Linear motor or voice coil for fast tuning of a laser cavity

A tunable laser comprising:

• a reflecting mirror;
• a partially transmitting mirror;
• a gain medium;
• a pair of mirrors surrounding the gain medium, one or two of the pair of mirrors being curved;
• a pump source configured to energize the gain medium;
• a first prism and a second prism located between the gain medium and the reflecting mirror;
• wherein the first prism is configured to receive radiation from the gain medium and disperse the radiation to the second prism;
• wherein the second prism is configured to receive the radiation from the first prism, and direct the radiation towards an optical element or an assembly of optical elements which filters the spatially dispersed radiation based on its position relative to the second prism, such that the radiation resonates between the reflecting mirror and the partially transmitting mirror;
• wherein the second prism is placed on a movable stage such that a desired center wavelength of the laser output from the partially transmitting mirror is obtained by moving the stage carrying the second prism to a position so as to allow a portion of the dispersed radiation having the desired center wavelength to resonate between the reflecting mirror and the partially transmitting mirror;
• and
• wherein the stage is moved by a linear motor configured to change the wavelength the laser output by at least 100 nm within 1 second.