ALL-FIBER WAVELENGTH SWITCHABLE THULIUM DOPED FIBER LASERS INCORPORATING AN ARRAYED WAVEGUIDE GRATING

Abstract

We demonstrate an all-fiber wavelength switchable Thulium-doped fiber laser (TDFL) incorporating an arrayed wavelength grating (AWG) as the tuning element. The AWG consists of 16 switchable channels with approximately 0.96 nm inter-channel wavelength spacing. By switching the AWG channels using an optical channel selector (OSC), this setup is capable of generating 16 different wavelengths ranging from 1874.47 nm to 1888.92 nm with an average output power of 4.56 dBm. Narrow linewidth laser output is achieved with an average 3 dB bandwidth of approximately 0.06 nm. Measurement of side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) gives a value of between 57.32 dB and 60.18 dB, with a low variation of only 2.86 dB across the wavelength range, indicating a good stability and high quality of the laser output.