Tunable multiwavelength mode-locked Tm/Ho-doped fiber laser based on a nonlinear amplified loop mirror

We propose and demonstrate a tunable multiwavelength mode-locked Tm/Ho-doped fiber laser based on a nonlinear amplified loop mirror (NALM). Without using polarization-maintaining fiber, only passive fibers with low birefringence were inserted into the NALM to help overcome mode competition and realize mode-locking. The spacing between adjacent channels was measured to be ∼6 nm. By adjusting the polarization controllers (PCs) to an appropriate position, self-started mode-locking was achieved, which further overcame the mode competition in the fiber laser. A multiwavelength mode-locked fiber laser with at least three available channels were tunable in the widest range of 30 nm (from 1935 to 1965 nm) with a 3 dB channel bandwidth of ∼1.6 nm. This multiwavelength mode-locked fiber laser is quite stable with the maximum peak fluctuation within 0.47 dB in long-term observations.