Characteristics of a wavelength-switching fiber laser source

The static and switching characteristics of a novel wavelength-switching fiber laser source for an optically controlled phased-array antenna (OCPAA) has been studied experimentally. The laser source was configured within a unidirectional ring cavity, with a tunable fiber Fabry-Perot filter, containing two sampled fiber Bragg gratings with a wavelength spacing of about 1.6 nm. It can individually scan the 25 required wavelengths in the fiber Bragg grating array in the OCPAA within 0.08 s. The switching speed, limited by relaxation oscillation, was analyzed. The polarization insensitivity of the ring cavity made the laser output at each wavelength very stable. Side-mode suppression ratios greater than 40 dB for each lasing wavelength were realized.