A Stabilized,Rationally Mode-Locked 10GHz Erbium Fiber Laser

A rationally mode-locked 10 GHz erbium fiber laser stabilized by a simple technique for extended time operation is described. The laser generates stable ~ 5 ps pulses that can be used in communications experiments. Back-to-back bit error rate (BER) measurements confirmed error-free operation for 6-8 hours, giving an error floor below 10 -14 . A receiver sensitivity of -19.7 dBm was achieved for BER of 10 -9 .