A 24-CHANNEL WAVELENGTH-SELECTABLE ER-FIBER RING LASER WITH INTRACAVITY WAVE-GUIDE-GRATING-ROUTER AND SEMICONDUCTOR FABRY-PEROT FILTER

We present an Er-doped fiber ring laser that operates with a single wa velength, which is selectable from any channel wavelength of a 24-chan nel silica waveguide grating router. A semiconductor Fabry-Perot optic al amplifier is used as an intracavity narrow-band filter to stabilize laser oscillation in a single axial mode. We show by experiment and a theoretical model that the long cavity mode buildup time of the Er-fi ber laser and multiple passes through the intracavity filter can effec tively stabilize the laser output in a single mode. An electroabsorpti on modulator is used to modulate the laser output at a selected wavele ngth. Error-free performance is demonstrated, we believe for the first time, for a waveguide grating router fiber laser at 5 Gb/s.