MULTI-WAVELENGTH FIBER OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR BASED ON A HIGHLY NONLINEAR FIBER AND A SAGNAC LOOP FILTER

A novel multi-wavelength fiber optical parametric oscillator (MW-FOPO) with a ring cavity structure is proposed. In the ring cavity of the MW-FOPO, a Sagnac loop filter which is formed by a 3-dB optical coupler, a polarization controller and a segment of polarization maintained fiber is used as the comb filter, and a segment of highly nonlinear fiber is used as the gain medium. Multi-wavelength lasing of the MW-FOPO with a wavelength spacing of about 0.8nm is achieved and its power stability at room temperature is demonstrated by measuring peak power fluctuation within 42 minutes for 5 lasing wavelengths. The output spectrum of the MW-FOPO covers a large wavelength region from 1500nm to 1610 nm. A comparison of the output spectra between the MW-FOPO and the multi-wavelength Erbium-doped fiber laser is also presented.