Wavelength-tunable linear-cavity passively mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser based on volume Bragg grating

Abstract

The linear-cavity all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped fiber laser based on semiconductor saturable absorber mirror and reflection type volume Bragg grating (VBG) is demonstrated. A passively mode-locked pulse stable output with a 0.32 nm spectral bandwidth, a 10.2 mW maximum average output power, a single pulse energy of 0.63 nJ and a 16.42 MHz repetition rate is achieved, when the central wavelength of pulse is 1030 nm. The central wavelength of the pulse can be tuned approximately from 1011.9 nm to 1050.6 nm by the spectral separation and mode selection effect of VBG with a tuning range of 38.7 nm at room temperature. Q-switched, second harmonic mode-locked, simultaneous dual wavelength and triple wavelength output are observed. This mode-locked fiber laser can be used as the optical source in wave division multiplexing optical time division multiplexing communication system and optical source of optical coherence tomography due to its tunable wavelength.