Spectral properties of edge-emitting semiconductor laser subject to optical feedback from extremely short external cavity

We experimentally and theoretically study the impact of optical feedback from an extremely short external cavity (tens of μm) on the spectral behavior of edge emitting lasers (EELs). We are able to investigate a broad range of external cavity lengths and feedback strengths, by using a nanometer precision movable mirror attached to a fiber facet. A discrete modulation of the wavelength of operation is observed and its amplitude depends on the external cavity length and the external mirror reflectivity. We show that it is possible to optimize the tuning range of such a discrete wavelength tunable laser with respect to the external cavity and laser parameters.     

Wavelength tuning characteristics of a fabry-perot semiconductor laser with an external short cavity

Wavelength tuning characteristics of a Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser with an external short cavity are analyzed, in which the oscillation wavelength can be changed by slightly altering the external cavity length. Analysis is based on rate equations for an optical power and carrier density. It is shown that the wavelength tuning range is dominated by a change of carrier density through the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change in the active layer of a laser diode. This depends on effective coupling coefficients of the optical field iteratively reflected back to the laser diode by the external mirror, and on reflection coefficients of an anti-reflection coated laser facet and the external mirror which compose the external cavity. The effective coupling coefficient is also derived using the waveguide theory and Kirchhoff ’s theory. Finally, an unstable condition which may limit a stable wavelength tuning range is shown by results of a linear stability analysis of rate equations.     

Mode-hop-free tuning over 135 GHz of external cavity diode lasers without antireflection coating

We report an external cavity diode laser (ECDL), using a diode whose front facet is not anti-reflection (AR) coated that has a mode-hop-free (MHF) tuning range greater than 135 GHz. We achieved this using a short external cavity and by simultaneously tuning the internal and external modes of the laser. We find that the precise location of the pivot point of the grating in our laser is less critical than commonly believed. The general applicability of the method, combined with the compact portable mechanical and electronic design, makes it well suited for both research and industrial applications.     

External Cavity Tuning of Coherent Quantum Cascade Laser Array Emitting at ～7.6μm

An external cavity quantum cascade laser(QCL)array with a wide tuning range and high output power is presented.The coherent QCL array combined with a diffraction grating and gold mirror is tuned in the Littrow configuration.Taking advantage of the single-lobed fundamental supermode far-field pattern,the tuning capability of 30.6 cm~(-1)is achieved with a fixed injected current of 3.5 A at room temperature.Single-mode emission can be observed in the entire process.The maximum single-mode output power of the external cavity setup is as high as 25 mW and is essential in real applications.     

Fine frequency tuning in sum-frequency generation of continuous-wave single-frequency coherent light at 252 nm with dual-wavelength enhancement

Fine frequency tuning of the deep-ultraviolet single-mode coherent light at 252 nm was conducted through the PID feedback system automatically by changing the temperature of a beta-BaB(2)O(4) (BBO) crystal in a doubly resonant external cavity for the sum-frequency mixing of 373 and 780 nm light. The temperature-dependent frequency tuning rate is 19.3 MHzK(-1), which is sufficiently fine to realize the laser cooling of neutral silicon atoms because the natural width of the laser cooling transition is 28.8 MHz.     

电光晶体调谐的外腔反馈半导体激光器

报道一种用电光晶体实现快速调谐和凋制激光频率的方法.在Littrow型外腔反馈半导体激光中插入LiNbO3晶体,利用LiNbO3晶体的电光效应,通过改变晶体电压来调节激光器的有效腔长,可以对激光频率进行快速的调谐和调制.采用该方法,自制外腔反馈半导体激光器的调谐频率可达到2 kHz,它的调谐范围为350 MHz,激光频率调谐系数约为1.06 MHz/V,用饱和吸收光谱观测频率调谐的效果.快速激光频率调制可以应用在稳频技术上,将外腔反馈半导体激光器调制在5～100 kHz频率下,均获得了87Rb原子D2线的饱和吸收光谱的色散信号,并实现了激光频率在饱和吸收峰上的长期稳定.     

Stable and continuous wavelength tuning of a hybrid semiconductor laser with an erbium-doped fiber external cavity

We present an experimental study of tuning characteristics and wavelength stability of a 1490 nm doped fiber external cavity laser. The standing wave in the erbium-doped fiber in an external-cavity laser causes spatial hole burning and absorption modulation and forms a dynamic grating. The dynamic grating can effectively suppress side modes and eliminate wavelength fluctuations in the laser. The operating wavelength of this hybrid laser is shown for the first time to our knowledge to be smoothly tunable by changing the semiconductor laser drive current or temperature.     

