Abstract
A tunable erbium-doped fiber laser with a very wide continuous-tuning range (1522-1567 nm) is discussed. The wide tuning range was achieved using an aluminum/erbium-doped fiber; the aluminum codoping is known to broaden the gain spectrum substantially. The tunable fiber laser has a ring laser configuration utilizing an inline tunable etalon as the tuning element. Continuous tuning over 45 nm in the spectral range of 1522-1567 nm was achieved with 80 nW of pumping at 532 nm, using the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser as the pump source.< >