Alternate Multiwavelength Picosecond Pulse Generation by Use of an Unbalanced Mach–Zehnder Interferometer in a Mode-locked Fiber Ring Laser

A new laser architecture emitting alternate multiwavelength picosecond pulses at room temperature is proposed. The generation is based on a single active component, an unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometer, inserted in an actively mode-locked erbium-doped fiber ring laser to provide both intensity modulation and tunable filtering. Control of the emission is reached by inserting an additional modulator and a periodic filter in the cavity. We provide general insight into the operation of this type of laser by examining different regimes in simulations and experiments. Using this laser platform, we experimentally demonstrate the generation of three pulse trains at three different wavelengths at repetition rates of several gigahertz.