Multi-wavelength SOA fiber laser with ultra-narrow wavelength spacing based on NPR effect

A multi-wavelength semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) fiber laser with ultra-narrow wavelength spacing is experimentally demonstrated in this paper. The SOA is used as the primary gain medium due to its inhomogeneous broadening and nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) effect that allows to achieve stable multi-wavelength output with ultra-narrow wavelength spacing. The combination of PC (polarization controller)-SOA-PC-polarizer and nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) serve as the intensity equalizer for inducing IDL to suppress mode competition effect furtherly, while the NOLM mainly achieves power equalization and improve SMSR in this laser. The Lyot-Sagnac loop mirror is designed to realize different channel spacing, when the length of PMF is 71 m, stable multi-wavelength output has been achieved at room temperature. The number of lasing lines is up to 184 with wavelength spacing of 0.08 nm within 10 dB bandwidth from 1549.75 nm to 1664.25 nm, and all peaks experience some minor power fluctuation, and the maximum value is about 5 dB. The side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) is about up to 22 dB. Moreover, the maximum value of optical signal-to-noise ratios (OSNR) is 10.7 dB.