Patent · US Expired

Tunable laser operation with locally commensurate condition

US6665321B1 · kind B1 · utility

50Cited by
2References
29Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 31, 2002
Grant dateDec 16, 2003
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 31, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01S5/142
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A method for selecting free spectral ranges (FSR) of intra-cavity optics to optimize reliability of the channel switching mechanism and corresponding apparatus. In particular, the optimal relationship between the FSR of the internal etalon and the FSR of the laser cavity is derived. For the external cavity diode lasers (ECDL) the optimal relationship between the FSR of the internal etalon and the FSR of the gain chip is also derived. Equations are derived for selecting free spectral ranges of various optical cavities so as to create a locally commensurate condition under which the relative position of the lasing mode with respect to the transmission peak of the laser's tunable filter (e.g., etalon plus channel selector) does not change when the laser hops between adjacent channels.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.