Patent ID: 6925098

Claim:
A tunable laser, comprising: a gain medium having an active emission layer to generate optical energy, the active emission layer having a first and a second facet; a first waveguide extending from the first facet, the first waveguide including a first core, the first core having a first end adjacent to the first facet for receiving optical energy, the first core fabricated from inorganic material and the first waveguide including inorganic material and thermo-optical organic material surrounding the first core; a second waveguide extending from the second facet, the second waveguide including a second core, the second core having a first end adjacent to the second facet for receiving optical energy, the second core fabricated from inorganic material and the second waveguide including inorganic material and thermo-optical organic material surrounding the second core; a substrate supporting the first waveguide, the second waveguide, and the gain means; a first reflector positioned to reflect optical energy propagating along the first waveguide if the optical energy has a wavelength that is one of a plurality of first reflection wavelengths; a second reflector positioned to reflect optical energy propagating along the second waveguide if the optical energy has a wavelength that is one of plurality of second reflection wavelengths; a thermo-optical organic material positioned to shift the plurality of first and second reflection wavelengths in response to changes of temperature in the thermo-optical organic material; and a first thermal actuator thermally coupled to change the temperature in the thermo-optical organic material.