Tunable and switchable dual-wavelength SLM narrow-linewidth fiber laser with cascaded passive double-ring cavity narrowband filters

Abstract

In this article, we have proposed and demonstrated a tunable, switchable dual-wavelength linear cavity fiber laser, which has a passive dual ring cavity structures (DRCs) and polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating (PM-FBG), and can be used for the operation of single-longitudinal mode(SLM), narrow-linewidth, and orthogonal single polarization. The passive DRCs, consisted of four 2 × 2 optical couplers (OCs), work as the narrow-band filter and mirror. The tunable and switchable wavelength of the fiber laser is realized by stretching PM-FBG and adjusting the polarization controller (PC). The optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) at the dual-wavelength operating state can be more than 45 dB in the tunable range. While the OSNR of fiber laser at the each-wavelength operating state can reach 50 dB with the maximum wavelength and power fluctuation of 0.01 nm and 1.2 dB, during the monitoring time of 40 min. In addition, the measured laser linewidths are 375 Hz and 420 Hz, respectively. Meanwhile, the states of polarization are orthogonal single polarization, and the degree of polarization (DOP) is close to 100 %.