Multirate and Dual-Wavelength Semiconductor Fiber Laser

Abstract

We demonstrate the successful operation of a multirate and dual-wavelength mode-locked semiconductor fiber laser that incorporates a multichannel nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) functioning as a multichannel all-optical modulator. Each channel of the NOLM incorporates its own length of highly nonlinear fiber and can be driven by independent pump signals. Thus, the single NOLM is capable of processing multiple wavelength channels independently and simultaneously. We obtain mode-locked operation at different frequencies (5 and 10 GHz) for two wavelengths with spacing as narrow as 0.8 nm.