All-fiber tunable MMI fiber laser

J. E. Antonio-Lopez; A. Castillo-Guzman; D. A. May-Arrioja; R. Selvas-Aguilar; P. LiKamWa

doi:10.1117/12.819078

28 April 2009 All-fiber tunable MMI fiber laser

J. E. Antonio-Lopez, A. Castillo-Guzman, D. A. May-Arrioja, R. Selvas-Aguilar, P. LiKamWa

Proceedings Volume 7339, Enabling Photonics Technologies for Defense, Security, and Aerospace Applications V; 73390Q (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.819078
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2009, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

We report on a novel tuning mechanism to fabricate an all-fiber tunable laser based on multimode interference (MMI) effects. It is well known that the wavelength response of MMI devices exhibits a linear dependence when the length of the multimode fiber (MMF) section. Therefore, tuning in the MMI filter is achieved using a ferrule (capillary tube of 127 μm diameter) filled with a liquid with a higher refractive index than that of the ferrule, which creates a variable liquid MMF. This liquid MMF is used to increase the effective length of the MMI filter and tuning takes place. Using this simple scheme, a tuning range of 30 nm was easily achieved, with very small insertion losses. The filter was tested within a typical Erbium doped fiber (EDF) ring laser cavity, and a tunable EDF laser covering the full C-band was demonstrated. The advantage of our laser is of course the simplicity of the tunable MMI filter, which results in an inexpensive tunable fiber laser.

Citation Download Citation

J. E. Antonio-Lopez, A. Castillo-Guzman, D. A. May-Arrioja, R. Selvas-Aguilar, and P. LiKamWa "All-fiber tunable MMI fiber laser", Proc. SPIE 7339, Enabling Photonics Technologies for Defense, Security, and Aerospace Applications V, 73390Q (28 April 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.819078

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available