Tunable self-excited multiwavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber laser based on a variable temperature sensor

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate a tunable self-excited multiwavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber laser based on a novel in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer sensor (NMZIS) with variable temperature. The configuration of the NMZIS is a section of uncoated single-mode fiber sandwiched between an up-taper and multimode fiber. With the temperature changing from 30 °C to 90 °C, the transmission spectrum of the NMZIS shifts towards longer wavelengths. By embedding the NMZIS to act as a fiber filter in the ring cavity, the wavelength of the output multiwavelength comb is tuned from 1552.35 to 1564.48 nm. The corresponding generation of 21 Brillouin-Stokes lines with 25 dB optical signal-to-noise ratio is achieved.