Multiwavelength actively mode-locked fiber ring laser with suppressed homogeneous line broadening and reduced...

Homogeneous line broadening suppression and supermode noise reduction in a multiwavelength actively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber ring laser are investigated. By incorporating a semiconductor optical amplifier that is biased to operate just above the transparent point, the gain spectral hole burning of the erbium-doped fiber ring laser is effectively suppressed and the supermode noise is significantly reduced. Active mode locking of 8 wavelengths at room temperature with improved noise figure is demonstrated.