Power-stabilized tunable narrow-band source using a VCSEL and an EDFA for FBG sensor interrogation

Wavelength tuning with a current of a long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) was studied for application to wavelength readout of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. 1.5 mu m single-longitudinal-mode VCSELs with a spectral line width of 30 MHz were used. To decrease the variation in the output power with the current, saturated amplification of the VCSEL output by an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) was proposed. In the experiment, the wavelength readout of an FBG by variation in the VCSEL current was studied first, and then amplification characteristics using a commercially available EDFA module were measured. Two VCSELs with different wavelengths and tuning ranges were used as input and compared. For a VCSEL with a wavelength tuning range of 2.5 nm, there was a threefold change in the VCSEL output power. However, the variation in the amplified output power was within +/- 14%. For another VCSEL with a wavelength tuning range of 3.9 nm, the variation in the amplified output power was within +/- 18% for variation in the VCSEL output power by 2.2 times. The power slope with respect to the wavelength was also decreased by the stabilization. Computer simulation was performed to study the wavelength shift in the measured Bragg wavelength induced by the power slope. The simulation showed that the wavelength shift can be reduced to 1/2.5-1/5 by the stabilization compared with that using a single VCSEL. Application to long-period grating sensors was also discussed.