Mid-infrared external-cavity quantum-cascade laser

Single-frequency operation of a 10.4-mum room-temperature multimode quantum-cascade laser was achieved by use of a 17-mm short Littrow-type external-cavity configuration. The spectral intensity of the external-cavity laser was increased as much as 20-fold compared with that of a multimode quantum-cascade laser without an external cavity. A single-frequency tuning range of 76 nm (7 cm(-1)) was achieved. The results were obtained without antireflection coating of the laser output facet.     

Optical feedback in a Zeeman-birefringence HeNe laser and its application in ranging

The optical feedback characteristics in a Zeeman-birefringence HeNe laser have been studied systematically when the external cavity varies in a large range. The intensity variations of the two orthogonally polarized lights are observed during the laser cavity tuning in the dual frequency laser. When the external cavity length is an integral multiple of the laser cavity length, either polarized light's intensity modulation depth varies not obviously when the laser works in dual modes conditions or single mode condition. But when the external cavity length is far away from an integral multiple of the laser cavity length and the laser works in different dual modes conditions, polarized light's intensity modulation depth varies obviously. This characteristic can guide us to tune the laser to work in single mode condition to improve the sensitivity of the optical system when the system is used for a large displacement measurement. It can also be used for measuring the position of the target mirror. The theoretical analysis is in good agreement with experimental results.     

Mode-hop-free fine tuning of an external-cavity diode laser with an intracavity liquid crystal cell

A planar nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cell is incorporated into a Littman-type external cavity as the wavelength-tuning device for a semiconductor laser diode. By varying the driving voltage of the NLC cell and laser diode bias current simultaneously, we demonstrate single-mode oscillation and mode-hop-free tuning over 19.2 GHz at 775 nm. The result is in good agreement with the theoretical predictions.     

Wavelength Tuning Characteristics of a Vertival Cavity Surface Emitting Laser Diode with an External Short Cavity

The characteristics of a wavelength tunable vertical cavity surface emitting laser diode (VCSEL) with an external short cavity are analyzed, in which the oscillation wavelength can be changed over several tens of nanometers with a nearly constant optical power by slightly altering the external cavity length. Analysis is based on rate equations for the optical power and carrier density, taking the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change into consideration, together with the study of behaviors of a complex resonator. The reflection coefficient r₂ of a laser facet facing the external mirror is shown to affect notably the characteristics of wavelength tuning, optical power and carrier density for a change of the external cavity length. It is also noticed that the wavelength change for this length becomes slower with relatively larger r₂ due to an increasing contribution of the effect of carrier-induced refractive index change, within the optical gain spectrum of the laser diode.     

Intensity modulation in single-mode microchip Nd：YAG lasers with asymmetric external cavity

Intensity modulation induced by the asymmetric external cavity in single-mode microchip Nd:YAG lasers is presented. Two kinds of experimental results are discussed based on multiple feedback effects. In one case, the intensity modulation curve is a normal sine wave, whose fringe frequency is four times higher than that of a conventional optical feedback system, caused by multiple feedback effects. In the other case, the intensity modulation curve is the overlapping of the above quadruple-frequency signal and conventional optical feedback signal, which is determined by the additional phase difference induced by the asymmetric external cavity. The theoretical analyses are in good agreement with the experimental results. The quadruple-frequency modulation of the laser output intensity can greatly increase the resolution of displacement measurement of an optical feedback system.     

Chirp reduction in three-cavity semiconductor laser diodes

The oscillation frequency shift ratio (OFSR) of a three-cavity coupled laser diode, which is caused by refractive index changes due to current modulation and temperature variation, has been investigated. It is found that the OFSR is significantly reduced by using a laser with an AR coated facet and a high external-mirror reflectivity, in addition to large external cavity lengths. Also, compared with an external cavity laser, the three-cavity laser has a smaller OFSR provided that the external cavities' reflectivities r₀ and r₃, are not identical (that is, r₃ > r₀). The analysis indicates that the structural parameters affect the OFSR of the three-cavity laser, which was shown to have a high longitudinal mode discrimination¹.     

Continuous Wavelength Sweep of External Cavity 630 nm Laser Diode without Antireflection Coating on Output Facet

We developed a simple method of continuous wavelength sweep using a commercial laser diode (LD) without antireflection (AR) coating. A 630 nm AlGalnP LD was installed in a Littrow-type external cavity. In this cavity, the LD has the same effect as an etalon, and its free spectral range can be controlled easily by the LD drive current. By scanning the grating angle of the external cavity and LD drive current simultaneously, we obtained single-mode oscillation and continuous wavelength sweep of over 22 GHz without mode hopping. This technique is simple and inexpensive because it does not need AR coating on its output facet, and does not use a servo system which requires apparatuses such as a lock-in amplifier and local oscillator.     

