Single longitudinal mode laser generation using coupled microfiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer filter

• Main Authors: Ahmad, Harith, Thambiratnan, K., Faruki, Md Jahid, Azzuhri, Saaidal Razalli
• Format: Article
• Published: IOP Publishing 2018
• Subjects: Q Science (General); QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science; QC Physics
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/22669/; https://doi.org/10.1088/1555-6611/aac1ae
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

The fabrication and operation of a single longitudinal mode (SLM) laser using a compact coupled microfiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (CM-MZI) in an erbium doped fiber (EDF) laser cavity is demonstrated. The CM-MZI is created by first fabricating an optical microfiber using the flame-brushing technique before being cut and rejoined to form a half-loop, which is the basis for the CM-MZI structure. The CM-MZI is inserted into an EDF laser cavity; the filtering effect of the CM-MZI induces a stable SLM lasing output with a consistent 3 dB bandwidth of 0.02 nm at different a pumping power and signal-to-noise ratio of ∼50 dB. The output also exhibits minimal wavelength and power fluctuations of 0.02 nm and 0.15 dB, respectively, over a time period of 60 min.