Theoretical study on instantaneous linewidth of Fourier-domain mode-locked fiber lasers

Abstract We have numerically simulated the operation of the Fourier-domain mode-locked (FDML) fiber laser based on the wavelength reconstruction method instead of numerical solving the nonlinear Schrodinger equation. We studied the influences of the filter bandwidth and the relative time delay caused by the fiber chromatic dispersion on the instantaneous linewidth of the FDML fiber laser. The results show that the instantaneous linewidth broadens as the filter bandwidth and the relative time delay increase. When the filter has the bandwidth of 0.02 nm, the narrowest and broadest instantaneous linewidths are 0.024 and 0.042 nm, respectively. We give an understanding for the oscillation of the instantaneous linewidth of FDML. The presented result can be used to evaluate the performance achievable in the FDML fiber lasers.