Electro-optically tunable external cavity mirror for a narrow linewidth semiconductor laser
First Claim
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1. A tunable external cavity waveguide device, said waveguide device comprising:
- a ferroelectric electro-optical substrate;
a waveguide formed in said substrate;
a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) disposed adjacent a portion of said waveguide; and
means for applying a voltage difference across said distributed Bragg reflector,wherein said substrate has an index of refraction, wherein said waveguide is formed in said substrate by inducing a strain field within said substrate, and wherein said strain field forms graduated variations in the index of refraction of said substrate without altering the chemical composition of said substrate.
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Abstract
An external cavity mirror for use in a semiconductor laser, the external cavity mirror comprising a waveguide formed on a substrate of highly electro-optic material, and including electrically-operated means for determining the reflectance attributes of the external cavity mirror.
93 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A tunable external cavity waveguide device, said waveguide device comprising:
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a ferroelectric electro-optical substrate; a waveguide formed in said substrate; a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) disposed adjacent a portion of said waveguide; and means for applying a voltage difference across said distributed Bragg reflector, wherein said substrate has an index of refraction, wherein said waveguide is formed in said substrate by inducing a strain field within said substrate, and wherein said strain field forms graduated variations in the index of refraction of said substrate without altering the chemical composition of said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26)
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- 23. An external cavity mirror disposed relative to a semiconductor laser for directing a portion of the emitted laser light back into an optically active region of said semiconductor laser, said external cavity mirror comprising a substrate comprising a ferroelectric electro-optical material, a waveguide formed in said substrate, and an electro-optically tunable distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) formed on said substrate, wherein said portion of emitted laser light is directed back into said optically active region of said semiconductor laser as a function of a pre-determine external voltage difference that is selectively applied across said distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), wherein said substrate has an index of refraction, wherein said waveguide is formed in said substrate by inducing a strain field within said substrate, and wherein said strain field forms graduated variations in the index of refraction of said substrate without altering the chemical composition of said substrate.
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25. A semiconductor laser comprising:
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an active section which spontaneously emits light over a bandwidth around some center frequency; an external cavity mirror bounding one end of said active section; and a partially reflective mirror bounding an opposite end of said active section; said external cavity mirror being disposed relative to said active section for directing a selected portion of said light back into said active section, said external cavity mirror comprising a substrate comprising; a ferroelectric electro-optical substrate; a waveguide formed in said substrate; a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) formed on said substrate; and means for applying a voltage difference across said external cavity mirror, wherein said substrate has an index of refraction, wherein said waveguide is formed in said substrate by inducing a strain field within said substrate, and wherein said strain field forms graduated variations in the index of refraction of said substrate without altering the chemical composition of said substrate.
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Specification