Thermal locker

1. An assembly comprising:

an etalon assembly consisting of a single etalon for dynamically locking a frequency of an optical beam to a set frequency, the set frequency being selected from a plurality of set frequencies within a frequency band divided into a frequency grid, and the plurality of frequencies include on-grid frequencies associated with channels and off-grid frequencies that are not associated with channels, the etalon assembly being external to a laser source assembly that outputs the optical beam, the etalon assembly comprising:

an etalon that receives the optical beam and generates via interference effects a transmission beam, wherein the transmission beam is a periodic function that depends on the temperature of the etalon, and a thermal tuning range of the etalon is greater than one half of a free spectral range of the etalon, and

an etalon heater mounted to the etalon such that the etalon heater is configured to adjust the temperature of the etalon; and

a controller configured to:

retrieve calibration data based on the set frequency, wherein the controller is further configured to:

locate a calibration point, of a plurality of calibration points, nearest the set frequency, wherein the plurality of calibration points are distributed across a frequency band divided up into segments that each have a bandwidth at least as large as the thermal tuning range of the etalon, and at least one calibration point is located within each segment, and

retrieve the located calibration point and an associated calibration temperature (T nom ); and

calculate a set temperature for the etalon using a thermal tuning algorithm and the calibration data, and

control the etalon heater such that the etalon has a temperature equal to the calculated set temperature.

2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the etalon has a thermal optic coefficient within the range 2 to 4 GHz/C, and a thermal conductivity greater than 10 W/m·K.

3. The assembly of claim 2 , wherein the etalon is a single crystal of yttrium aluminum garnet.

4. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the etalon assembly further comprises a thermally conductive shroud that surrounds a portion of etalon and is in contact with the etalon heater, and the shape of the shroud is designed to provide a uniform thermal profile to the etalon.

5. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the etalon heater is a resistive heater.

6. The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the etalon assembly further comprises:

an insulator that is mounted to the bottom of the etalon heater and is mounted to a submount at a temperature different than the etalon heater in a manner to insulate the etalon heater from the submount, the insulator comprising at least one air gap between a portion of the insulator and the etalon heater.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a set frequency, the set frequency being selected from a plurality of set frequencies within a frequency band divided into a frequency grid, and the plurality of frequencies include on-grid frequencies associated with channels and off-grid frequencies that are not associated with channels;

retrieving calibration data based on the set frequency, wherein retrieving the calibration data based on the set frequency includes:

locating a calibration point, of a plurality of calibration points, nearest the set frequency, wherein the plurality of calibration points are distributed across a frequency band divided up into segments that each have a bandwidth at least as large as the thermal tuning range of the etalon, and at least one calibration point is located within each segment, and

retrieving the located calibration point and an associated calibration temperature (T nom ); and

calculating a set temperature for an etalon within an etalon assembly consisting of a single etalon using a thermal tuning algorithm and the calibration data, wherein a thermal tuning range of the etalon is greater than one half of a free spectral range of the etalon; and

controlling the etalon assembly such that the etalon has a temperature equal to the calculated set temperature to dynamically lock a frequency of an optical beam to the set frequency.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the thermal tuning algorithm comprises:

v i,j =v i,o +dv/dT ( T nom −T j )

where dv/dT is the etalon frequency change with temperature, v i,0 is the calibration point, T j is the temperature of the etalon, and v i,j is the set frequency.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the thermal tuning algorithm comprises:

v i,j =v i,o +dv′/dT ′( T nom −T j )

where v is frequency, dv′/dT is a function of frequency, v i,0 is the calibration point, T j is the temperature of the etalon, and vi,j is the set frequency.

10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the thermal tuning algorithm comprises:

v i,j =v i,o +dv′/dT ′( T nom −T j )(1−δ)

where v is frequency, dv′/dT is a function of frequency, v i,0 is the calibration point, T j is the temperature of the etalon, and vi,j is the set frequency, and where δ is a temperature offset correction factor.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the frequency band is the C-band.

12. An assembly comprising:

a laser source assembly that produces an output beam at an initial frequency, where the initial frequency is dependent on one or more laser parameters;

a redirection assembly that splits an output beam into a reference beam and a redirected beam;

a reference detector that monitors the reference beam, producing a reference signal proportional to the optical intensity of the reference beam;

an etalon assembly comprising:

an etalon that receives the redirected beam and generates via interference effects a transmission beam, the etalon being a single crystal, and the transmission beam being dependent on a temperature of the etalon, and

an etalon heater that adjusts the temperature of the etalon; and

a transmission detector that monitors the transmission beam, producing a transmission signal proportional to the optical intensity of the transmission beam; and

a controller configured to:

control the laser source assembly in accordance with the one or more laser parameter settings, such that the initial frequency is at or near a set frequency the set frequency being selected from a plurality of set frequencies within a frequency band divided into a frequency grid, and the plurality of frequencies include on-grid frequencies associated with channels and off-grid frequencies that are not associated with channels,

determine a temperature of the etalon that corresponds to the set frequency,

control the etalon heater such that the etalon is at the determined temperature,

calculate a lock ratio using the reference signal and the transmitted signal, and

adjust one or more of the one or more laser parameters until the lock ratio corresponds to a calibrated lock ratio for the set frequency.

13. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the etalon has a thermal optic coefficient within the range 2 to 4 GHz/C, and a thermal conductivity greater than 10 W/m·K.

14. The assembly of claim 13 , wherein the etalon is a single crystal of yttrium aluminum garnet.

15. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the one or more laser parameters include a drive current for the laser source assembly and a laser source assembly temperature value.

16. The assembly of claim 15 , further comprising:

a thermally conductive submount comprising a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, wherein the laser source assembly is mounted to the first surface of the submount; and

a temperature regulator that is mounted to the second surface of the submount, and is configured to adjust the submount to the laser source assembly temperature value.

17. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

receive a second set frequency that is different from the first set frequency;

control the laser source assembly in accordance with the one or more laser parameter settings, such that the initial frequency is at or near the different set frequency;

determine a second temperature of the etalon that corresponds to the different set frequency;

control the etalon heater such that the etalon is at the second temperature;

calculate a second lock ratio using the reference signal and the transmitted signal; and

adjust one or more of the one or more laser parameters until the lock ratio corresponds to a calibrated lock ratio for the second set frequency.

18. The assembly of claim 12 , wherein the redirection assembly comprises:

a first reflecting surface configured to change the direction of a portion of the output beam by 90 degrees such that it is propagating vertically, and transmit a remaining portion of the output beam toward the reference monitor as the reference beam; and

a second reflecting surface, vertically offset from the first reflecting surface, configured to redirect the beam in a direction parallel to, and vertically offset from the output beam, to create the redirected beam.

19. The assembly of claim 18 , wherein the redirection assembly comprises:

a linear polarizer positioned to polarize the output beam prior to it being incident on the first reflecting surface; and

a quarter-wave plate positioned to rotate the polarization of the redirected beam by 45 degrees and rotate a back reflection by an additional 45 degrees such that the rotated back reflection is orthogonal to the orientation of the linear polarizer.