Intensity Equalization of Bidirectional Fiber Laser Based on a Non-Reciprocal Optical Attenuator

Abstract

The application of a bidirectional laser requires the laser intensity in both directions to be balanced. However, the CW and CCW light intensities in current bidirectional erbium-doped fiber laser experiments differ due to the gain competition effect. There is no report on equalizing the intensity in the CW and CCW directions. This paper proposes a bidirectional non-reciprocal optical attenuator using the Faraday optical rotation effect. Continuous attenuation adjustment is realized by changing the angle between the polarizer’s transmission axis and the linear polarized light. In this study, we analyzed the influence of different parameters on the device’s performance, built a non-reciprocal attenuator, and tested the bidirectional attenuation curve, which was consistent with the simulation results. The device was integrated into a bidirectional fiber laser, and the light intensity in both directions was balanced through non-reciprocal adjustment. Combined with closed-loop control, the average intensity difference fluctuation between the two directions was controlled at 0.28% relative to the average power, realizing stable long-term bidirectional fiber laser intensity equalization.

Fiber laser cavity with dynamically transformable topology for switchable bidirectional pulse generation

“…Moreover, in practice, such control is not strictly deterministic (especially for pulsed lasing regimes), and is not environmentally stable. Recently proposed non-reciprocal optical attenuator [13] for bidirectional fiber lasers can in principle provide more accurate and independent control of lasing conditions in both directions. However, it is built of discrete bulk optics and requires manual control and adjustment.…”