Lasing-wavelength switchable multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser based on a nonlinear optical loop mirror with a photonic crystal fiber

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a lasing-wavelength selective multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser based on a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating incorporating a nonlinear optical circulating loop. In order to stabilize the multiwavelength output at room temperature, a nonlinear optical circulating loop based on a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber is employed. The multiwavelength operation can be realized by using a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating. The number of resonant peaks can be determined by the number of phase-shifted segments. The high quality of the multiwavelength output with a high extinction ratio of ~45 dB and high output flatness of ~0.3 dB is realized. The switching performance to provide lasing-wavelength selectivity can be realized by the nonlinear polarization rotation based on the nonlinear optical loop mirror. The lasing wavelength can be switched individually by controlling the polarization controller and the cavity loss.