Dynamical bistability of a loss modulated erbium doped fiber ring laser

Abstract

Optical hysteresis in the modulated output of an erbium doped fiber ring laser is recorded while raising and lowering the modulation index and modulation frequency, during the intra-cavity loss modulation with an intensity modulator included in the ring cavity. The analysis is done using the phase difference between the modulating signal and the laser output. The bistable output observed near the fundamental and sub-harmonic resonances can be understood by this method. The faster transition of the laser output while increasing the modulation parameters near the fundamental frequency range is contrasted with the slower dynamics at the sub- and super-harmonic frequency ranges under similar conditions by calculating the flipping time. The results based on the standard laser dynamics model provide a good match with the experiments.