Intra-pulse Raman frequency shift versus conventional Stokes generation of diode laser pulses in optical fibers

We report experimental observations of stimulated Raman scattering in a standard fiber using a directly modulated DFB semiconductor laser amplified by two erbium-doped fibers. The laser pulse width was variably controlled on a nanosecond-scale; the laser emission was separated into two distinct regimes: an initial transient peak regime, followed by a quasi steady-state plateau regime. The transient leading part of the pump pulse containing fast amplitude modulation generated a broadband Raman-induced spectral shift through the modulation instability and subsequent intra-pulse Raman frequency shift. The plateau regime amplified the conventional Stokes shifted emission expected from the peaks of the gain distribution. The output signal spectrum at the end of a 9.13 km length of fiber for the transient part extends from 1550 nm to 1700 nm for a pump pulse peak power of 65 W. We found that the Raman-induced spectral shift is measurable about 8 W for every fiber length examined, 0.6 km, 4.46 km, and 9.13 km. All spectral components of the broadband scattering appear to be generated in the initial kilometer of the fiber span. The Stokes shifted light generation threshold was higher than the threshold for the intra-pulse Raman-induced broadened spectra. This fact enables the nonlinear spectral filtering of pulses from directly modulated semiconductor lasers.