Switchable multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber lasers by using cascaded fiber Bragg gratings written in high birefringence fiber

• Published in: Optics communications Vol. 230; no. 4; pp. 313 - 317
• Main Authors: Chun-Liu, Zhao, Xiufeng, Yang, Chao, Lu, Hong, Ng Jun, Xin, Guo, Chaudhuri, Partha Roy, Xinyong, Dong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.02.2004; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Birefringence, polarization; Circuit properties; Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Fiber Bragg grating; Fiber lasers; Fiber optics; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); High-birefringence fiber; Integrated optics. Optical fibers and wave guides; Lasers; Multi-wavelength Erbium-doped fiber laser; Optical and optoelectronic circuits; Optics; Physics; Polarization hole burning; Wavelength switching; High-birefringence fiber; Polarization hole burning; Wavelength switching; Fiber Bragg grating; 42.55.w; 42.81.−i; Multi-wavelength Erbium-doped fiber laser; Optical fibers; Bragg gratings; Optical switching; Doping; Hole burning; Birefringence; Experimental device; Experimental study; Erbium additions; Fiber lasers
• ISSN: 0030-4018; 1873-0310
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optcom.2003.11.046

A novel and simple Erbium-doped fiber laser by using cascaded fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) written in high-birefringence fibers for switchable multi-wavelength operation is proposed. Due to two-peak reflection with orthogonal polarizations of the FBG, the polarization hole-burning effect in the cavity is greatly enhanced. Experimental results show that the stable dual- and three-wavelength lasing operation with very narrow wavelength separation (∼0.39 nm) can be generated at room temperature. The configuration is simple and flexible. Only by adjusting polarization controllers (PCs), the laser can be switched among the stable single-, dual- and three-wavelength lasing operations.