Polarization-maintaining erbium doped photonic crystal fiber laser

Abstract

A polarization maintaining erbium-doped photonic crystal fiber laser (PM-Er-PCF), is presented. The laser operates in a ring cavity in the near infrared wavelength range. We believe that it is the first report of the successful realization of a polarization maintaining erbium-doped photonic crystal fiber laser. Single-wavelength and multiwavelength operation of the developed fibre laser was observed. Experimental results show that the laser operates with good output parameter stability over a period of one hour and exhibits a 37 dB signal-to-noise-ratio. We present a detailed description of the design process and of the experimental characterization and validation for the PM-Er-PCF. We also analyze the impact of the photonic crystal structure on the laser parameters.