Multiwavelength Mode-Locked Fiber-Ring Laser Based on Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

An active multiwavelength mode-locked fiber ring laser is demonstrated by exploiting cross-gain modulation in a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier. A length of dispersion-compensation fiber is incorporated in the ring cavity to enhance the multiwavelength performance. Simultaneous tunable triple-wavelength mode-locking is implemented with the pulse repetition of 10 GHz and wavelength spacing of 1.12 nm. The results provide an effective approach to fulfill all-optical clock recovery and data pattern conversion in multiwavelength for future optical communication systems.