Flatness enhancement of multi-wavelength Brillouin-Raman fiber laser with 10 GHz spacing utilizing Raman pump power distribution

Opt Express. 2023 Jul 31;31(16):26167-26177. doi: 10.1364/OE.496936.

Abstract

A simple high flat amplitude multi-wavelength Brillouin-Raman fibre laser (MBRFL) with 10 GHz spacing and excellent optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) in C-Band spectral region is demonstrated. The laser consists of a linear cavity in which 12 km dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) in addition to 49 cm Bismuth-oxide Erbium doped fiber (Bi-EDF) are employed as a gain medium for amplification. The impact of Raman pump power distribution through changes in coupling ratio on amplitude flatness is carried out by comparing the peak power discrepancy between odd- and even-order Brillouin Stoke lines. This is the main property that allows the efficient controlling of gain propagation between lasing lines that is vital for Stokes flattening initiation and other output spectra characteristics. The attainment of MBRFL with outstanding OSNR necessitates the utilizing of Bi-EDF as a noise suppressor. By utilizing a 50/50 coupler, 354 identical channels together with uniform Brillouin Stokes linewidth within only 0.3-dB maximum power difference between adjacent channels is generated. The average OSNR and Stokes power are 28 dB and -5 dBm respectively when the RPP is set at 1300 mW. To date, this is the highest flatness 10 GHz spacing MBRFL with outstanding OSNR attained in MBRFL that incorporate only a single Raman pump unit.