Active mode-locking of an erbium-doped fiber laser using an ultrafast silicon-based variable optical attenuator

This paper presents the use of an ultrafast Si-based variable optical attenuator (VOA) in the active mode-locking of an erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser. The Si VOA is a low-cost, commercially-available telecommunication component based on a p-i-n diode integrated with a ridge waveguide. The feasibility of using this compact and ultrafast Si-based VOA for the fiber laser mode-locking has been investigated. Using the weak beam modulation within an EDF ring cavity through the use of a 1.94-V driven Si-based VOA, a fundamental mode-locking at ∼14:1 MHz was successfully achieved. The temporal width and optical power of the output pulses were ∼169 ps and ∼-6 dBm, respectively.