Wavelength-tunable Fiber Laser Research Articles

Widely tunable continuous-wave fiber laser in the 1.55-1.8 µm wavelength region.

In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate a continuous-wave widely wavelength-tunable fiber laser based on erbium- and bismuth-doped fibers in parallel configuration. A diffraction grating was used for wavelength tuning, and the tuning range of 268 nm (from 1545 to 1813 nm) was obtained using Littrow design. This result is significantly greater than demonstrated previously in the same spectral region with erbium or bismuth doped fiber lasers.

Broadband high-gain Yb: YAG crystal-derived silica fiber for low noise tunable single-frequency fiber laser

An over 75 nm broadband spectrum with a gain per unit length of >2 dB/cm was obtained from a homemade Yb: YAG crystal-derived silica fiber (YCDSF) with Yb-doping concertation of 6.57 wt.%. Using a 13-cm-long YCDSF, a low-noise wavelength-tunable single-frequency fiber laser has been constructed, enabling a single longitudinal mode oscillation from 1009 to 1070 nm. In particular, in the 1023-1056 nm waveband, the laser operating at any wavelength exhibited a maximum output power over 37 mW with power fluctuations below 0.38%, a slope efficiency >8%, and an optical signal-to-noise ratio higher than 60 dB. A linewidth of less than 2.8 kHz was also observed at the maximum pump powers, and relative intensity noise was as low as -155 dB/Hz at frequencies above 1.0 MHz. These results indicate that the YCDSFs with broadband high-gain characteristics are promising for wavelength-tunable fiber lasers in applications such as optical coherence tomography, precision metrology, nonlinear frequency conversion, and so on.

Tunable noise-like pulse and Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser.

A switchable, widely wavelength-tunable noise-like pulse (NLP) and Q-switched Er-doped fiber (EDF) laser with a linear cavity structure is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in this work. The net-normal-dispersion mode-locked NLP operation based on a semiconductor saturable mirror (SESAM) is realized in a 57 nm continuous tuning range from 1528 to 1585 nm by using a tunable filter (TF). When the pump power is 500 mW, the NLPs produce a maximum average output power of about 16 mW with a 3-dB spectral bandwidth of about 17 nm at the central wavelength of 1555 nm, while the average peak power is about 58.8 W. The measured characteristics of the output NLPs at 1555 nm are consistent with the numerical results under the condition of Δβ2, net = 0.095 ps2, and Esat = 0.77 nJ. In addition, stable Q-switched pulses with a 67 nm wavelength tuning range from 1518 to 1585 nm are obtained by adjusting the central wavelength of the filter. The maximum pulse energy reaches 231.4 nJ at the center wavelength of 1555 nm, corresponding to a peak power of about 278.8 mW. The proposed wavelength-tunable fiber laser is simple and versatile, demonstrating significant potential for numerous practical applications.

Visible-Wavelength-Tunable, Vortex-Beam Fiber Laser Based on a Long-Period Fiber Grating

In this letter, we report the first demonstration of a visible-wavelength-tunable, vortex-beam fiber laser based on a Sagnac-loop fiber filter and efficient long-period fiber grating. A 30 cm Pr <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3+</sup> /Yb <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3+</sup> -codoped ZBLAN fiber pumped by a 445 nm laser diode provides ~ 635 nm strong optical gain. A homemade dielectric mirror on the fiber end-facet and a Sagnac-loop fiber filter are used to build a wavelength-tunable fiber laser with a wavelength range of 633.89 to 636.02 nm. A self- fabricated long-period fiber grating acts as a mode converter in the cavity, and one-order vortex-beam including cylindrical vector beams (CVBs) and orbital angular momentum beams (OAMs) with a high mode purity are successfully obtained. Furthermore, we also measured the speckle contrast of the visible-wavelength fiber laser, and the speckle contrast is reduced by 17.13% through CVBs. This work could offer an effective approach to develop compact, wavelength-tunable vortex fiber lasers in the visible spectrum for applications to high-resolution imaging, laser display, visible light communications, and scientific research.

Wavelength-Tunable L-Band High Repetition Rate Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Based on Dissipative Four-Wave Mixing.

A wavelength-tunable high repetition rate (HRR) erbium-doped fiber laser in L-band based on dissipative four-wave mixing (DFWM) mechanism is demonstrated. The cavity can generate a single-soliton train and bound-soliton train with a fixed repetition rate of ~126 GHz, which is determined by the free spectral range of the intra-cavity Lyot filter. A wide wavelength-tuning operation can also be obtained by rotating the polarization controllers. The wavelength-tuning ranges of the HRR single-soliton state and HRR bound-soliton state are ~38.3 nm and ~22.6 nm, respectively. This laser provides useful references for the area of a wavelength-tunable fiber laser with high repetition rate. The laser may also find useful applications in high-speed communication, sensing, etc.

