Frequency noise reduction in erbium-doped fiber distributed-feedback lasers by electronic feedback

A novel technique for suppressing frequency noise in an erbium-doped fiber distributed-feedback laser incorporated into a master-oscillator-power-amplifier configuration by an electronic feedback technique is presented. The frequency noise is suppressed by locking of the laser emission to a fiber interferometer. The frequency noise spectral density of the laser is reduced by as much as 20 dB over the frequency range 1 Hz-10 kHz to 1.5 Hz/Hz(1/2) = 25% at 1 kHz with a relative intensity noise spectral density below -120 dB/Hz over the frequency range 10 Hz-1 kHz. These lasers will have applications as sources for fiber-optic interferometry, high-resolution spectroscopy, and high-bandwidth communications. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.