Open AccessErbium-Doped Fiber Laser With a Microfiber Coupled to Silica Microsphere
Author(s) -
A. Sulaiman,
S. W. Harun,
H. Ahmad
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
ieee photonics journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1943-0655
pISSN - 1943-0647
DOI - 10.1109/jphot.2012.2204238
Subject(s) - engineered materials, dielectrics and plasmas , photonics and electrooptics
A compact erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) is demonstrated using a piece of 1.5-m-long erbium-doped fiber (EDF) with a microfiber coupled to a silica microsphere at the output end. A stable laser output is achieved due to the recirculation of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) light inside the linear cavity and the incorporation of microsphere which serves as both a laser filtering element and a mirror. The laser operates at 1533.5 nm with a peak power of 7.7 dBm and an optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of around 24.4 dB with 980 nm pumping of 100 mW and a sphere diameter of 137 μm. The operating wavelength can be tuned down from 1533.4 to 1531.24 nm by changing the sphere diameter from 108.3 to 190.0 μm. The highest Q-factor of 12760 is obtained at the smallest sphere diameter of 108.3 μm.