Modulation instability induced by cross-phase modulation in a dual-wavelength dispersion-managed soliton fiber ring laser

We report on the observation of the modulation instability induced by cross-phase modulation in a dual-wavelength operation dispersion-managed soliton fiber ring laser with net negative cavity dispersion. The passively mode-locked operation is achieved by using a nonlinear polarization rotation technique. A new type of dual-wavelength operation, where one is femtosecond pulse and the other is picosecond pulse operation, is obtained by properly rotating the polarization controllers. When the dual-wavelength pulses are simultaneously circulating in the laser ring cavity, a series of stable modulation sidebands appears in the picosecond pulse spectrum at longer wavelength with lower peak power due to modulation instability induced by cross-phase modulation between the two lasing wavelengths. Moreover, the intensities and wavelength shifts of the modulation sidebands can be tuned by varying the power of the femtosecond pulse or the lasing central wavelengths of the dual-wavelength pulses. The theoretical analysis of the modulation instability induced by cross-phase modulation in our fiber laser is also presented.     

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.     

cw dual-wavelength operation of a diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser

A dual-wavelength continuous wave (cw) diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser that generates simultaneous laser action at the wavelengths 1064 nm and 1342 nm is demonstrated. The optimum oscillation condition for the simultaneous dual-wavelength operation in a diode-end-pumped solid-state laser has been derived. The relationship between the laser cavity and the output stability is also studied. Experimental results show that the stability of the output power at the two wavelengths could be enhanced by use of a three-mirror cavity. Received: 26 August 1999 / Revised version: 11 October 1999 / Published online: 23 February 2000     

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     

Dual-wavelength bandwidth-narrowed output of a high-power diode laser using a simple external cavity

Using an external cavity consisting of an etalon and a mirror, dual-wavelength operation of a high-power broad-area multi-stripe diode laser is achieved. The reflection of the etalon is used as the output beam of the system. The free-running bandwidth of the laser diode is about 2.0 nm. At dual-wavelength operation, the bandwidth of each wavelength component is narrowed to about 0.07 nm, while the space between them is 1.65 nm, determined by the FSR of the etalon. We obtain an available dual-wavelength output power of 2.0 W at the drive current of 6.5 A. The power ratio of the components at two different wavelengths can be changed by changing the temperature of the diode laser. To tune the wavelength of the dual-wavelength output, the temperature of the laser diode and the tilt angle of the etalon are changed simultaneously PACS 42.55.Px; 42.60.Fc; 42.60.Da     

Continuous wave dual-wavelength Nd:YVO_4 laser working at 1064 and 1066 nm

We demonstrate a continuous-wave(CW) dual-wavelength Nd:YVO4laser working at 1064 and 1066 nm simultaneously. The method of Nd:YVO4crystal angle tuning is used to balance the ratio of the stimulated emission cross sections of the two wavelengths, leading to the realization of a simultaneous dual-wavelength operation from only one laser. The experimental results show that at a 2.85 W pump power, the maximum output powers at wavelengths of 1064 and 1066 nm are 0.55 and 0.54 W, respectively. The linear resonate cavity is as short as 10 mm, which gives the laser the advantages of a miniature configuration and low threshold. Such a dual-wavelength laser can be very attractive for the development of compact THz sources based on difference frequency generation.     

A novel tunable dual-wavelength external-cavity laser diode array and its applications

We review the principles and characteristics of a novel tunable external-cavity laser diode source. It can operate as either a continuous wave (CW) single-wavelength, a CW dual-wavelength, a single-wavelength mode-locked, or a tunable dual-wavelength mode-locked laser. The gain medium is a commercial laser diode array. The telescopic external cavity consists of a grazing-incidence grating, a lens and a stripe-mirror. The external cavity provides functions of wavelength selection, dispersion compensation and spatial mode control. The characteristics of the laser under CW or mode-locked operation are described. The dual-wavelength laser output exhibits beat note beyond 7 THz. The tunable multi-terahertz beat frequency is characterized by a non-collinear intensity autocorrelation technique. A dual-wavelength interferometer that uses a tunable dual-wavelength laser as the light source is demonstrated. Finally, theoretical analysis is presented, which demonstrates that the dual-wavelength output of the laser is stable if the modes at the two wavelengths correspond to different array lateral modes.     

