Patent ID: 11916354
Assignee: TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITäT WIEN
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC H

Claim 0:
1. A method of operating a semiconductor laser with a standing wave cavity and a fast gain medium, wherein a gain relaxation time of the gain medium is smaller than the round-trip time in the standing wave cavity, comprising:
generating standing optical waves in the standing wave cavity of the laser, wherein an electrical laser beat-note with a spatially dependent amplitude is generated;
pumping the laser with a DC current from a DC source coupled to the standing wave cavity;
injecting an electrical AC signal into the standing wave cavity with an AC injection device to stabilize an optical frequency comb such that a spatial pattern of the injected electrical AC signal corresponds to the spatially dependent amplitude of the electrical laser beat-note along a longitudinal extension of the standing wave cavity, wherein the injected electrical AC signal is within a range and/or within an integer multiple of the range, wherein the range is within ±1% of a natural round-trip frequency in the standing wave cavity;
wherein injecting the electrical AC signal corresponding to the amplitude of the electrical laser beat-note comprises coupling the AC injection device to at least a first and a second electric contact section, and optionally one or more further electric contact sections, extending along a first longitudinal side of the longitudinal extension of the standing wave cavity such that the absolute value of the complex amplitude and/or the phase of the injected electrical AC signal differs for the first and the second electric contact section; and
the electrical AC signal is injected to one of the first, second and further electric contact sections adjacent to the one end of the standing wave cavity and, optionally:
i) phase shifted by substantially 180° to another one of the first, second and further electric contact sections adjacent to the other end of the standing wave cavity; or
ii) to another one of the first, second and further electric contact sections adjacent to the other end of the standing wave cavity and phase shifted by substantially 180° to a yet another of the first, second and further electric contact sections substantially adjacent to a center region of the standing wave cavity in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the standing wave cavity.