Optical carrier-suppression technique with a Brillouin-erbium fiber laser

We demonstrate a new concept in optical carrier control that uses a simple arrangement based on a hybrid Brillouin-erbium fiber laser. The system offers precise tunable control of the optical carrier amplitude independently of the characteristics of the transmitter or the optical modulation format, As much as 55 dB of carrier attenuation is demonstrated, which to our knowledge is the highest reported attenuation for a carrier-suppression system. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 060.4080, 060.2330, 060.4370.