Abstract
We demonstrate a new planar lightwave circuit (PLC)-based device, integrated with a 980/1550 wavelength division multiplexer, an evanescent-field-interaction-based saturable absorber, and an output tap coupler, which can be employed as a multi-functional element in mode-locked fiber lasers. Using this multi-functional PLC device, we demonstrate a simple, robust, low-noise, and polarization-maintaining mode-locked Er-fiber laser. The measured full-width at half-maximum bandwidth is 6 nm centered at 1555 nm, corresponding to 217 fs transform-limited pulse duration. The measured RIN and timing jitter are 0.22% [10 Hz–10 MHz] and 6.6 fs [10 kHz–1 MHz], respectively. Our results show that the non-gain section of mode-locked fiber lasers can be easily implemented as a single PLC chip that can be manufactured by a wafer-scale fabrication process. The use of PLC processes in mode-locked lasers has the potential for higher manufacturability of low-cost and robust fiber and waveguide lasers.
© 2017 Optical Society of America
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