All-fiber figure-eight wavelength-tunable noise-like pulse lasers

All-fiber wavelength-tunable fiber laser is a desirable light source architecture in many fields owing to their low cost, compactness and easy integration. However, most of them have independent filter elements and saturated absorption elements, which will undoubtedly increase the redundancy of laser. In this paper, we realize an all-fiber wavelength-tunable noise-like pulse (NLP) laser with the tunable central wavelength from 1547 nm to 1600 nm based on fiber loop mirror (FLM). The fiber loop (FLM) fused with two segments of polarization-maintaining fibers (PMF) acts as both a comb filter and a saturable absorber (SA). Such an all-fiber tunable NLP mode-locked laser wavelength at C-band (1530–1565 nm) and L-band (1565–1625 nm) is a potential choice for many practical applications.

L-Band Wavelength-Tunable Er3+-Doped Tellurite Fiber Lasers

The spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped tellurite glasses were investigated and a 1 wt.% Er3+-doped tellurite fiber was fabricated for L-band lasers. Wavelength-tunable fiber lasers in a linear cavity based on Littrow configuration were developed and studied with different gain fiber lengths as well as output coupling ratios. Wavelength tunable range of 38 nm from 1589–1627 nm was achieved in the experiment with a 3-m Er3+-doped tellurite fiber laser pumped at 1570 nm. A maximum output power of 52.4 mW was obtained at 1614 nm. Compared to L-band Er3+-doped silica fiber lasers, the demonstrated Er3+-doped tellurite fiber lasers exhibit much higher optical signal-to-noise ratio (>30 dB), even at the longest operating wavelength of 1627 nm. Our simulation shows that the laser wavelength can be further extended to 1634 nm if the tellurite fiber loss is improved and the fiber cavity is optimized.

A chirped fiber Bragg grating with triple functions for stable wavelength-tunable Yb-doped fiber laser

Chirped fiber Bragg gratings (CFBGs) have been extensively employed as dispersion compensation element in mode-locked fiber lasers. However, multiple functions of CFBG in fiber lasers have not been studied adequately. Here, triple functions of CFBG, dispersion compensation, distributed reflection performance, and stabilizing mode-locked operation, are experimentally investigated. Firstly, the generation of dissipative solitons (DSs) in an all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped fiber laser is reported, while the mode-locked operation is proved to be insufficiently stable. In order to improve performance of the laser, a conventional solitons (CSs) fiber laser is obtained by inserting a CFBG with large anomalous dispersion into the laser cavity. Besides, the distributed reflection performance of CFBG is researched and a wavelength-tunable fiber laser with tuning range of center wavelength from 1033.5 to 1035.5 nm is achieved. It is no doubt that our work opens up venues to create wavelength tunable Yb-doped fiber laser systems with extremely high stability.

Graphene-Assisted All-Fiber Optical-Controllable Laser

All-optical controlling provides the burgeoning, precise, and compact access in photonics and optoelectronics with tunable performance. Through tuning physical parameters of optical-controlled devices, such as effective index, bandwidth and dispersion, the output characteristics of free-running lasers can be manipulated for widespread applications in spectroscopy and laser biology. Among which the flexible optical-thermal tunability of graphene introduces an advantageous avenue for the enhancement of photosensitivity of optical-controlled devices to efficiently regulate laser properties. Here, we fabricate an optical-controllable fiber filter based on a graphene-assisted micro-fiber Bragg grating, whose wavelength can be linearly tuned by controlling pump light, and a tuning step of 3.1 pm is achieved. By cooperating it with a fiber laser operating at a Q-switched mode-locked state, the lasing wavelength is all-optically controlled with a linear tuning sensitivity of 23.5 pm/mW. Considering the optical controlling performances, such a wavelength-tunable fiber laser may find potential applications in all-optical computing, all-optical logic gating, and generation of microwave source.

Efficient wavelength-tunable operation of tandem-pumped Yb fiber lasers

Highly efficient operation of double-clad Yb fiber lasers with fixed-wavelength and wavelength-tunable resonator configurations tandem-pumped by tunable Yb fiber lasers is reported. When wavelength selection was achieved using volume Bragg gratings in an external feedback cavity, the tandem-pumped Yb fiber laser produced maximum output powers of 7.0, 6.8, and 6.4 W at 1070 nm, corresponding to slope efficiencies of 88.2, 87.8, and 89.5%, for pump wavelengths of 1020, 1025, and 1030 nm, respectively. The wavelength-tunable fiber laser employing volume Bragg gratings and diffraction gratings was tuned from 1055 to 1112 nm with a linewidth of ~0.3 nm (FWHM), which was in good agreement with the calculated gain spectra. Optimization of tandem-pumped Yb fiber lasers and the prospect for further improvement in performance are considered.

