Patent ID: 7046704
Filing Date: 2006-05-16
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. A stabilized grid wavelength tunable laser system comprising: a complex laser cavity defined by a broadband reflective mirror at one end, and a chirped grating based mirror with varying associated Bragg wavelengths along said grating, at the other end; a gain element in said complex laser cavity, and in addition, a low finesse Fabry-Perot etalon element that can also function as said gain element, said Fabry-Perot etalon element having a well-defined length that is part of said complex laser cavity, such that longitudinal modes of said Fabry-Perot etalon element match a resulting fixed optical frequency grid having equal spacing between its grid lines; and an active modulation element operable to provide mode-locking, and thereby to emit a train of pulses of light, said active modulation element being operated at one of a discrete set of radio frequencies (RF), defined by the cavity lengths formed by said broadband reflective mirror and various portions of said chirped grating based mirror, such that the combination of said low finesse Fabry-Perot etalon element, together with said RF-based active modulation element, provides stabilized laser action at one optical frequency of said fixed optical frequency grid, in a tunable fashion.