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.     

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.     

Simple tunable multiwavelength Brillouin/Erbium fiber laser utilizing short-length photonic crystal fiber

We have demonstrated a simple ring cavity tunable multiwavelength Brillouin/Erbium fiber laser (MWBEFL), in which 70 m highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (HNL-PCF) is used as the Brillouin gain medium. The fiber laser utilizes recycling mechanism to enhance stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). The configuration that consists of only 3 optical components is easy to be integrated and improves the practicality. At the maximum 1480 nm pump power of 110 mW and the Brillouin pump power of 3 dBm, 10 stable output channels with more than 10 dB optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) and 0.078 nm channel spacing could achieve 10 nm tuning ranges.     

Four-wave mixing in dual wavelength fiber laser utilizing SOA for wavelength conversion

In this paper, a novel configuration of a wavelength converter is set forth by utilizing a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) as a nonlinear gain medium to generate a four-wave mixing (FWM) effect by using a dual wavelength bi-erbium-doped fiber laser that uses an Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) together with two optical channel selector (OSC) as selective elements to function as a dual wavelength switchable pump power. The four-wave mixing (FWM) is produced with a wavelength detuning of 7 nm from the pump and signal which used is as the converted signal at wavelength 1532.8 nm or 1534.5 nm for transferring data from the input signal at wavelength 1547.0 nm. Thus, even though the conversion efficiency is as low as −43 dB, it is still possible for applications as a wavelength converter.     

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.     

Gain clamped L-band EDFA with forward–backward pumping scheme using fiber Bragg grating

The paper proposes a novel two stage L-band erbium doped fiber amplifier with forward–backward pumping scheme for transmission of 32 wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) channels. It is gain clamped with an in-line fiber Bragg grating (FBG) to provide flat gain over 45 nm by restricting and reutilizing amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). We demonstrate that it provides an efficient small signal gain with minimum noise figure of over 20 dB and 5.5 dB, respectively, in the L-band region (1565–1610 nm) by comparing with its forward and backward pumped counterparts with fixed Er³⁺ fiber length of 20 m for −30 dBm/channel input power. We also obtain the gain and noise figure dependence as a function of each of the Er³⁺ fiber lengths, pump power (both 1480 and 980 nm), and temperature. Hence a 10 nm region (1580–1590 nm) has been acknowledged where temperature variations become constricted for 30 °C variations (15–45 °C).     

Inclination sensing based on a fiber-ring laser and a fiber-Bragg grating with a precise resolution

We design an inclination-sensing system based on a fiber-ring laser integrated fiber-Bragg grating (FBG) whose peak wavelength is changed by the axial strain. By replacing a conventional broadband light source with the fiber-ring laser, we raise the sensing power to 3.1 dBm, the peak-to-noise ratio to 65.31 dB, and reduce the 3-dB bandwidth to 0.06 nm. Thus, the sensitivity and resolution of the proposed system are greatly improved. By using an FBG integrated with a pendulum ball used as a sensor head, the resolution of the angular inclination could reach 0.015 nm per degree. These specifications are qualified for the general practice of the pendulum-sensing system.     

A reconfigurable multiwavelength fiber laser with switchable wavelength channels and tunable wavelength spacing

We report the experimental demonstration of a reconfigurable multiwavelength fiber laser source with switchable wavelength channels and tunable wavelength spacing by spectrum slicing a broadband light source using a tunable comb filter. The tunable comb filter is based on a thermally-induced linearly-chirped fiber Bragg grating (LCFBG). As an example to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, two wavelength channels with various wavelength spacings and eight wavelength channels with ∼1.6 nm wavelength spacing were experimentally demonstrated. All the wavelength channels have rejection ratios of greater than 20 dB, and very small 3-dB linewidths of ∼10 pm. The multiwavelength optical source has such unique advantages as simple all-fiber structure, switchable wavelength channels, tunable wavelength spacing, very narrow linewidths, and stable room-temperature operation.     

Wideband wavelength tunable fiber ring laser with flattened output power spectrum

A wavelength tunable erbium-doped fiber ring laser with flattened output power spectrum over a broadband is proposed and demonstrated. The power flattening is achieved using a high-birefringence fiber loop mirror, in which a number of high-birefringence fiber sections and polarization controllers are used to get a reflection spectrum that can compensate for the output power spectrum. The wavelength tuning is realized by compressing or stretching the FBGs in the laser cavity. A 1×3 switchable fiber Bragg grating array is incorporated into the fiber ring to get a wideband tuning range of 38 nm, from 1527 to 1565 nm. Within this range, the output power uniformity is controlled within ±0.8 dB. The total output power is about 4 dBm, the 3-dB linewidth is 0.01 nm, and the side mode suppression ratio is more than 48 dB.     

120 nm wide band switchable fiber laser

A novel method of producing switchable tunable output that spans the S-, C- and L-bands is presented. The achievable tuning range is about 120 nm. The design consists of a wide band SOA, 1 × 16 AWG and an optical selectable switch in a ring configuration. The measured average output powers for S-, C- and L-bands for different output wavelengths are −7.0 dBm, −6 dBm and −6.5 dBm respectively. The SMSR for these wavelengths is about 72 dB.     

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.     