폴리머 도파로 브라그 격자를 이용한 단일 파장 가변 광섬유 레이저의 출력 특성 연구

본 논문은 폴리머 광 도파로 기반의 브라그 격자(Polymer waveguide Bragg grating: PWBG) 파장 필터를 광섬유 레이저 공진기 내부에 삽입하여 단일 파장 가변 레이저를 구현하고, 주위 온도 및 공진기 내부의 편광 상태의 변화에 대한 출력 특성을 연구한 결과에 대해 보고한다. 레이저 공진기 내부에 있는 PWBG 파장 필터에 0 mW에서 100 mW의 전력을 인가해 주었을 때 레이저에서 발진하는 파장은 1548.24 nm에서 1531.95 nm까지 약 16.29 nm를 가변할 수 있었으며, 이 때 slope efficiency는 약 -0.16 nm/mW였다. 레이저 공진기 안의 편광을 적절하게 조절하면 모든 파장 가변 범위에서 35 dB 이상의 SMSR(side mode suppression ratio)을 얻을 수 있었다. 레이저 공진기 외부의 온도가 변화하면 발진하는 파장이 변하는 것을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 PWBG 파장 필터를 이용하여 안정된 파장 가변 레이저를 구현하기 위해서는 PWBG 파장 필터의 온도 안정화가 필요하며, 또한 편광에 대한 영향을 최소화하기 위해서는 레이저 공진기를 편광유지 광섬유로 구성해야 한다. We report the characteristics of a single-wavelength-tunable fiber laser using a polymer waveguide Bragg grating (PWBG) wavelength filter. The output of the laser depends on environmental conditions, such as temperature and polarization states in the laser cavity. Wavelength tuning can be achieved, about 16.29 nm from 1548.24 nm to 1531.95 nm, according to the electric power applied to the PWBG wavelength filter. The achieved efficiency slope is about -0.16 nm/mW. A side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of more than 35 dB can be obtained by adjusting the polarization state in the laser cavity. A stable wavelength-tunable fiber laser can be achieved using the PWBG wavelength filter with a TEC module and a polarization-maintaining fiber.

Dissipative Soliton Resonance in a Wavelength-Tunable Thulium-Doped Fiber Laser With Net-Normal Dispersion

We demonstrate an all-fiber figure-eight mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser with a wide tunable range in both pulsewidth and wavelength. A 45-m-long ultrahigh numerical aperture fiber is used to manage the cavity dispersion, and the net cavity dispersion is calculated to be 0.8585 ps 2 at 1900 nm. With net-normal dispersion, the experimental laser, operating in a dissipative soliton resonance region, generates stable rectangular pulses. The pulsewidth varies from 480 ps to 6.19 ns with the increasing pump power, and its center wavelength has a 28.95-nm tunable range (from 1940.22 to 1969.17 nm) by properly adjusting the polarization controllers. The maximum of average output power and pulse energy is 60.73 mW and 19.51 nJ, respectively. The rectangular pulses have a clamped peak power of about 3.16 W. The wavelength-tunable fiber laser with high-energy output operating at 2 μm has great potential in various application fields.

A wavelength-tunable fiber laser using a novel filter based on a compound interference effect

A wavelength-tunable erbium-doped fiber laser is proposed and experimentally demonstrated by using a novel filter which is formed from a 2 × 2 3 dB multimode coupler incorporating a segment of polarization maintaining fiber (PMF). By using the filter with 2.1 m lengths of PMF in a ring fiber laser, a stable single wavelength lasing is obtained experimentally. Its 3 dB bandwidth is less than 0.0147 nm and the side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) is higher than 58.91 dB. Experimental results demonstrate that mode competition can be effectively suppressed and the SMSR can be improved due to the compound interference effect aroused by the novel filter. Meanwhile the stability of the output lasing can be enhanced. By appropriately adjusting the polarization controllers (PCs), the output lasing wavelength can be tuned from 1563.51 to 1568.21 nm. This fiber laser has the advantage of a simple structure and stable operation at room temperature.

