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US 6,570,893 B1Granted
Precisely wavelength-tunable and wavelength-switchable narrow linewidth lasers
AssigneeScience & Technology Corporation @ UNM
InventorsNathaniel C. Libatique, Ravinder K. Jain
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Abstract
Continuously tunable and precisely wavelength-switchable fiber lasers combine fiber Bragg gratings and the transmissive filtering properties of high finesse fiber Fabry-Perot filters. This laser arrangement adapts to multiple wavelength ranges based on the selections of fiber Bragg grating and gain medium and their arrangement to create a wavelength-modulatable and simultaneously rapidly wavelength-switchable narrow linewidth all-fiber laser design. This laser arrangement further results in narrow-linewidth outputs with fast switching speeds between the selected wavelengths.
Claims49
A precisely and rapidly wavelength-tunable CWR pulsed laser, said laser comprising:
- a gain medium;
- a pump source, said pump source for providing light to said gain medium;
- a laser cavity resonator, said gain medium disposed in said laser cavity resonator and said pump source optically aligned with said laser cavity resonator;
- a rapidly wavelength-tunable filter disposed in said laser cavity resonator, wherein said wavelength-tunable filter is tunable by application of voltage across said wavelength-tunable filter;
- a multi-wavelength grid filter disposed in said laser cavity resonator;
- and
- means for removing an output signal from said laser cavity resonator.
4 more elements
A precisely wavelength-tunable laser, said laser comprising:
- a gain medium;
- a pump source, said pump source for providing light to said gain medium;
- a laser cavity resonator, said gain medium disposed in said laser cavity resonator and said pump source optically aligned with said laser cavity resonator;
- a rapidly wavelength-tunable filter disposed in said laser cavity resonator, wherein said wavelength-tunable filter is tunable by application of voltage across said wavelength-tunable filter;
- a multi-wavelength grid filter disposed in said laser cavity, wherein said multi-wavelength grid filter is selected from the group consisting of Reflective Waveguide Bragg Gratings (WBGs);
- FBGs (Fiber Bragg Gratings);
- SWBG (Sampled Waveguide Bragg Gratings);
- SFBGs (Sampled Fiber Bragg Gratings);
- Transmissive WBGs;
- phase-shifted FBGs (with single or multiple passbands);
- Fabry-Perot (FP) micro-etalons and filters;
- fiber FP filters and micro-optic;
- and micromachined FP filters;
- semiconductor FP filters;
- Micro-ring resonators;
- waveguide couplers;
- Interferometric-waveguide-based filters;
- Michelson Interferometric (MI) waveguide filters;
- Mach-Zehnder Interferometric (MZI) waveguide based filters;
- Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWGs);
- and polarization interferometric (PI) waveguide-based filters;
- fiber loop mirrors;
- and bulk-optic-based PI filters;
- and
- means for removing an output signal from said laser cavity resonator.
22 more elements
A precisely wavelength-tunable laser, said laser comprising:
- a gain medium;
- a pump source, said pump source for providing light to said gain medium;
- a laser cavity resonator, said gain medium disposed in said laser cavity resonator and said pump source optically aligned with said laser cavity resonator;
- a rapidly wavelength-tunable filter disposed in said laser cavity resonator, wherein said wavelength-tunable filter is tunable by application of voltage across said wavelength-tunable filter;
- a multi-wavelength grid filter disposed in said laser cavity resonator;
- and
- means for removing an output signal from said laser cavity resonator, wherein said laser cavity resonator has a gain loop and at least a first arm and a second arm attached to said gain loop;
- said rapidly wavelength-tunable filter disposed in said first arm;
- and said multi-wavelength grid filter disposed in said second arm.
6 more elements
A precisely wavelength-tunable laser, said laser comprising:
- a gain medium;
- a pump source, said pump source providing light to said gain medium;
- a first laser cavity resonator, said pump source optically aligned with said first laser cavity resonator;
- a second laser cavity resonator, said gain medium disposed in either said first laser cavity resonator or said second laser cavity resonator;
- an optical coupling feedback device for combining optical feedback from said first and second laser cavity resonators;
- a rapidly wavelength-tunable filter disposed in said first laser cavity resonator, wherein said wavelength-tunable filter is tunable by application of voltage across said wavelength-tunable filter;
- a multi-wavelength grid filter disposed in said second laser cavity resonator;
- and
- means for removing an output signal from one of said laser cavity resonators.
6 more elements
A precisely wavelength tunable laser, said laser comprising:
- a gain medium;
- a pump source, said pump source providing light to said gain medium;
- a laser cavity resonator, said gain medium disposed in said laser cavity resonator and said pump source optically aligned with said laser cavity resonator;
- a rapidly wavelength-tunable filter disposed in said laser cavity resonator, wherein said wavelength-tunable filter is tunable by application of voltage across said wavelength-tunable filter;
- a multi-wavelength grid filter disposed in said laser cavity resonator;
- a coupling means;
- and
- means for removing an output signal from said laser cavity resonator;
- wherein said laser cavity resonator has a transmissive filter loop and at least a first arm;
- said rapidly wavelength-tunable filter disposed in said transmissive filter loop;
- and said multi-wavelength grid filter disposed in said first arm, said transmissive filter loop coupled by said coupling means to said first arm.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.