Periodic power variation induced sideband instability in a single mode fiber laser

We report on the experimental observation of a type of parametric spectral sideband generation in a continuous wave (CW) fiber laser operating in the normal dispersion regime. The appearance of the sidebands is a threshold effect and their spectral shifts from the CW wavelength vary with the cavity length and CW power. We show that the sideband formation is induced by the periodic power variation of the light in the laser cavity.Ministry of Education (MOE)This work is supported by Minister of Education (MOE), Singapore (2018-T1-001-145); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (61 575 089, 11 704 259); Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu High Education Institutions (PAPD)