Rayleigh backscattering-based simultaneous linewidth narrowing of a multi-wavelength DFB laser array with an arbitrary wavelength spacing.

Abstract

Simultaneous linewidth narrowing of a multi-wavelength laser array with an arbitrary wavelength spacing based on Rayleigh backscattering is experimentally demonstrated. Rayleigh backscattering from a single 30 m high numerical aperture fiber (HNAF) is employed to simultaneously narrow the linewidths of a DFB laser array consisting of four distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor lasers with different wavelengths. Experimental results show that the instantaneous linewidths of the four DFB lasers can be simultaneously narrowed from megahertz to kilohertz no matter whether the wavelength spacing between the lasers is equally spaced or not, verifying the self-adaptivity of Rayleigh backscattering on laser linewidth narrowing. The method demonstrated here is also applicable for on-chip waveguides without wavelength dependence, providing a more compact narrow linewidth laser array for the wavelength-multiplexing division system and other promising applications.