Superluminescent optical source

摘要

An optical source particularly suitable as a pump is provided. A gain medium such as a thulium doped fiber has an input end and an output end. The input end is optically coupled to a reflector to cause spontaneous emissions within a predetermined band exiting the input of the gain medium to be reflected back into the medium. Spontaneous emissions outside of the predetermined band are lost. An optical isolator can be provided to prevent the optical source from lasing, resulting in a moderate bandwidth optical pump. A cascaded embodiment is disclosed, in which the gain medium is followed by an optical amplifier for increased power.