Abstract
A wavelength-tunable single-frequency fiber laser based on the spectral narrowing effect in a nonlinear semiconductor optical amplifier (NL-SOA) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The single-frequency operation is achieved based on the spectral narrowing effect resulted from the inverse four-wave mixing in a NL-SOA. By incorporating the NL-SOA in the fiber laser cavity, single-frequency lasing is achieved. The lasing frequency can be tuned by tuning the center wavelength of a tunable filter (TF) incorporated in the laser cavity. The proposed wavelength-tunable single-frequency fiber laser is experimentally evaluated. Stable single-frequency oscillation with a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) as high as 55 dB and a spectral linewidth of less than 10.1 kHz over a wavelength tuning range of as wide as 48 nm is demonstrated.
Highlights
Single-frequency fiber lasers with advantageous features such as high optical power, high optical coherence, low noise and compact structure have been extensively investigated and have found numerous applications such as in fiber sensing, optical communications, microwave generation, and high-resolution spectroscopy [1,2,3,4,5]
A wavelength-tunable single-frequency fiber laser based on the spectral narrowing effect in a nonlinear semiconductor optical amplifier (NL-SOA) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated
The single-frequency operation is achieved based on the spectral narrowing effect resulted from the inverse four-wave mixing in a NL-SOA
Summary
Single-frequency fiber lasers with advantageous features such as high optical power, high optical coherence, low noise and compact structure have been extensively investigated and have found numerous applications such as in fiber sensing, optical communications, microwave generation, and high-resolution spectroscopy [1,2,3,4,5]. We propose to use an NL-SOA to demonstrate spectrum narrowing and its application in a fiber ring laser to achieve single-frequency lasing. We find that the spectrum narrowing effect due to inverse FWM exists in an NL-SOA and the incorporation of an NL-SOA in a fiber ring laser cavity would lead to the reduction in the number of longitudinal modes, which would lead to single-frequency lasing. The number of a multi-longitudinal-mode (MLM) light wave would reduce from multiple to a single longitudinal mode after the MLM light wave is recalculating in the ring cavity multiple times This is the key point that the use of an NL-SOA in a ring cavity can achieve stable single-frequency lasing. The proposed single-frequency fiber laser has the advantages of simple configuration, good stability and wide wavelength tunable range
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