All-fiber self-mixing laser Doppler velocimetry with much less than 0.1 pW optical feedback based on adjustable gain.

The all-fiber self-mixing laser Doppler velocimetry with adjustable gain is experimentally investigated based on a distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser. In the measurement system, the modulation gain of the injected light in the laser cavity is adjusted by a pair of fiber-coupled acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) in the external cavity, which can change the intensity and frequency of the self-mixing modulation effect. Simultaneously, the minimum feedback intensity from the target to the laser for successful measurements is 0.063 pW. Thus, the all-fiber laser velocimetry can adapt to the detection of ultraweak optical feedback and wide-range velocity measurements in various complex scenes.