Intrinsic dual-wavelength operation of a passively mode-locked fiber ring laser

We report on the dual-wavelength operation in an erbium-doped fiber ring laser mode-locked through nonlinear polarization rotation technique. In addition to dual-wavelength continuous wave operation, alternative mode-locking at the dual wavelengths was realized experimentally. By analyzing the transmissivity of the laser cavity, we find the dual-wavelength operation is an intrinsic feature of the laser associating with the dispersive cavity loss. Numerical simulations confirm the experimental and theoretical results and further demonstrate that the location of the dual wavelengths and the separation between them closely depend on the cavity birefringence and the profile of the gain medium.