Tuning of fiber lasers by use of a single-mode biconic fiber taper

We report a novel scheme to build a compact, tunable fiber laser. The tuning mechanism is based on the transmission property of a single-mode biconic fiber taper. While pulling the taper, we observe oscillations in the transmitted optical power that are due primarily to interference between a pair of excited modes within the tapered region, which are eventually coupled into the unstretched single-mode fiber at the end of the taper. A similar mechanism causes the modulation of the transmitted optical spectrum after the taper has been pulled and stabilized. It is this spectral modulation by the taper that is exploited here to control the wavelength of a fiber laser. The modulation can be adjusted by stretching the taper, thus enabling the tuning of the laser wavelength. We have built a 32 mW Er-doped tunable ring fiber laser with a continuous tuning range of over 20 nm and a signal-to-noise ratio of better than 45 dB over the entire tuning range; our output power is limited only by the available pump power.     

Tunable single-mode fiber-VCSEL using an intracavity polymer microlens

We report a tunable, single-mode vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) format suitable for array operation, power scaling, fiber coupling, and operation in isolated environments such as those required by atom optics. The devices are fiber VCSELs, consisting of a semiconductor gain and mirror structure separated from a mirror-coated optical fiber by an air (or vacuum) gap. The gain structure has polymer microlenses fabricated on its surface, of characteristics suitable to focus the oscillating mode on both cavity mirrors, ensuring stable fundamental mode emission and high fiber coupling efficiency. We demonstrate such devices in continuous-wave operation at 1.03 microm at room temperature, with a single-mode tuning range of 13 nm, laser threshold as low as 2.5 mW, and a maximum fiber-coupled output power of 10 mW.     

Broadband tunable external cavity laser using a bent-waveguide quantum-dot superluminescent diode as gain device

A broadband tunable grating-coupled external cavity laser is realized by employing a self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum-dot (QD) superluminescent diode (SLD) as the gain device. The SLD device is processed with a bent-waveguide structure and facet antireflection (AR) coating. Tuning bandwidths of 106 nm and 117 nm are achieved under 3-A and 3.5-A injection currents, respectively. The large tuning range originates essentially from the broad gain spectrum of self-assembled QDs. The bent waveguide structure combined with the facet AR coating plays a role in suppressing the inner-cavity lasing under a large injection current.     

分布反馈光纤激光器阵列中外腔反馈特性研究

以半导体激光器中的复合腔模型和实测的分布反馈光纤激光器的外腔端面反射率为基础,对不同反射率条件下分布反馈光纤激光器的输出功率进行了仿真,同时搭建了二基元分布反馈光纤激光器阵列实验平台,对仿真结果进行了验证.仿真与实验结果表明:外腔反馈光重新注入分布反馈光纤激光器会增加激光器的输出功率,降低了阵列的输出功率平坦性.并且外腔端面反射率越大,这种平坦性降低的效果越明显.在构建分布反馈光纤激光器阵列时,应考虑外腔反馈对阵列输出功率平坦性造成的影响,尽量选择外腔端面反射率较小的激光器进行组阵.     

Injection locking of a diode laser locked to a Zeeman frequency stabilized laser oscillator

We describe the design and performance of an injection-locked diode laser locked to a stabilized, single frequency, unmodulated diode laser. The master oscillator is a grating-tuned, external cavity diode laser which is stabilized on a Doppler free alkali metal resonance transition frequency via Zeeman locking. The master oscillator frequency is shifted by an acousto-optic modulator, which provides optical isolation of the master oscillator laser while tuning of the acousto-optic modulation frequency can also provide frequency offset tuning. The slave laser is a free running diode which is injection-locked by a small fraction of the frequency shifted master oscillator light. Good long- and short-time frequency stability are observed for both the Zeeman-locked master oscillator and the injection-locked slave laser.     

Fast mode-hop-free acousto-optically tuned laser with a simple laser diode

A mode-hop-free tunable external-cavity Littrow diode laser with intracavity acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) has been built. The modes of the red laser diode without a special antireflection coating are shifted by varying the injection current. The external resonator modes and the grating selectivity are independently electrically alterable by two AOMs. Thus, a tuning of the external resonator over up to 1900 GHz is possible. A precise computer control of laser diode and AOMs allowed a single-mode tuning of the whole laser with a tuning range of 225 GHz in 250 s. Additionally, we demonstrated fast tuning over 90 GHz in 190 micros and a repetition rate of 2.5 kHz.