Ultra small packaged tunable laser assembly
An external cavity tunable laser includes a gain medium module to generate a broadband optical spectrum covering a predetermined wavelength range; a collimate lens turning a diverging beam into a collimated beam; a pair of etalons to tune frequency; an actuator to adjust an external cavity optical pathlength; a bandpass filter to block one or more frequencies outside the predetermined wavelength range; a beam splitter to split a percentage of the beam to a photodetector; a reflection mirror for feedback to gain medium waveguide; an isolator for preventing reflecting light back to the external cavity; and a hermetically sealed housing less than 0.15 cubic centimeters.
1. An external cavity tunable laser, comprising:
a gain medium module to generate a broadband optical spectrum covering a predetermined wavelength range, the gain medium module comprising a gain medium chip with a gain medium waveguide;
one or more heaters with one heater proximal the gain medium waveguide;
electrical connections to apply a dither signal to the heater for wavelength locking;
a collimating lens turning a diverging beam into a collimated beam;
a pair of etalons to tune frequency;
an actuator to adjust an external cavity optical path length;
a bandpass filter to block one or more frequencies outside the predetermined wavelength range;
a beam splitter to split a percentage of the collimated beam to a photodetector;
a reflection mirror for feedback to the gain medium waveguide;
an isolator for preventing reflecting light back to the external cavity; and
a hermetically sealed housing less than 0.15 cubic centimeters.
2. The laser of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the etalons tunes frequency using a Vernier method.
3. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the one of the heaters operates when the gain medium at a high bias current.
4. The laser of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the heaters is embedded on a submount with the gain medium mounted meaning the gain medium waveguide is in contact with the heater.
5. The laser of claim 1 , comprising an optical output subassembly coupled to the hermetically sealed housing.
6. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the one or more heaters is heated in a periodic format.
7. The laser of claim 6 , wherein the periodic format comprises a sine wave format or a triangle wave format.
8. The laser of claim 6 , wherein the one or more heaters suppress stimulated Brillouin scattering effect.
9. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the gain medium module is mounted with p-down.
10. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a length of about 8.5 mm, a width of about 4.2 mm, and a height of about 4 mm.
11. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a volume of about 0.146 cubic centimeters.
12. A method of communicating with light, comprising:
providing an external cavity tunable laser with a hermetically sealed volume of about 0.15 cubic centimeters;
using a gain medium module to generate a broadband optical spectrum covering a predetermined wavelength range, the gain medium module comprising a gain medium waveguide;
turning a diverging beam into a collimated beam with a collimating lens;
tuning a frequency with a pair of etalons and dithering with one or more heaters deposited on top of the gain medium waveguide for wavelength locking;
providing a reflection mirror for feedback to gain medium waveguide; and
preventing reflecting light back to the external cavity.
13. The method of claim 12 , comprising tuning the frequency using a Vernier method.
14. The method of claim 12 , comprising heating the one or more etalons and actuator.
15. The method of claim 12 , comprising coupling at least one heater to directly deposited on top of the gain medium waveguide for suppression of stimulated Brillouin scattering.
16. The method of claim 12 , comprising operating the gain medium at a high bias current.
17. The method of claim 12 , comprising placing the gain medium waveguide is in contact with the heater.