A 24-channel wavelength-selectable Er-fiber ring laser with intracavity waveguide-grating-router and semiconductor Fabry-Perot filter

We present an Er-doped fiber ring laser that operates with a single wavelength, which is selectable from any channel wavelength of a 24-channel silica waveguide grating router. A semiconductor Fabry-Perot optical amplifier is used as an intracavity narrow-band filter to stabilize laser oscillation in a single axial mode. We show by experiment and a theoretical model that the long cavity mode buildup time of the Er-fiber laser and multiple passes through the intracavity filter can effectively stabilize the laser output in a single mode. An electroabsorption modulator is used to modulate the laser output at a selected wavelength. Error-free performance is demonstrated, we believe for the first time, for a waveguide grating router fiber laser at 5 Gb/s.