Widely tunable/wavelength-swept SLM fiber laser with ultra-narrow linewidth and ultra-high OSNR

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate a novel single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) capable of operating at fixed-wavelength lasing mode with a tunable range more than 54 nm, an ultra-narrow linewidth of 473 Hz and an ultra-high optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) more than 72 dB, or operating at wavelength-swept mode with tunable sweep rate of 10—200 Hz and a sweep range more than 50 nm. The excellent features mainly benefit from a triple-ring subring cavity constructed by three optical couplers nested one another and a fiber Fabry-Pérot tunable filter which can be driven by a constant voltage or a periodic sweep voltage for fixed or wavelength- swept operation, respectively. The proposed EDFL has potential applications in high-resolution spectroscopy and fiber optic sensing.