Direct experimental measurement of single-mode and mode-hopping dynamics in frequency swept lasers

A time-resolved study is presented of the single-mode and mode-switching dynamics observed in swept source vertical cavity surfing emitting lasers and swept wavelength short external cavity lasers. A self-delayed interferometric technique is used to experimentally measure the phase and intensity of...

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Published inOptics express Vol. 25; no. 22; pp. 27464 - 27474
Main Authors Butler, T P, Goulding, D, Kelleher, B, O'Shaughnessy, B, Slepneva, S, Hegarty, S P, Huyet, G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 30.10.2017
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Summary:A time-resolved study is presented of the single-mode and mode-switching dynamics observed in swept source vertical cavity surfing emitting lasers and swept wavelength short external cavity lasers. A self-delayed interferometric technique is used to experimentally measure the phase and intensity of these frequency swept lasers, allowing direct examination of the modal dynamics. Visualisation of the instantaneous optical spectrum reveals mode-hop free single mode lasing in the case of the vertical cavity laser, with a tuning rate of 6.3 GHz/ns. More complex mode-switching behaviour occurs in the external cavity laser, with the mode-hopping dynamics found to be dominated by the deterministic movement of the spectral filter. Evidence of transient multi-mode operation and mode-pulling is also presented.
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ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/OE.25.027464