Pulsed Wavelength-Tunable Brillouin Fiber Laser Based on a Fourier-Domain Mode-Locking Source

In this work, a pulsed wavelength-tunable Brillouin fiber laser based on a Fourierdomain mode-locking (FDML) source with a repetition rate of 4.2 kHz is presented. The tunable Brillouin laser is formed by a fiber-ring cavity (for the Stokes signal amplification) within a primary fiber-ring cavity for generating an FDML signal. The primary cavity is formed by an erbium-doped fiber amplifier and a fiber Fabry-Perot filter (FFP-F) as the gain medium and the tunable optical bandpass filter, respectively. A spectral laser tuning range of 2.54 nm centered in 1531 nm was achieved by adjusting the offset voltage of the FFP-F, while a variation, from 0.282 to 0.462 nm, on the Brillouin linewidth of the laser was achieved by setting the amplitude of a modulation signal applied in the FFP-F. A laser pulsewidth of 6.50 μs was measured, and an output power of -7 dBm was achieved.

Broadband C-plus L-band CW wavelength-tunable fiber laser based on hybrid EDFA and SOA

In this demonstration, we propose and experimentally investigate a widely C+L band wavelength-tunable fiber ring laser in continuous-wave (CW) tuning based on a hybrid semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) in a serial scheme. When a hybrid first-stage SOA and second-stage EDFA is used inside ring cavity, the effectively amplification range can be extended from C-band to L-band. Here, the proposed laser features wide wavelength-tuning range, high output power, and high side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR). In addition, a tunable range over 91.5nm (from 1518.5 to 1610.0nm) has been achieved.

High stable single-polarization tunable fiber laser based on Opto-DMD processor and polarization-maintaining fiber devices

A high stable wavelength-tunable fiber laser is experimentally demonstrated by using a digital-micromirror-device (DMD) processor and a polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA).The electronic-addressed DMD processor is able to select and couple a waveband from of the polarization-maintaining EDFA back into the fiber ring to generate a narrow line-width laser output. The tunable fiber laser shows a line-width of 0.02 nm, a tuning step of 0.08 nm over the c-band and a side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) greater than 50 dB. The output power uniformity of 0.01 mW is achieved by using the automatic power control (APC) system under room temperature. The center wavelength fluctuation during 1 h is below 0.01 nm.

A wavelength-tunable fiber laser based on a twin-core fiber comb filter

A wavelength-tunable fiber laser based on a twin-core fiber (TCF) comb filter is proposed and demonstrated. The TCF comb filter is fabricated by splicing a 0.85m long TCF between two standard single mode fibers (SMFs) and with exhibits a good linear strain characteristic with a sensitivity of 1.23 pm/με. The wavelength of the laser can be linearly tuned from 1558.04nm to 1553.62nm by applying an axial strain to the TCF comb filter. The optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of the fiber laser reaches 45dB. The 3dB bandwidth is 0.02nm. The fluctuation of the laser peak in the output power and the wavelength is less than 0.5dB and within 0.05nm, respectively. The fiber laser has the advantages of having a simple structure and stable operation under room temperature.

Wavelength tunable high power laser using a double-clad Er:Yb doped fiber

We experimentally demonstrated a stable, wavelength-tunable fiber laser using a polarization-maintaining, double-clad Er:Yb doped fiber amplifier in the cavity. The output wavelength is tunable over the range from 1535 to 1567 nm using a fixed grating and the dichroic mirror placed on a rotational mount; under rotation of the dichroic mirror the tuning ratio of 50 nm/deg was found. We studied the wavelength tuning range dependence on the amplifier fiber length and achieved a maximal output power of 850 mW. This configuration can be Q-switched for high peak power and its narrow bandwidth is suitable for nonlinear optics applications, such as parametric teraherthz generator.

Output characteristics of wavelength tunable fiber lasers based on sampled Bragg gratings

A simulation model of the fiber DBR (distributed Bragg reflector) laser with two sampled Bragg gratings (SBGs) as reflectors is established, with which the characteristics of the laser are analyzed in detail. The analysis mainly focuses on the change of the laser output characteristics with the wavelength and reflectivity of the front and back sampled fiber gratings. Because of the multi-channel reflection of SBGs, the side mode of such laser is always very obvious. The method for improving the SMSR(side mode suppression ratio) is suggested. And the wavelength tuning mechanism is also studied. Experiment has been carried out to confirm the analysis.

Cost-effective tunable fiber laser based on self-seeded Fabry-Perot laser diode using a Sagnac loop reflector

We propose and demonstrate a simple configuration of wavelength-tunable fiber laser made up of a tunable band-pass filter, a Sagnac loop reflector, and a Fabry-Perot laser diode. Based on the self-seeded operation, the proposed fiber laser can obtain a single-longitudinal-mode output in the wavelength tuning range of 1544.69-1563.39 nm with tuning step of 1.34 nm. The performances of output power (>-9 dBm), optical side-mode suppression ratio (> 65.5 dB), and power and wavelength stabilities are well exhibited.