0.16 nm spaced multi-wavelength Brillouin fiber laser in a figure-of-eight configuration

A stable and compact multi-wavelength Brillouin fiber laser (BFL) operating at room temperature is experimentally demonstrated using a 100 m long photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in conjunction with a figure-of-eight configuration. At a Brillouin pump (BP) level of 15.3 dBm, 7 simultaneous lines with 20 GHz or 0.16 nm line spacing is achieved by removing the odd-order Stokes lines. The anti-Stokes lines are also generated via four wave mixing process in the laser cavity. Compared with the Erbium-based multi-wavelength laser, this BFL has advantages in term of channel spacing and flexibility in the choice of operating wavelength. The output spectrum of the proposed BFL can be tuned by 80 nm, dependent on the availability of an appropriate BP source. The multi-wavelength BFL shows a good stability with power fluctuations of less than 0.5 dB over more than 3 h.     

Splitting-on-demand optical power splitters using multimode interference (MMI) waveguide with programmed modulations

Reconfigurable multi-channel optical power splitter is proposed and its optical properties are calculated. The device can dynamically reconfigure the number of splitting channels by providing programmed refractive index modulations on a multimode interference (MMI) waveguide. A reconfigurable 3-channel optical power splitter is designed to work as 1 × 1, 1 × 2 or 1 × 3 optical power splitter depending on the state of the heat electrodes using thermo-optic modulation, and the input light can be distributed to three output channels with sequential orders. The device can work in the whole C-band (1530-1565 nm) with extinction ratio better than −29.0 dB, excess loss better than −0.45 dB, imbalance better than 0.08 dB and polarization dependent loss (PDL) better than 0.14 dB. The design conception is scalable to a multi-channel splitting-on-demand optical power splitter which can divide input light to 1, 2, …, N output channels equally by using the 3-channel reconfigurable optical power splitter as a building block.     

A novel double-Brillouin-frequency spaced multi-wavelength Brillouin erbium-doped fiber laser based on non-linear amplified fiber loop mirror

In the paper, a ring double-Brillouin-frequency spaced multi-wavelength Brillouin erbium-doped fiber laser based on non-linear amplified fiber loop mirror filter is demonstrated, in which the non-linear amplified fiber loop mirror (AFLMF) is used as a filter. At the 980 nm pump power of 10.29 dBm, the tunable laser source center wavelength of 1563 nm and power of −3 dBm, up to 12 even output channels with 0.16 nm spacing are achieved. At the same time, we study the influence of 980 nm pump power, the polarization controller and the tunable laser source center wavelength on the number of Stokes light wave.     

基于半导体光放大器的可调谐多波长光纤激光器

报道了一种新型环形腔可调谐多波长光纤激光器,腔内以半导体光放大器为增益介质,利用高双折射光纤构成的高双折射环形镜的滤波特性,在室温下,获得了基本符合ITU-T标准100GHz的17个波长以上的稳定多波长输出.各信道峰值功率差小于6 dB,线宽小于0.102 nm,信噪比大于25 dB.通过调节高双折射环形镜内的偏振控制器状态实现了这一组波长整体在50GHz范围内连续可调谐.并利用实验方法,对该光纤激光器应用于掺铒光纤放大器对多信道放大性能测试的可行性进行了初步探讨.     

Experimental study of SOA-based NRZ-to-PRZ conversion and distortion elimination of amplified NRZ signal using spectral filtering

We experimentally study both reshaping of nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) signal and NRZ to pseudoreturn-to-zero (PRZ) format conversion based on self-phase modulation of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and detuning an optical bandpass filter (OBF). When an OBF with 1 nm bandwidth is blue shifted by 0.8 nm, the distortion of the amplified NRZ signal at 10 Gbit/s is shown to be eliminated completely. When an OBF with 0.32 nm bandwidth is red shifted by 0.42 nm from the carrier frequency, NRZ-to-PRZ conversion at 10 Gbit/s is obtained. A holding beam is used to suppress the SOA noise and improve the output extinction ratio (ER). The output ER of both the reshaped NRZ and the converted PRZ is larger than 10 dB when the signal wavelength is longer than 1540 nm, and an input power dynamic range from −7 dBm to 2 dBm is obtained at a signal wavelength of 1563.6 nm. The average power of the reshaped NRZ signal is about 3 dBm at an input power dynamic range of 13 dB. The amplitude fluctuation of the converted PRZ signal is around 1.6 dB.     

Tunable 19 × 10 GHz L-band FP-SOA based multi-wavelength mode-locked fiber laser

We present a multi-wavelength mode-locked fiber ring laser incorporating a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifier (FP-SOA). Because the gain of the SOA is depleted by an external injection optical signal, the SOA acts as a loss modulator. The FP-SOA serves as a tunable comb filter. The presented laser source can generate 19 synchronized wavelength channels with the extinction ratio of about 21 dB, each mode-locked at 10 GHz, and mode-locked pulse width is about 40 ps. Oscillation wavelengths band can be tuned by adjusting the bias current of the SOA, and wavelength spacing also can be changed by using a tunable optical delay line (ODL) or a temperature controller. The polarization-insensitive devices ensure that the output power is rather stable. This fiber laser has potential applications in longer waveband (L-band) within the low-attenuation window.     

