FREQUENCY PULLING IN A BRILLOUIN FIBER RING LASER

The lasing frequencies of a Brillouin fiber ring laser are shifted sli ghtly from the resonant frequencies of the cold fiber ring resonator d ue to the optical Kerr effect and the nonlinear phase shift associated with stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) used as the gain mechanism in this type of laser. These frequency pulling effects are investigat ed in detail both theoretically and experimentally. The results of thi s study are useful in many Brillouin fiber ring laser applications suc h as Brillouin fiber optic gyroscopes, microwave generators, and frequ ency shifters. To the authors' knowledge this is the first time the fr equency pulling effect caused by the nonlinear phase shift associated with SBS is reported.