OPTIMIZATION OF WAVELENGTH TUNING OF ERBIUM-DOPED FIBER RING LASERS

The dynamics of erbium-doped fiber ring lasers undergoing wavelength t uning is examined, The relaxation oscillations and mode build-up time are characterized. An all-optical damping technique which is capable o f complete elimination of relaxation oscillations is analyzed, and mea surements on a tunable erbium-doped fiber lasers are reported, An anal ytical solution is derived for the mode build-up time of tunable fiber lasers, Limiting parameters for the design of a high-speed tunable fi ber laser are identified, An equalization technique for obtaining unif orm switching speed is described.