High energy femtosecond supercontinuum light generation in large mode area photonic crystal fiber

A large mode area photonic crystal fiber (LMA PCF) with an effective area of 180 μm² is used to generate a high energy, micro-joule range, flat, octave spanning supercontinuum (SC) extending from ~ 600 nm to ~ 1720 nm. A train of femtosecond pulses from a widely-tunable parametric amplifier pumped by a Ti:Sapphire regenerative amplifier system are coupled into a 20 cm length of LMA PCF generating a SC of 1.4 μJ energy. We present an experimental study of the high energy SC as a function of the input power and the pumping wavelength. The spectrum obtained at a pump wavelength of 1260 nm presents spectral flatness variation less than 12 dB over more than 1.1 octave bandwidth. The physical processes behind the SC formation are described in the normal and the anomalous dispersion regions. Our experimental results are successfully compared with the numerical solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.     

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.     

Stable multiwavelength fiber ring laser with equalized power spectrum based on a semiconductor optical amplifier

We experimentally demonstrated a new structure of a multiwavelength semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) ring laser based on a fiber Sagnac loop filter that can generate up to 25 stable output lasing wavelengths at room temperature. By varying the length of a polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber within the Sagnac loop filter, the wavelength spacing between the output lasing wavelengths can be changed to a desired value. By tuning a polarization controller (PC) within the Sagnac loop filter, stable multiwavelength 1550-nm operation with up to 17 lasing lines within 3 dB power level variation and with a wavelength spacing of ∼0.8 nm was achieved. The optical signal-to-noise ratios (OSNRs) of all the lasing wavelengths are greater than 40 dB.     

Generation of amplitude squeezed green light from a high efficiency PPKTP frequency doubler

We report on a high-efficiency 532 nm green light conversion from an external cavity-enhanced second harmonic generation of a home-made 1064 nm single-frequency Nd:YVO₄ laser with a periodically poled KTP crystal. A stable green power of 60 mW with a conversion efficiency of 75% was measured. Meantime, we investigate the quadrature amplitude noise of the green light at the same experimental setup and 0.6 dB green light squeezing was experimentally observed (taking into account the total detection efficiency of 58%, the squeezing should be 1.1 dB). The squeezing as a function of input power was also studied and we found qualitative agreement with theoretical prediction.     

L-band all-optical gain-clamped EDFA by utilizing C-band backward ASE

By using an optical circulator and C/L-band wavelength division multiplexer to recycle the C-band backward ASE, an L-band gain-clamped erbium-doped fiber amplifier is presented. We have experimentally studied the static gain clamping property of this amplifier. As the ASE feedback attenuation is set to 0, the gain at 1585 nm can be clamped at 18.84 ± 0.26 dB within dynamic range of 25 dB and the critical power reaches about −15.09 dBm. The gain variation and saturated output power at 1585 nm for 0 dB attenuation are 1 dB lower and 2.17 dB higher than those for 30 dB attenuation, which indicates that the L-band EDFA gain can be effectively clamped via the ASE injection technique.     

82-channel multi-wavelength comb generation in a SOA fiber ring laser

We demonstrate a multi-wavelength semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) fiber ring laser with a dual-pass Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) filter. Two SOAs with different gain spectra provide sufficient gain and a wider gain spectrum to facilitate multi-wavelength lasing. The dual-pass MZI, configured by adding an optical isolator to the two outputs of the conventional MZI, serves as comb filter for multi-wavelength operation, and its extinction ratio can be enhanced to twofold as that of the conventional MZI in the same parameters. To investigate the influences of a dual-pass MZI filter and a conventional MZI filter on multi-wavelength operation, two different cavity configurations are presented and compared, including a single-SOA ring cavity and a double-SOA ring cavity. Stable simultaneous operation at 82 wavelengths, with a wavelength spacing of 40 GHz and a power deviation of 5 dB, and with a minimum optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of 28 dB, is observed from the double-SOA ring cavity using a dual-pass MZI filter.     

Measuring chromatic dispersion of optical fiber using time-of-flight and a tunable multi-wavelength semiconductor fiber laser

We have developed a tunable multi-wavelength semiconductor fiber laser (SFL) for chromatic dispersion measurements of optical fiber based on the time-of flight (TOF) or pulse-delay technique. The SFL incorporates a programmable high-birefringence fiber Sagnac loop to select the separation of the lasing wavelengths between 3.2 and 1.6 nm. The SFL emits 5 and 11 wavelengths for separations of 3.2 and 1.6 nm, respectively, all within the C-band and with an output power uniformity within 3.2 dB. Results from TOF measurements are compared with standard phase-shift techniques; the percent differences between the two methods are within ±1.34% for measurements on various lengths of standard single mode fiber.     

