Ytterbium Fiber Laser Based on a Three Beam Optical Path Mach–Zehnder Interferometer

In this letter, a switchable ytterbium doped double cladding photonic crystal fiber (Yb-doped-DCPCF) laser based on a three optical path Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is presented. Here, the MZI with three-beam path was achieved by fusion splicing a segment of an Yb-doped-DCPCF between two pieces of single mode fibers. Moreover, in the proposed laser arrangement, the Yb-doped-DCPCF segment is acting simultaneously as the MZI and also as the gain medium. This laser can be switched to emit a single or double line by controlling the polarization state and it operates within the range from 1028 to 1033 nm. In addition, the laser emission has a linewidth of 0.07 nm and a single-mode suppression ratio of 40 dB. Finally, it is shown that the fiber laser arrangement is compact and robust and that requires a relativity simple fabrication procedure.