Switchable and tuneable multi-wavelength ER-doped fibre ring laser using sagnac filters¹

We demonstrate experimentally a simple configuration to perform wavelength-tuning and multi-wavelength operation in a fibre ring laser that is composed of an Erbium-doped fibre and includes a fibre-optic Sagnac interferometer as a spectral filter. We consider three different Sagnac filters including...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: BALDEMAR IBARRA ESCAMILLA, EVGENY KUZIN
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2010
Country:México
Institution:Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica
Repository:Repositorio Institucional del INAOE
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:inaoe.repositorioinstitucional.mx:1009/1411
Online Access:http://inaoe.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/handle/1009/1411
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/Sagnac interferometer
info:eu-repo/classification/Inspec/Erbium-doped fibre
info:eu-repo/classification/cti/1
info:eu-repo/classification/cti/22
info:eu-repo/classification/cti/2209
Description
Summary:We demonstrate experimentally a simple configuration to perform wavelength-tuning and multi-wavelength operation in a fibre ring laser that is composed of an Erbium-doped fibre and includes a fibre-optic Sagnac interferometer as a spectral filter. We consider three different Sagnac filters including a 3 dB coupler, two wave retarders (WRs) and respectively 7 cm, 1 and 7 m of high birefringence fibre. The transmission spectrum of each filter is sinusoidal with a 70, 6, and 0.85 nm period, and its maxima can be shifted over one period by adjusting the angle of the retarders in the loop. By adjusting the WRs included in the filter and in the laser ring, tuneable single wavelength and several two- or three- wavelength lasing regimes were observed. In particular, fine adjustments of the WRs allow observing two- and three- wavelength operation with wavelength separations well below the homogeneous bandwidth of the gain medium. The stability of these modes of operation however strongly depends on environmental conditions at room temperature.