Versatile wavelength tunable noise-like pulse generation from an erbium doped fiber laser using an intra-cavity Michelson interferometer

Abstract

Abstract We report, versatile wavelength tunable mode locked noise-like pulses (NLP) from an erbium doped fiber ring laser, using a novel intra-cavity Michelson interferometer (MI) as a tunable filter. Our results demonstrate independent control of the central wavelength and the bandwidth using fine and coarse controls in one arm of the MI. The central wavelength is continuously tunable across the entire C-band (1530 nm to 1566 nm), while the bandwidth can be varied from 3 nm to 19.5 nm. The NLPs have a repetition rate of 1.307 MHz with pulse energies of ∼1 nJ. Additionally, harmonic mode-locked states and NLP pairs can also be produced using the same laser. On account of the adaptable output spectrum, we believe, such lasers will be useful for a variety of applications including sensing, spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography. The MI-based fiber laser can also serve as an ideal platform for gaining insight and exploring the rich dynamics of NLPs.