Extremely short distributed Bragg reflector fibre lasers with sub-kilohertz linewidth and ultra-low polarization beat frequency for sensing applications.

We report the fabrication, characterization and application of extremely short linear-cavity distributed Bragg reflector fibre lasers (DBR-FLs) written in commercial erbium-doped fibres. The DBR-FL has a total length of 7 mm, of which the nominal cavity is 0.4 mm in length, making it the shortest DBR-FL being reported. Two distinct spectral properties are observed: ultra-narrow linewidth and ultra-low polarization beat frequency, which are measured to be 0.22 kHz and 18.9 MHz, respectively. For the former, the FLs find applications in high sensitivity interferometric sensing, optical frequency metrology and coherent optical communications, whereas for the latter, such a low beat frequency is beneficial to the construction of low-cost and simple demodulator electronics for sensor signal demodulation. The relative intensity noise measurement showed that the relaxation oscillation frequency and relative peak are 120 kHz and [?]75 dB Hz[?]1, respectively. The FL exhibited low-noise characteristics, with an intensity noise of [?]107 dB Hz[?]1 at 1 MHz. We demonstrate the use of these extremely short FLs in the construction of an efficiently pumped and serially multiplexed FL sensor array suitable for practical sensing applications. Two array configurations were tested, namely with individual FLs fabricated in short sections of EDF and connected via passive fibres and with all FLs fabricated along a single EDF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]