Widely tunable L-band erbium-doped fiber laser with fiber Bragg gratings based on optical bistability

We propose and demonstrate a mechanism to widely tune L-band erbium-doped fiber lasers with ordinary commercial tunable fiber Bragg gratings. The function is based on the dual-wavelength bistability in linear overlapping laser cavities. The laser may be switched between two wavelengths located, respectively, in the short- and long-wavelength regions of the L-band by triggering the pump with a typical switching time of about 11 ms. The two wavelengths can be independently tuned to give the laser a total tuning range of 33 nm and an output dynamic range of 7 dB. Nearly constant output powers with high optical signal-to-noise ratios are achieved across the whole tuning range.