Multiwavelength Random Fiber Laser Using Dual Bidirectional Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers and PMF-based Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

• Main Authors: Lah A.A.A., Sulaiman A.H., Aliza H.E.M., Yusoff N.M., Ambran S., David A.P., Salleh M.S.
• Other Authors: 57202646424
• Format: Conference Paper
• Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2024
• Subjects: Mach-Zehnder interferometer; multiwavelength fiber laser; random fiber laser; semiconductor optical amplifier; Fiber amplifiers; Mach-Zehnder interferometers; Optical switches; Polarization; Polarization-maintaining fiber; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Single mode fibers; Bidirectional semiconductor optical amplifiers; Extinction ratios; Lasing lines; Multi wavelength fiber laser; Multiwavelength; Peak power; Polarization controllers; Polarization maintaining fibre; Random fiber laser; Random fibers; Fiber lasers

A multiwavelength random fiber laser (MWRFL) is successfully demonstrated for the first time from random distributed feedback generated by a spool of single-mode fiber (SMF) and using two semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) in bidirectional configuration together with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) based on polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) in a ring cavity. The generated MWRFL has an 80 mA lasing threshold with a slope efficiency of 1.24%. The lasing peak power is -19.1 dBm with an extinction ratio (ER) of 11.6 dB. The MWRFL produced 50 lasing lines within a lasing flatness of 3 dB bandwidth with a channel spacing of 0.22 nm. The MWRFL performance can be increased or decreased by tuning the polarization controller (PC) plate angle, resulting in a variation of the number of lasing lines and ER value. With proper PC plate tuning, the ER value can be increased by up to 61%. The MWRFL has high stability with peak power deviations of 1.2 dB and wavelength fluctuations of 0.4 nm in 120 minutes. � 2023 IEEE.