Switchable multi-wavelength Tm-doped mode-locked fiber laser

We propose and demonstrate for the first time a switchable tri-wavelength Tm-doped ultra-fast fiber laser based on nonlinear polarization evolution (NPE) technique. The NPE effect induces wavelength-dependent loss in the cavity that changes the homogeneous broadening of the effective gain to become inhomogeneous. This inhomogeneous effective gain spectral profile enables the multi-wavelength mode locking. Binary control of three bits can be realized by controlling the polarization in the compact fiber ring cavity. Such switchable laser has potential applications in optical signal processing and communication.