Switchable dual-wavelength fiber lasers based on a semiconductor optical amplifier and a polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating

Switchable dual-wavelength fiber lasers with orthogonal po- larizations, based on the semiconductor optical amplifier at room tem- perature, are proposed. One polarization-maintaining fiber Bragg grating PMFBG is used as the wavelength-selective filter in three different la- ser configurations. Owing to the polarization-dependent loss of the PM- FBG, the laser can be designed to operate in stable dual-wavelength or wavelength-switching modes with a wavelength spacing of 0.336 nm at room temperature by adjusting a polarization controller in each laser configuration. The amplitude variation over nearly half an hour is less than 0.1 dB for both wavelengths in each laser configuration, which is more stable than that of erbium-doped fiber lasers with similar configuration. © 2009 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. DOI: 10.1117/1.3090436