External-cavity tunable laser with flexible wavelength grid tuning function
US9397477B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 29, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jul 19, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 29, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S5/0687
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An external-cavity tunable laser with a flexible wavelength grid tuning function comprises a resonant cavity, collimating lenses, an optical isolator, and an output optical fiber. The resonant cavity comprises a semiconductor gain chip, a beam expander collimating lens, a combined liquid crystal tunable filter assembly, and a reflecting mirror. A current injected to the semiconductor gain chip is converted to broadband spontaneously radiating photons through electrical-to-optical conversion, and the photons are spread along a waveguide toward two sides. A part of photons with special frequencies go back and forth multiple times in the resonant cavity to form a laser after a threshold condition is met. The laser is collimated by the collimating lens, passes through the optical isolator, is coupled by the collimating lens, and enters the output optical fiber.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.