A standard fiber-based loop mirror as a gain-flattening filter for erbium-doped fiber amplifiers

We report flattening of the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectrum from an erbium-doped fiber (EDF) using a standard fiber-based loop mirror (FLM), realized with an "over-coupled" fiber coupler. Through simulation, a bend-induced birefringent FLM as a gain-flattening filter is designed. Subsequently, an over-coupled coupler with a free spectral range of 140 nm is fabricated to realize the FLM, which is integrated to an EDF that is pumped by a 980-nm laser diode. By introducing an appropriate amount of bend-induced birefringence in the loop, the ASE spectrum of the EDF could be flattened within +/- 0.5 dB over a wavelength range of 32 nm in the C-band.