A broadband fiber ring laser technique with stable and tunable signal-frequency operation

Abstract

A C- plus L-band fiber ring laser with wide wavelength tunability and single-longitudinal- mode oscillation is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. A saturable-absorber-based autotracking filter, consisted of an unpumped erbium-doped fiber (EDF) and an optical reflected mirror (ORM), is employed to provide fine mode restriction and guarantee the single-frequency operation. Output power of >2.1 dBm, power stability of <= 0.02 dB, wavelength variation of <= 0.01 nm and side-ode suppression ratio (SMSR) of >31 dB / 0.05 nm have been experimentally demonstrated for this single-frequency fiber laser over an operating range of 1550 to 1608 nm. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.