Noise-like pulse generation from a thulium-doped fiber laser using nonlinear polarization rotation with different net anomalous dispersion

A mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser (TDFL) based on nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) with different net anomalous dispersion is demonstrated. When the cavity dispersion is -1.425 ps(2), the noise-like (NL) pulse with coherence spike width of 406 fs and pulse energy of 12.342 nJ is generated at a center wavelength of 2003.2 nm with 3 dB spectral bandwidth of 23.20 nm. In the experimental period of 400 min, the 3 dB spectral bandwidth variation, the output power fluctuation, and the central wavelength shift are less than 0.06 nm, 0.04 dB, and 0.4 nm, respectively, indicating that the NPR-based TDFL operating in the NL regime holds good long-term stability. (C) 2016 Chinese Laser Press