Patent ID: 7209498

Claim:
A laser comprising: a gain medium emitting an optical beam having a wavelength, the optical beam being emitted along an optical path in a resonant cavity; at least one tuning element optically coupled with the gain medium, the at least one tuning element defining at least one passband in the optical path of the optical beam; and a tuning circuit optically coupled with the gain medium and the at least one tuning element, the tuning circuit effecting modulation of an optical path length of the laser, detecting intensity variations in the optical beam resulting from the modulation, and adjusting the optical path length to adjust the wavelength of the optical beam in accordance with a relationship between the modulation and the detected intensity variations, wherein at least one of a frequency and an amplitude of the modulating of the tuning circuit is selected to increase the coupling efficiency of the optical beam with a communication medium by spreading a line width of the optical beam.