Wavelength-switchable Multiwavelength Erbium-doped Fiber Laser Based on a D-shaped Fiber with a Photoresist Thin-film Overlay

A wavelength-switchable multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser based on a D-shaped fiber with a photoresist (PR) thin-film overlay is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The D-shaped fiber with a PR thin-film overlay is implemented as a multichannel filter. Based on the evanescent field coupling between the D-shaped fiber and the PR thin-film overlay, periodic transmission characteristics are obtained. The wavelength spacing of the D-shaped fiber with the PR thin-film overlay is controlled by changing the thickness and the refractive index of the PR thin-film overlay. By inserting the proposed multichannel filter into an EDF ring laser, a multiwavelength EDF laser is achieved. The homogenous line broadening of erbium ions for the realization of stable operation of the multiwavelength EDF ring laser is suppressed by using a nonlinear polarization rotation. A high-quality multiwavelength output with a high extinction ratio of similar to 0 dB is realized. The output fluctuation of the proposed multiwavelength EDF ring laser is measured to be less than 0.3 dB. Since the transmission characteristics of the proposed multichannel filter are controlled by using two orthogonal input polarization states, multiwavelength lasing outputs are switched.