Improved multiple-wavelength Brillouin-Raman fiber laser assisted by four-wave mixing with a micro-air cavity.

In this paper, a multiple-wavelength Brillouin-Raman fiber laser (MBRFL) with enhanced performance is presented. This is attributed to the improved Fresnel reflection, thus strengthening four-wave mixing in the fiber laser cavity due to the insertion of a micro-air cavity. As a result, compared with the conventional MBRFL without a micro-air cavity, the thresholds of Brillouin Stokes (BS) lines are observed to be reduced, and more BS lines can be generated. In the experiment, a MBRFL having 40 BS lines is achieved with good stability on laser wavelengths and output power. In view of the fact that more BS lines can be established with a simple scheme and low pump power, our MBRFL promises to be employed as a multiwavelength source for optical communication.