La-codoped bismuth-based erbium-doped fiber ring laser with 106-nm tuning range

Ultrawide-band tunable fiber ring lasers using 84.6-cm-long lanthanum-codoped bismuth-based erbium doped fiber and a narrow-band tunable microelectromechanical system filter are reported. The fiber ring lasers can be continuously tuned from 1520 to 1626 nm, covering both the C- and L-bands. The laser has two outputs; the high output power port exhibits better than 35-dB wavelength extinction ratio, and the second output has much lower power but exhibits a large extinction ratio of better than 60 dB.