Coherence reduction of diode lasers

1. A method of coherence reduction for a laser diode having a laser wavelength λ which varies in dependence upon a drive current J of the laser diode, the method comprising:

periodically modulating the drive current J of the laser diode within a current modulation interval (J min , J max ) between a minimum drive current J min and a maximum drive current J max using a modulation function J(t), wherein t represents time, wherein said modulation function J(t) is characterized by a greater slope at the edges of the current modulation interval (J min , J max ) than in the middle thereof, so as to provide laser radiation with an optical spectrum having a Gaussian-like shape when averaged over at least one modulation time span that is defined as a time interval wherein the modulation function J(t) varies between J min and J max ,

wherein an average value of the slope of the modulation function J(t) at the edges of the current modulation interval (J min , J max ) computed by averaging over the first 5% and last 5% of the modulation time span is more than two times greater than an average value of the slope of the modulation function J(t) in the middle of the current modulation interval (J min , J max ) computed by averaging over a center third of the modulation time span.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein an average value of the slope of the modulation function J(t) at the edges of the current modulation interval (J min , J max ) that is computed by averaging over the first and last 2% of the modulation time span is more than 5 times greater than the average value of the slope of the modulation function J(t) in the middle of the current modulation interval (J min , J max ).

3. A method as defined in claim 1 , comprising the steps of:

selecting a target spectral profile S(λ);

determining the dependence of the laser wavelength on the drive current J; and,

computing the modulation function J(t) based on the target spectral profile S(λ) and the dependence of the laser wavelength λ on the drive current.

4. A method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the step of computing the modulation function comprises the steps of:

(a) selecting a plurality of drive currents J j within the current modulation interval (J min , J max ), and

(b) computing fractions of time when the laser diode is to be driven at each of the plurality of drive currents J j to provide laser radiation which optical spectrum has the target spectral profile S(λ) when averaged over the modulation time span.

5. A method as defined in claim 4 , wherein step (b) comprises, for each drive current J j , performing the steps of:

(c) determining the laser wavelength λ j corresponding to said drive current J j using the predetermined dependence of the laser wavelength λ on the drive current;

(d) computing a first optical power value S j from a value of the target spectral profile S(λ) at said laser wavelength λ j ; and,

(e) determining a fraction of time when the laser diode is to be driven at said drive current J j to provide an average optical power at said wavelength λ j that is proportional to said optical power value S j .

6. A method as defined in claim 5 , wherein step (B) comprises interpolation.

7. A method as defined in claim 3 , wherein step (e) comprises dividing the first optical power value by a second optical power value that accounts for a dependence of the optical power of the laser diode on the drive current.

8. A method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the step of determining the shape of the modulation function comprises the steps of:

(A) determining an inverse modulation function, which defines a time value as a function of a drive current value, from the target spectral profile and the dependence of the laser wavelength on the drive current; and,

(B) inverting the inverse modulation function to determine the modulation function.

9. A method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the target spectral profile is a truncated Gaussian function.

10. A method of claim 3 , wherein the shape of the modulation function is determined using the steps of:

for a plurality of drive current values within a drive current interval, determining a first plurality of optical power values from the target spectral profile and the pre-determined dependence of the laser wavelength on the drive current;

dividing the first plurality of optical power values by a second plurality of optical power values determined from the output power dependence on the drive current to obtain a plurality of time fraction values;

determining a plurality of time values corresponding to the plurality of drive current values from the plurality time fraction values to obtain a discrete time versus current function; and

inverting the discrete time versus current function.

11. A method of claim 4 , further comprising the steps of:

monitoring the dependence of at least one of the laser wavelength and the laser optical power on the drive current;

responsive to a change in the drive current dependence of one of the laser wavelength and the optical power, adjusting the modulation function so as to maintain the shape of the time-averaged optical spectrum of the laser radiation substantially as defined by the target spectral profile S(λ).

12. A laser apparatus implementing the method of claim 1 , comprising:

the laser diode having the wavelength λ that depends on the drive current J;

a current source for supplying the drive current to the laser;

a first memory for storing the modulation function J(t); and,

a modulator coupled to the current source and the memory for periodically modulating the drive current J of the laser diode using the modulation function stored in the memory.

13. A laser apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the first memory is for storing a plurality of values of the modulation function for a plurality of time values.

14. A laser apparatus according to claim 12 , further comprising a second memory for storing a target spectral profile of the laser radiation.

15. A laser apparatus according to claim 14 , further comprising:

sensing means for sensing at least one of: a change in the drive current dependence of the laser power, and a change in the drive current dependence of the laser wavelength; and,

a processor coupled to the sensing means and the first and second memories for computing an adjusted modulation function in response to a change in the drive current dependence of one of the laser power and the laser wavelength, based on the target spectral profile stored in the second memory, and for storing the adjusted modulation function in the first memory.

16. A laser apparatus according to claim 12 , comprising:

a mode-hop sensor for sensing a mode hop event; and,

a temperature controller coupled to the mode-hop sensor for adjusting a laser temperature in response to a mode hop event for avoiding mode hops during the modulating of the laser drive current.

17. A laser apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the mode-hop sensor comprises a wavelength-dependent optical element disposed to receive a portion of the laser radiation, and a photodiode coupled thereto.

18. A laser apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the wavelength-dependent optical element comprises a Fabry-Perot etalon.