Tunable and switchable dual-wavelength dissipative soliton generation in an all-normal-dispersion Yb-doped fiber laser with birefringence fiber filter

We report the generation of tunable single-and dual-wavelength dissipative solitons in an all-normal-dispersion mode-locked Yb-doped fiber laser, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time. Besides single-wavelength mode-locking, dual-wavelength mode-locking was achieved using an in-line birefringence fiber filter with periodic multiple passbands, which not only allows multiple wavelengths to oscillate simultaneously but also performs spectrum modulation on highly chirped dissipative pulse. Furthermore, taking advantage of the tunability of the birefringence fiber filter, wavelength tuning for both single-and dual-wavelength dissipative soliton mode-locking was realized. The dual-wavelength operation is also switchable. The all-fiber dissipative laser with flexible outputs can meet diverse application needs. (C)2012 Optical Society of America