Investigation of dynamic properties of erbium fiber laser for ultrasonic sensing

Dynamic properties of an erbium fiber laser (EFL) is researched and demonstrated for ultrasonic sensing in this research. The EFL has ring cavity incorporated with a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating. A numerical model is used to analyze its dynamic responses to quasi-static change, continuous wave and burst wave. The ultrasonic behavior of the EFL resembles the forced single degree of freedom vibration with damping. Corresponding experimental results fit the simulation results well, showing some interesting ultrasonic properties of this EFL. After certain data process method, this EFL can be used in practical ultrasonic nondestructive testing. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America