted in the lower loss cavity. The wavelength spacing can be tuned from 0.80 to 12.05 nm. The fiber laser has good optical quality with maximum power fluctuation of 1.5 dB and side mode suppression ratios (SMSRs) higher than 71 dB.     

Actively mode-locked dual-wavelength fiber laser with close wavelength spacing using a fiber Bragg grating

A simple actively mode-locked fiber ring laser is proposed and successfully demonstrated to generate dual-wavelength picosecond pulses with close wavelength spacing using one Bragg grating in standard single-mode fiber. The proposed laser can be made to operate in stable dual-wavelength at room temperature, due to the birefringence characteristic of the FBG induced by transverse strain. Transverse strain loading on the FBG allows the wavelength spacing to be controlled. Generation of stable dual-wavelength pulses with a pulsewidth of 212–234 ps and a tunable wavelength separation from 0.2 to 0.44 nm at a pulse rate of 1.05 GHz was demonstrated.     

A stable and tunable linear polarization single longitudinal mode fiber ring laser

A stable and tunable linear polarization single longitudinal mode fiber ring laser is proposed and demonstrated. A high extinction ratio spatial mode interference filter utilizing two-mode graded-index fiber supresses irregular side modes effectively, the combination of fiber polarizer and polarization maintaining fiber act as a polarization dependent comb filter, and tunable bandpass filter is adopted to select proper lasing wavelength. The power fluctuation and wavelength fluctuation at 1549.88 nm are less than 0.05 dB and 0.02 nm in 1 h, respectively. Only one longitudinal mode appears within a free spectral range of 7.5 GHz, and the degree of polarization in percentage is approximately as high as 99.07%.     

A tunable multi-wavelength Brillouin–erbium fiber laser with fourfold Brillouin frequency spacing

We have experimentally demonstrated a tunable multi-wavelength Brillouin–erbium fiber laser with over 40 GHz spacing utilizing two cascaded double Brillouin-frequency-spacing cavities. In this laser configuration, two segments of 25 km-long single-mode fibers are used as Brillouin gain medium in each ring cavity, and a segment of 8 m-long erbium-doped fiber with 980 nm pump is employed to amplify Brillouin pump (BP). At BP wavelength of 1550 nm, BP power of 8.3 dBm (6.8 mW) and the maximum 980 nm pump power of 27.78 dBm (600 mW), seven output channels with fourfold Brillouin-frequency spacing, and the tuning range of 15 nm from 1545 to 1560 nm are achieved. The proposed multi-wavelength Brillouin–erbium fiber laser has wide applications, such as in microwave signal generation and optical communications.     

A simple linear cavity dual-wavelength fiber laser using AWG as wavelength selective mechanism

In this paper, a simple design of linear cavity dual-wavelength fiber laser (DWFL) is proposed. Operating in the C-band region stretching from 1538.3 nm to 1548.6 nm, an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) is used to generate the dual-wavelengths output together with a broadband fiber Bragg grating as a back reflector and an optical circulator with a 10% output coupling ratio which acts as a front mirror. The measured average output power of the DWFL is about −5.66 dBm and with a side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of 53.1 dB. The spacing between the two output wavelengths can be varied from 0.8 nm to 10.3 nm with a stable output and minimum power fluctuations.     

Tunable dual-wavelength fiber laser based on a polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating and a Hi-Bi fiber optical loop mirror

We demonstrate experimentally the operation of a linear cavity dual-wavelength fiber laser using a polarization maintaining fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG) as an end mirror that defines two closely spaced laser emission lines. The PM-FBG is also used to tune the laser wavelengths. The total tuning range is ∼8 nm. The laser operates in a stable dual-wavelength mode for an appropriate adjustment of the cavity losses for the generated wavelengths. The high birefringence (Hi-Bi) fiber optical loop mirror (FOLM) is used as a tunable spectral filter to adjust the losses. The FOLM adjustment was performed by the temperature control of the Hi-Bi fiber.     

A tunable narrow-line-width multi-wavelength Er-doped fiber laser based on a high birefringence fiber ring mirror and an auto-tracking filter

A novel multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser operating in C-band is proposed and successfully demonstrated. The wavelength interval between the wavelengths is about 0.22 nm. The 3 dB bandwidth of the laser is about 0.012 nm, and the output power reaches 4.8 mW. By using a high birefringence fiber ring mirror (HiBi-FLM) and a tunable FBG, the laser realizes switchable and tunable characteristic. The mode hopping can be effectively prevented. Moreover, this laser can improve wavelength stability significantly by taking advantage of an un-pumped Er³⁺-doped fiber at the standing-wave section. The laser can operate in stable narrow-line-width with single-, dual-wavelength, and unstable triple-wavelength output at room temperature.