Amplitude and phase modulation of a laser by modulation of an output coupler
First Claim
1. A modulated laser comprising:
- an optical resonator for light to circulate within;
a gain medium housed within the optical resonator in the path of the circulating light;
a pump for delivering excitation energy to the gain medium above a laser threshold of the optical resonator to bring the circulating light into coherent oscillation; and
an output coupler included in the optical resonator in the path of the circulating light, the output coupler responsive to a control signal to selectively allow a fraction of the circulating light to exit the optical resonator as a modulated optical signal, the output coupler having an input port to receive the circulating light into the output coupler, an output-coupled port to emit the modulated optical signal, and a through port complementary to the output-coupled port to retain unemitted light within the optical resonator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is provided an output coupler modulated laser. The laser includes an optical resonator for light to circulate within, a gain medium housed within the optical resonator and a pump. An output coupler included in the optical resonator is responsive to a control signal to generate a modulated optical signal at a laser output port, and a complementary signal at a through port to retain circulating light within the optical resonator. The output coupler and the pump are jointly controllable to maintain the power level of the circulating light substantially at a selected, steady state level, and to decouple the modulation response of the laser from the intrinsic response of the circulating light due to interaction with the gain medium. The output coupler is configurable for simple amplitude modulation, Phase-Shift Keying (PSK), Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), and is suitable for use with high-finesse, micron or millimeter scale resonators.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A modulated laser comprising:
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an optical resonator for light to circulate within; a gain medium housed within the optical resonator in the path of the circulating light; a pump for delivering excitation energy to the gain medium above a laser threshold of the optical resonator to bring the circulating light into coherent oscillation; and an output coupler included in the optical resonator in the path of the circulating light, the output coupler responsive to a control signal to selectively allow a fraction of the circulating light to exit the optical resonator as a modulated optical signal, the output coupler having an input port to receive the circulating light into the output coupler, an output-coupled port to emit the modulated optical signal, and a through port complementary to the output-coupled port to retain unemitted light within the optical resonator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of modulating a laser comprising an optical resonator for light to circulate within and a gain medium housed within the optical resonator in the path of the circulating light, the method comprising:
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delivering excitation energy to the gain medium above a laser threshold of the optical resonator to bring the circulating light into coherent oscillation; providing an output coupler in the optical resonator in the path of the circulating light; determining a control signal for the output coupler, the output coupler responsive to the control signal to selectively allow a fraction of the circulating light to exit the optical resonator; and controlling the output coupler using the control signal to generate a modulated optical signal by; receiving the circulating light into an input port of the output coupler; generating the modulated optical signal at an output-coupled port of the output coupler in response to the control signal; and directing unemitted light to a through port of the output coupler to be retained within the optical resonator. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification