40-nm-wide tunable fiber ring laser with single-mode operation using a highly stretchable FBG

Author

Song, Y.W. ; Havstad, S.A. ; Starodubov, D. ; Xie, Y. ; Willner, A.E. ; Feinber, J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. Syst., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Volume

13

Issue

11

fYear

2001

Firstpage

1167

Lastpage

1169

Abstract

We demonstrate a 750-Hz linewidth single-mode erbium-doped fiber (EDF) ring laser with wide tunability using a widely tunable fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The stable single-mode operation is realized by using the FBG as a narrow wavelength-selective element and 4 m of unpumped EDF as a saturable absorber in the cavity. The 40-nm continuous tuning range of 1522-1562 nm is achieved using a highly stretchable FBG that exhibits a filter tuning range of over 52 nm. The grating is prepared with chemically stripped deuterium-loaded fiber to eliminate degrading factors for the grating strength, thereby achieving the wide tunability. The tuning range represents a 3.5-fold increase in wavelength tuning over previous use of FBGs.

Keywords

Bragg gratings; erbium; fibre lasers; laser modes; laser tuning; mechanical strength; optical fibre fabrication; optical fibre filters; optical saturable absorption; ring lasers; 1522 to 1562 nm; chemically stripped deuterium-loaded fiber; continuous tuning range; degrading factors; filter tuning range; grating strength; highly stretchable FBG; narrow wavelength-selective element; saturable absorber; single-mode operation; stable single-mode operation; tunable fiber ring laser; tuning range; unpumped EDF; wavelength tuning; wide tunability; widely tunable fiber Bragg grating; Bragg gratings; Chemical elements; Degradation; Erbium-doped fiber lasers; Fiber gratings; Fiber lasers; Filters; Laser tuning; Ring lasers; Tunable circuits and devices;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/68.959352

Filename

959352