Theoretical analysis of the all-fiberized, dispersion-managed regenerator for simultaneous processing of WDM channels

The concept of the all-fiberized multi-wavelength regenerator is analyzed, and the design methodology for operation at 40 Gb/s is presented. The specific methodology has been applied in the past for the experimental proof-of-principle of the technique, but it has never been reported in detail. The regenerator is based on a strong dispersion map that is implemented using alternating dispersion compensating fibers (DCF) and single-mode fibers (SMF), and minimizes the nonlinear interaction between the wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) channels. The optimized regenerator design with + 0.86 ps/nm/km average dispersion of the nonlinear fiber section is further investigated. The specific design is capable of simultaneously processing five WDM channels with 800 GHz channel spacing and providing Q-factor improvement higher than 1 dB for each channel. The cascadeability of the regenerator is also indicated using a 6-node metropolitan network simulation model.     

BLS polarization-induced performance degradation in WDM-PON systems based on wavelength-locked FP-LDs

We experimentally investigated the performance degradation due to broadband light source (BLS) polarization in wavelength-division multiplexing-passive optical network systems based on a wavelength-locked Fabry-Perot laser diode. The results showed that the BLS polarization difference between two polarization states should be less than 3 dB, and its injection power should be greater than −18 dBm for a received-power penalty of less than 1 dB.     

Gain-clamped dual-stage L-band EDFA by using backward C-band ASE

A dual-stage L-band gain-clamped erbium-doped fiber amplifier (GC-EDFA) by using backward C-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) is proposed. Compared with other similar GC-EDFAs, the proposed structure has higher and flatter clamped gain in L-band because of its optimal pump power and EDF length. The flatness from 1570 nm to 1600 nm arrives 0.77 dB, the bandwidth of 3 dB is more than 35 nm and the maximal input signal power arrives −15 dBm.     

High-peak power multi-wavelength picosecond pulses generated from a BaWO4 Raman-seeded optical parametric amplifier

We report the generation of high-peak power multi-wavelength picosecond laser pulses using optical parametric amplification (OPA) in BBO seeded with pulses generated in a 5-mm length BaWO₄ crystal by stimulated Raman scattering of 18-ps laser pulses at 532 nm. The maximum output energy of the amplified first-Stokes component at 559.7 nm was about 1.76 mJ. The corresponding maximum peak power, pulse duration and spectral line width were measured to be 117.3 MW, 15 ps and 18.0 cm⁻¹, respectively. The multi-wavelength picosecond laser pulses were in the visible and near infrared ranges. Using this Raman-seeded OPA technique, the beam quality of the stimulated Raman scattering pulses can be improved.     

Photonic microwave reconfigurable filter based on a tunable polymeric ring resonator

An integrated photonic microwave reconfigurable filter was proposed and realized incorporating a tunable polymeric ring resonator. Its passband could be shaped electrically by shifting the resonant peaks of the resonator via the thermo-optic effect. As for the achieved performance, the center frequency was 20 GHz, the extinction ratio ∼15 dB, the bandwidth 2 GHz, and the corresponding quality factor 10. The microwave output within the passband was varied efficiently by ∼27 dB with the rate of ∼6.7 dB/mW, while the wavelength tuning rate of the resonator was −0.02 nm/mW.     

Broad spectral sliced multiwavelength source with a mode locked fiber laser

A simple multi-wavelength source is demonstrated based on spectral slicing of supercontinuum (SC) light using a Sagnac loop mirror. A mode locked fiber laser with pulse width of 800 fs is employed to generate the SC in photonic crystal fiber (PCF). The SC light extending from 1200 nm up to the wavelength region above 1750 nm is obtained at the amplified pulse pump power of 30 dBm. By slicing the SC with a loop mirror, a multiwavelength comb spectrum is obtained with different channel spacing for different operating wavelength region. Spacings of 1.5, 2.3, and 2.9 nm are shown at wavelength regions of 1220, 1450, and 1730 nm, respectively. It is also observed that the signal to noise ratio (SNR) increases from 15 to 20 dB as the operating wavelength increases from 1220 to 1730 nm region.     

Tunable wavelength conversion of picosecond pulses based on cascaded sum- and difference-frequency generation in quasi-phase-matched LiNbO3 waveguides

Tunable wavelength conversion for picosecond pulses is proposed and demonstrated exploiting cascaded sum- and difference-frequency generation in quasi-phase-matched LiNbO₃ waveguides. The influences of initial pulse widths and injected pulse powers on the conversion efficiency and converted pulse width are theoretically analyzed. Arbitrarily tunable wavelength conversion is performed for the signal pulse with the temporal width of 1.57 ps and repetition rate of 40 GHz. Approximately −18.9 dB conversion efficiency and 25 nm variable region of the input signal are achieved under the lower launched signal power. The results imply that simultaneous wavelength conversion and pulse compression can be potentially obtained by using the pulsed control wave or designing longer waveguides.