Tunable multiwavelength fiber ring lasers using a programmable high-birefringence fiber loop mirror

We demonstrate a comb filter with digitally tunable wavelength spacing using a programmable high-birefringence (HiBi) fiber loop mirror (FLM). We then use the HiBi-FLM to implement a tunable multiwavelength semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based fiber ring laser and a tunable multiwavelength all-fiber Raman ring laser. Both lasers exhibit stable room-temperature operation and have a wavelength spacing that is digitally tunable between 1.6 and 3.2 nm. With the SOA-based configuration, we obtain six wavelengths with a spacing of 3.2 nm and 11 wavelengths with a spacing of 1.6 nm; with the all-fiber Raman-based configuration, we obtain four wavelengths with a spacing of 3.2 nm and five wavelengths with a spacing of 1.6 nm.