Spectral correlations in a random distributed feedback fibre laser

Srikanth Sugavanam*, Mariia Sorokina, Dmitry V. Churkin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Random distributed feedback fibre lasers belong to the class of random lasers, where the feedback is provided by amplified Rayleigh scattering on sub-micron refractive index inhomogenities randomly distributed over the fibre length. Despite the elastic nature of Rayleigh scattering, the feedback mechanism has been insofar deemed incoherent, which corresponds to the commonly observed smooth generation spectra. Here, using a real-time spectral measurement technique based on a scanning Fabry-Pérot interferometer, we observe long-living narrowband components in the random fibre laser's spectrum. Statistical analysis of the ∼104 single-scan spectra reveals a preferential interspacing for the components and their anticorrelation in intensities. Furthermore, using mutual information analysis, we confirm the existence of nonlinear correlations between different parts of the random fibre laser spectra. The existence of such narrowband spectral components, together with their observed correlations, establishes a long-missing parallel between the fields of random fibre lasers and conventional random lasers.

Original languageEnglish
Article number15514
Number of pages8
JournalNature Communications
Volume8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 May 2017

Bibliographical note

© The Author(s) 2017. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated other wise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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