In this work we review the most recent results obtained by our group on miniaturized diode-pumped Er-Yb:glass lasers of potential interest for optical communication applications. In single frequency operation we achieved output powers larger than 25 mW using a 200-micrometers length microchip laser and in excess of 100 mW, with a large tunability over the wavelength range between 1528 nm and 1564 nm, using a 5-mm length resonator containing an intracavity 50-micrometers thick Polarcor etalon. The Er-Yb microlaser has been locked and frequency stabilized at a level better than 1 X 10^-9 to C₂H₂ and ¹³C₂H₂ absorption lines in the wavelength range from 1530 nm to 1550 nm, to built a narrow-linewidth absolute frequency reference in this spectral region suitable for WDM applications. A 30-dB suppression of the intensity noise peak at the relaxation oscillation frequency has been obtained and a relative intensity noise level of less than -160 dB/Hz at frequencies higher than 20 MHz is expected. In pulsed operation regime, picosecond pulse trains with repetition rate up to 10 GHz have been generated by either the FM mode-locking and a novel technique based on frequency modulation operation of the laser followed by external spectral filtering of the optical field, able to produce transform-limited single and dual-wavelength pulse trains particularly suitable for soliton transmission.

Date Published: 1 April 1999
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 3622, Rare-Earth-Doped Materials and Devices III, (1 April 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.344495

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3622:
Rare-Earth-Doped Materials and Devices III
Shibin Jiang; Seppo Honkanen, Editor(s)