Wideband thulium-holmium-doped fiber source with combined forward and backward amplified spontaneous emission at 1600-2300 nm spectral band.

We have experimentally demonstrated two extremely wideband amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) sources. High bandwidth is achieved by combining the backward and forward ASEs generated in thulium-holmium-doped fiber using appropriate wideband couplers. The ASE source optimized for flat spectral power density covers a spectral range from 1527 to 2171 nm at a -10  dB level. The ASE source optimized for spectroscopy features an enhancement with respect to single-mode fiber (SMF) coupled halogen lamps within the spectral range from 1540 nm to more than 2340 nm covering the 800 nm bandwidth.