The L-band EDFA of high clamped gain and low noise figure implemented using fiber Bragg grating and double-pass method

The L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) of low noise figure and high clamped-gain using gain-clamped and double-pass configuration is presented in this paper. A total of five different configurations of EDFAs by reflection scheme with single forward pumping schemes are examined and compared here. Among these configurations, we first find the configuration of 1480-nm pumped L-band EDFA with optimum gain and noise figure value. To further minimize the gain variation, a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with 1615-nm center wavelength and 1-nm bandwidth is determined and added in double-pass L-band EDFA. The gain variation and maximum noise figure of EDFA while channel dropping is investigated. As the number of channel dropping from 32 to 4, the L-band type-A EDFA keep the variation of gain within 2.9 dB and the maximum noise figure below 5 dB with each channel’s input power of −23 dBm.     

Dual-wavelength Brillouin ring-cavity fiber laser with tunable channel spacing

We experimentally demonstrate a dual-wavelength Brillouin fiber laser configured a pre-amplified Brillouin pump and FBG filter in a ring-cavity. The Brillouin laser can generate 21 Brillouin Stokes with 0.084 nm spacing, the first-Stoke has a peak power of 2.19 dBm. By adjusting the TLS wavelength and FBG’s reflection wavelength from circulating in the ring-cavity, the generated output dual-wavelength is stabile and the channel spacing is tunable, the widest and narrowest channel spacing obtained is approximately 1.12 nm (139 GHz) and 0.084 nm (10.5 GHz).     

FWM-based multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser using Bi-EDF

We experimentally demonstrate a simple structure but efficient multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) using a 49 cm Bismuth-based erbium-doped fiber (Bi-EDF) as gain medium. The Bi-EDF provides erbium amplification and FWM effect in the cavity to generate a stable multi-wavelength comb operating in C-band region. We have achieved more than 5 lines with peak power of more than −35 dBm and channel spacing of 0.5 nm by incorporating a broadband fiber Bragg grating and polarization controller in the ring cavity.     

On duty cycle selection of RZ optical pulse to optimize the performance of dispersion compensated 10 Gbps single channel optical communication system using dispersion compensating fibers

We present results for duty cycle selection of optical RZ pulse to optimize the performance in 10 Gbps single channel dispersion compensated optical communication system. The system has link length of 240 km with two spans. Each of the spans consists of 120 km standard single mode fiber (SSMF) of 16 ps/nm/km, whose chromatic dispersion is compensated using pre-, post- and symmetrical-dispersion compensation schemes by 24 km dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) of −80 ps/nm/km. The performance of the three compensation schemes is compared by taking 8, 10, 12 and 14 dBm Er-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) power levels in the link with a duty cycle range (0.1-0.9) of RZ optical pulse. The graphical results obtained show a relationship among the duty cycle, EDFA power and dispersion compensation scheme which predicts the best performing duty cycle case. To optimize performance of the system, we recommend in general, duty cycle less than 0.3 and EDFA power below 8 dB irrespective of compensation scheme. However, with post compensation duty cycle less than 0.7 and EDFA power below 12 dBm give optimum performance. The results conclude that for the high value of duty cycle, post dispersion compensation scheme should be used.     

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.     

Gain clamping in double-pass L-band EDFA using a broadband FBG

A highly efficient gain-clamped L-band EDFA with improved noise figure characteristic is demonstrated by simply adding a broadband C-band FBG in double-pass system. The combination of the FBG and optical circulator has created laser in the cavity for gain clamping. By adjusting the power combination of pumps 1 and 2, the clamped gain level can be controlled. The amplifier gain is clamped at 28.1 dB from −40 to −25 dBm with a gain variation of less than 0.5 dB by setting the pumps 1 and 2 at 59.5 and 50.6 mW, respectively. The gain is also flat from 1574 nm to 1604 nm with a gain variation of less than 3 dB. The corresponding noise figure varies from 5.6 to 7.6 dB, which is 0.8 to 2.6 dB less than those of unclamped amplifier.     

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.     

Experimental and theoretical studies on ytterbium sensitized erbium-doped fiber amplifier

The performance of a high power erbium-ytterbium doped fiber amplifier (EYDFA) is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The EYDFA provides a flat gain with an output power higher than 23 dBm in the wavelength region from 1541 to 1565 nm using a multimode pumping at 927 nm. In the theoretical analysis, the rate and power propagation equations are solved to examine the effect of fiber length on the bandwidth of the gain spectra. In the C-band region, the small signal gain of the EYDFA varies from 30 to 34 dB with 10 m long erbium-ytterbium doped fiber (EYDF) while the 927 nm pump power is fixed at 3.5 W. It is shown that the calculated output power is in good agreement with the experimental results, verifying the feasibility of our theoretical model. However, the experimental result shows a relatively lower gain compared to the theoretical result due to the spurious reflection in the cavity and the insertion loss of the EYDF which were neglected in our theoretical model.     

Tunable and switchable all-fiber comb filter using a PBS-based two-stage cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer

We propose and demonstrate a novel tunable and switchable all-fiber comb filter by employing a polarization beam splitter (PBS)-based two-stage cascaded Mach-Zehnder (M-Z) interferometer. The proposed comb filter consists of a rotatable polarizer, a fiber PBS, a non-3-dB coupler and a 3-dB coupler. By simply adjusting the polarization state of the input light, the dual-function of channel spacing tunable and wavelength switchable (interleaving) operations can be efficiently obtained. The theoretical analysis is verified by the experimental results. A comb filter with both the channel spacing tunable from 0.18 nm to 0.36 nm and the wavelength switchable functions is experimentally demonstrated.