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US 2015/0311672 A1Published application
Widely tunable laser control
AssigneeSkorpios Technologies, Inc.
InventorHacene Chaouch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tunable laser has a first binary super grating (BSG), a second BSG, and a phase adjuster. The first BSG, the second BSG, and the phase adjuster are optically tuned by changing temperatures of respective heating elements. The tunable laser also includes three temperature sensors, a first sensor to measure the temperature of the first BSG; a second sensor to measure the temperature of the second BSG, and a third sensor to measure the temperature of the phase adjuster. A lasing frequency is determined by a set of values of the three temperature sensors. In some embodiments, instead of a third temperature sensor, a pilot tone is applied to the phase adjuster to lock to a maximum of an aligned pair of peaks.
Claims21
A tunable laser system comprising:
- a first wavelength selective element characterized by a first reflectance spectrum, wherein the first reflectance spectrum is a function of temperature of a first heating element;
- a second wavelength selective element characterized by a second reflectance spectrum, wherein:
- the second reflectance spectrum is a function of temperature of a second heating element;
- and
- the first wavelength selective element and the second wavelength selective element form an optical resonator;
- a phase adjuster for modifying an index of refraction of a material to alter an optical path length of the optical resonator by changing a temperature of the material using a third heating element, wherein the index of refraction of the material is a function of temperature;
- a gain medium between the first wavelength selective element and the second wavelength selective element a first temperature sensor configured to determine changes in temperature of the first heating element;
- a second temperature sensor configured to determine changes in temperature of the second heating element;
- and
- a third temperature sensor configured to determine changes in temperature of the third heating element, wherein operating the tunable laser system at different lasing frequencies is based on using predetermined values of the first temperature sensor, the second temperature sensor, and the third temperature sensor.
7 more elements
A method for calibrating a laser, the method comprising:
- thermally tuning a first wavelength selective element and second wavelength selective element, wherein:
- the first wavelength selective element has a first plurality of reflectance peaks;
- the second wavelength selective element has a second plurality of reflectance peaks;
- and
- thermally tuning the first wavelength selective element and the second wavelength selective element includes aligning a reflectance peak of the first plurality of reflectance peaks to, at least partially, overlap a reflectance peak of the second plurality of reflectance peaks to form an aligned pair of peaks, wherein the aligned pair of peaks has a reflectance at a first frequency;
- thermally tuning a phase section of the laser to align a longitudinal mode of the laser within the aligned pair of peaks;
- recording a first value, wherein:
- the first value is from a first temperature sensor;
- the first temperature sensor measures values corresponding to a temperature of a first heating element;
- and
- the first heating element is used to change temperature of the first wavelength selective element;
- recording a second value, wherein:
- the second value is from a second temperature sensor;
- the second temperature sensor measures values corresponding to a second heating element;
- and
- the second heating element is used to change temperature of the second wavelength selective element;
- and
- recording a third value, wherein:
- the third value is from a third temperature sensor;
- the third temperature sensor measures values corresponding to a temperature of a third heating element;
- the third heating element is used to change temperature of the phase section;
- and
- the first value, the second value, and the third value determine a lasing frequency of the laser.
20 more elements
A method for tuning a laser to a predetermined frequency, the method comprising:
- referencing a first value, wherein the first value is for a set point for a first temperature sensor that corresponds to a temperature of a first heating element;
- referencing a second value, wherein the second value is for a set point for a second temperature sensor that corresponds to a temperature of a second heating element;
- referencing a third value, wherein the third value is for a set point for a third temperature sensor that corresponds to a temperature of a third heating element;
- adjusting the first heating element so the first temperature sensor registers a value within a predetermined tolerance of the first value;
- adjusting the second heating element so the second temperature sensor registers a value within a predetermined tolerance of the second value;
- and
- adjusting the third heating element so the third temperature sensor registers a value within a predetermined tolerance of the third value, wherein when the laser is tuned to the first value, the second value, and the third value the laser operates at the predetermined frequency.
4 more elements
-36. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.