Dual-wavelength operation of a figure-eight fiber laser

We study numerically an erbium-doped figure-eight fiber laser including a double-band-pass optical filter for dual-wavelength pulse generation. Simulations are performed for several values of the filter band-width and wavelength separation between the transmission windows. The results show that dual-wavelength mode-locking is obtained in most cases, with a balanced energy distribution between wavelengths. Due to cavity dispersion, the pulses at each wavelength are asynchronous for a large wavelength separation, whereas they are synchronous for closely spaced wavelengths, as in this case cross-phase modulation is able to compensate for the dispersion-induced walkoff. In the asynchronous case, dual-wavelength operation is favored by the filter loss, whereas in the synchronous case it is favored by the saturable absorber action of the nonlinear optical loop mirror. Simulations also show that, thanks to those stabilization mechanisms, dual-wave-length pulsed operation does not require precise cavity loss equalization between the two oscillating wave-lengths.     

Tunable dual-wavelength operation of an external cavity semiconductor laser

Tunable dual-wavelength operation of a laser diode has been achieved using a dual-period holographic element. The holographic element was positioned in Littrow configuration in an external cavity. The design of this holographic element was based on the superposition of a constant-period grating and a variable-period grating on the same location in a photoresist. We observed simultaneous emission at two wavelengths from a visible semiconductor laser operated with this holographic element. The spectral separation of the dual-wavelength output was varied from 0.76 to 6.27 nm by a simple translation of the holographic element.     

Fine adjustment of cavity loss by Sagnac loop for a dual wavelength generation

We experimentally demonstrate a fine adjustment of cavity loss by Sagnac loop for a dual wave-length generation. The single or dual wavelengths are obtained by controlling the losses on both cavities through a fiber optical loop mirror (FOLM). Wavelength separation on the dual laser is 0.98 nm. The dual or single wavelength is obtained by changes in temperature in the order of 10⁻¹°C around the maximum in the FOLM. Also, we investigate energy fluctuations on signal level saturation effect in the cavity through different pumping power that act on the EDF, where we note that from the 60-mW pumping begins to generate dual-wavelength and 80-mW stabilizes.     

Switchable single-longitudinal-mode dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser incorporating a semiconductor optical amplifier

We propose and demonstrate a novel single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber ring laser incorporating a semiconductor optical amplifier. The SOA biased in its low-gain regime greatly reduces the gain competition of the two wavelengths. The stable SLM operation is guaranteed by a passive triple-ring cavity and a fiber Fabry-Perot filter. The dual-wavelength output with a 40 GHz wavelength spacing is switchable in the range of 1533-1565.4 nm.     

Dual-wavelength distributed Bragg reflector semiconductor laser based on composite resonant cavity

We report a monolithic integrated dual-wavelength laser diode based on a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) composite resonant cavity. The device consists of three sections, a DBR grating section, a passive phase section, and an active gain section. The gain section facet is cleaved to work as a laser cavity mirror. The other laser mirror is the DBR grating, which also functions as a wavelength filter and can control the number of wavelengths involved in the laser action. The reflection bandwidth of the DBR grating is fabricated to have an appropriate value to make the device work at the dual-wavelength lasing state. We adopt the quantum well intermixing (QWI) technique to provide low-absorption loss grating and passive phase section in the fabrication process. By tuning the injection currents on the DBR and the gain sections, the device can generate 0.596 nm-spaced dual-wavelength lasing at room temperature.     

Dual-wavelength distributed Bragg reflector semiconductor laser based on a composite resonant cavity

We report a monolithic integrated dual-wavelength laser diode based on a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) composite resonant cavity. The device consists of three sections, a DBR grating section, a passive phase section, and an active gain section. The gain section facet is cleaved to work as a laser cavity mirror. The other laser mirror is the DBR grating, which also functions as a wavelength filter and can control the number of wavelengths involved in the laser action. The reflection bandwidth of the DBR grating is fabricated to have an appropriate value to make the device work at the dual-wavelength lasing state. We adopt the quantum well intermixing (QWI) technique to provide low-absorption loss grating and passive phase section in the fabrication process. By tuning the injection currents on the DBR and the gain sections, the device can generate 0.596 nm-spaced dual-wavelength lasing at room temperature.     

Dual-wavelength external cavity laser with a sampled grating formed in a silica PLC waveguide for terahertz beat signal generation

We propose and demonstrate a dual-wavelength external cavity laser (ECL). In our design, a Fabry–Pérot laser diode (FP-LD) is hybrid-integrated with a sampled Bragg grating written in a silica planar lightwave circuit (PLC). The grating selects two laser wavelengths that share the same laser cavity. The dual-wavelength oscillation with a side mode suppression ratio >32 dB has been demonstrated experimentally. Experimental results indicate that the hybrid-integrated dual-wavelength ECL exhibits strong dual-wavelength emission corresponding to beat frequency of 1 THz. Simulations of this system also indicate good mutual coherence of the two modes and stability of the 1 THz beat signal. PACS 42.79.Dj; 42.60.By; 42.55.Px     

Dual-wavelength S-band erbium-doped fiber double-ring laser

We propose and demonstrate an S-band CW dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber (EDF) dual-ring laser using a compound-ring filter (CRF) with various coupling losses inside the gain cavity. Employing a ring filter combined within the cavity, the fiber laser can lase a dual wavelength without any filter inside the ring loop. The dual-wavelength output exhibits a good performance having optical side-mode suppression ratios (SMSRs) of 31.6 and 31.8 dB and output powers of ?9.6 and ?9.3 dBm at 1505.58 and 1506.43 nm, respectively, when the coupling loss is 30% inside the cavity. In addition, the output stabilities of the dual-wavelength laser have also been analyzed.     

Switchable dual-wavelength Erbium-doped fiber ring laser with cascaded fiber Bragg gratings

We have experimentally shown wavelength mode switching in a dual-wavelength Erbium-doped single cavity fiber laser where the initial two wavelengths of 1 nm spacing are determined by the cascaded reflection type short-period fiber Bragg gratings having two different centre wavelengths of 1550.5 and 1551.5 nm. The lasing mode depends on the polarization in the ring cavity to migrate from one wavelength to another or operates in both modes in a polarization beam splitter output. To effectively control the polarization in the ring cavity, the polarization controllers were positioned before and after the polarization beam splitter. This method of wavelength switching provides a simple way of mode tuning in dual-wavelength fiber lasers.     

利用倾斜光纤光栅的可开关双波长光纤激光器

报导了一种在四波混频作用下利用倾斜光纤布拉格光栅进行波长选择的可开关双波长掺铒光纤激光器。通过将倾斜光纤光栅与单模光纤进行横向错位焊接,使光栅的反向LP01和LP11两个模式具有相近的有效反射率,从而可以用来进行激光器的双波长选择。接入腔内的一段高非线性光子晶体光纤引入的四波混频效应克服了模式竞争,使得双波长激光在室温下稳定振荡。腔内起偏器和偏振控制器的联合作用可产生依赖于波长的损耗,以补偿光纤光栅两反射峰峰值的大小差异。基于以上原理,通过调节腔内的偏振态,该激光器实现了室温下稳定的双波长输出,也实现了在两波长之间的转换。两波长激光均有超过45 dB的信噪比,最大的功率波动为0.8 dB     

Simple erbium-doped dual-ring fiber laser configuration for stable and tunable dual-wavelength output

We propose and experimentally investigate a stable and tunable dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber (EDF) dual-ring laser scheme. Here, two tunable bandpass filters (TBFs) are used inside the dual-ring gain cavity to generate dual-wavelength lasing. And, due to the gain competition of the EDF gain cavity, the mode-spacing (Δλ_s) of lasing dual-wavelength will be limited at different operating wavelengths. Hence, the minimum and maximum mode-spacing in the proposed EDF laser scheme are 0.75 and 15.35 nm in C-band range. Besides, the output performances of proposed fiber laser have also been studied and analyzed.     

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.     

Low noise dual-wavelength erbium fiber laser in single-longitudinal-mode operation

A new stable dual-wavelength fiber-ring laser based on erbium-doped fiber amplification is reported. The laser is based on ring resonators and employs fiber Bragg gratings to select the operation wavelengths. The topology of the laser has a significant influence in its performance: allowing an independent control of the losses for both lasing wavelengths and achieving a low noise configuration. As a result, it is experimentally demonstrated that both emission lines work in single-longitudinal-mode operation and the topology offers a better stability and higher optical signal-to-noise ratios than similar configurations.