Multiwavelength thulium-doped silica fiber laser incorporating an all-fiber phase modulator

•The fiber laser sources operating in the near 2 μm band.•A multiwavelength thulium-doped silica fiber laser incorporating an all-fiber phase modulator is first presented in 2 μm band.•A TDFL can achieve ten output channels within a 15 dB bandwidth from 1982 nm to 1998 nm.

A novel multiwavelength thulium-doped silica fiber laser incorporating an all-fiber phase modulator is first presented in 2 μm band. In the laser cavity, a phase modulator with a modulation frequency is efficient and beneficial to overcome the mode competitions. A polarization maintaining fiber Sagnac loop mirror is used as the filter. Large number of lasing wavelengths can easily and conveniently obtained at a proper modulation frequency under room temperature. The fiber laser can achieve ten output channels within a 15 dB bandwidth from 1982 nm to 1998 nm.