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High-sensitivity mode interferometer enabled precisely tunable and switchable thulium-doped fiber laser
Optics Express
|November 11, 2025
Summary
This study presents a stable, tunable fiber laser using a novel curvature sensor. The laser offers precise control over multiple wavelengths, ideal for advanced optical applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Fiber Laser Technology
- Sensing and Measurement
Background:
- Multi-wavelength fiber lasers are crucial for various applications.
- Existing tuning mechanisms often lack precision and stability.
- Thulium-doped fiber lasers (TDFLs) offer unique spectral properties in the 2-μm band.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a highly stable, precisely controlled, tunable, and switchable multi-wavelength thulium-doped fiber laser (TDFL).
- To utilize a novel high-curvature-sensitivity interferometer as a bending-actuated tuning element for the 2-μm band.
- To demonstrate versatile multi-wavelength operation and high tuning accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a fiber optic curvature sensor using single-mode fiber (SMF) and no-core fiber (NCF) in an SMF-NCF-SMF-NCF-SMF (SNSNS) structure.
- Experimental analysis of the sensor's self-imaging properties and curvature sensitivity using the beam propagation method.
- Integration of the SNSNS sensor into a TDFL cavity for bending-actuated wavelength tuning and multi-wavelength switching.
Main Results:
- Achieved a curvature sensitivity of 13.43 nm/m-1 with the SNSNS sensor.
- Demonstrated precise and continuous tuning of seventeen distinct lasing channels with a 0.33 nm interval by bending the sensor.
- Observed high stability with wavelength shifts < 0.02 nm and power fluctuations < 0.36 dB over 50 minutes without environmental control.
- Successfully switched between single, dual, and triple-wavelength lasing states by adjusting pump power and polarization.
- Confirmed excellent tuning accuracy with a standard deviation below 0.12 nm for output and transmission wavelengths.
Conclusions:
- The proposed TDFL system offers robust, flexible, and high-precision multi-wavelength operation.
- The novel bending-actuated SNSNS interferometer serves as an effective tuning element for 2-μm band fiber lasers.
- This research provides a promising platform for advanced optical sensing and communication systems.
