Fabry-perot pulsed laser having a circulator-based loop reflector

摘要

In a pulsed Fabry-Perot laser, such as a Q-switched laser or a mode- locked laser, one of the resonator reflectors comprises a waveguide loop coupled to the gain medium via a circulator. In one embodiment, only a modulator is located in the loop. In another embodiment, the circulator is switchable and the loop may contain either an unidirectional device, such as an isolator, or may contain only the waveguide itself, depending on which states of the circulator are utilized in the switching process. Also described are several arrangements for multiplexing lasers of different operating wavelengths.