Tunable noise-like pulse generation in mode-locked Tm fiber laser with a SESAM

We report on a tunable noise-like pulse (NLP) generation in a mode-locked Tm fiber laser with a SESAM. A tuning range of 1895-1942 nm, while keeping the spectral bandwidth of 10-19 nm under NLP mode-locked operation, was obtained by a tunable filter based on chromatic dispersion of telescope lenses. At the center wavelength of 1928 nm, the maximum output power of 195 mW with the spectral bandwidth of 18.9 nm was obtained. The repetition rate was 20.5 MHz and the corresponding pulse energy was 9.5 nJ. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a tunable NLP mode-locked laser based on chromatic dispersion of a lens system. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America