Widely Tunable Actively Mode-Locked Bi-Doped Fiber Laser Operating in the O-Band

Abstract

Here, we propose an all-fiber actively mode-locked Bismuth (Bi)-doped fiber laser based on the use of an acousto-optic modulator. The mode-locked Bi-doped fiber laser produces 13ns pulses with a repetition rate of 1.683MHz at 1340nm. Higher harmonic mode-locking is achieved simply by changing the operating frequency of the acousto-optic modulator. The output power of the laser is 7mW and this is further amplified to 101mW using an external Bi-doped fiber amplifier. A peak power of 4.6W with a pulse energy of 60nJ is achieved after the master oscillator power amplifier. The stability of the laser is studied using an RF spectrum analyzer and an SNR of more than 60dB at the fundamental frequency of 1.683MHz was recorded. Furthermore, wavelength tuning of the Bi-doped fiber laser is explored and demonstrated from 1300 to 1370nm.