Method and system for switching of tunable lasers
OwnerThomas Farrellinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides a method and laser system for switching from a current operating point to a new operating point of the laser, the laser operating at a particular wavelength and includes a source channel and destination channel. The system switches and locks the output wavelength of a laser at ultra fast time scales (<50 ns) and compensate for degradation in the laser, and thermal transients in the device during the switching to ensure that within a certain time the laser has switched its wavelength to another wavelength within a specific accuracy and is not dependent on the previous wavelength of the laser.
Claims16
A laser system for switching from a current operating point to a new operating point of a laser, the laser system comprising:
- a laser configured to operate at a plurality of wavelengths, and while operating at a given one of the wavelengths, to operate at a plurality of operating points, wherein a plurality of settings define, at least in part, operation of the laser;
- a feedback loop configured to adjust one or more of the settings of the laser based on a reference value;
- a source channel and a destination channel;
- and
- a processor and program instructions that are stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by the processor to:
- transfer one or more adjustments caused to the settings of the laser by the feedback loop from the source channel to the destination channel;
- and
- utilise a compensation factor based on the source and destination channels to adjust one or more destination channel settings to thereby switch from current operating point of the laser to new operating point of the laser, wherein the compensation value includes compensation for thermal effects of the laser.
A method of switching a laser from a current operating point to a new operating point, wherein the laser is operating at a particular wavelength, the method comprising:
- enabling a feedback loop for adjusting one or more settings of the laser based on a reference value;
- transferring one or more adjustments caused to the one or more settings of the laser by the feedback loop from a source channel to a destination channel;
- and
- utilising a compensation factor based on the source channel and the destination channel adjust one or more destination channel settings, wherein the compensation value includes compensation for thermal effects of the laser.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for operating a laser system, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to:
- enable a feedback loop to adjust settings of a laser based on a reference value;
- transfer any adjustment caused to the settings of the laser by the feedback loop from a source to a destination channel;
- and
- utilise a compensation factor based on the source and destination channels to adjust one or more destination channel settings to thereby switch from a current operating point of the laser to a new operating point of the laser, wherein the compensation factor includes compensation for thermal effects of the laser.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.