Patent ID: 8462823

Claim:
A small, packaged tunable laser comprising: a rectangular housing having a volume of less than 0.6 cubic centimeters, with six planar exterior walls including a bottom, a top, opposing first and second ends, and opposing sidewalls, the exterior walls forming a hermetically sealed interior space that includes a major axis that extends through the first and second ends; an electrical input interface positioned on the exterior of the housing and configured to receive an information-containing electrical signal; an optical output interface positioned on the exterior of the housing and aligned with the major axis, the optical output interface configured to transmit a continuous wave optical beam; a tunable semiconductor laser positioned in the interior space and operable to emit a laser beam having a selectable wavelength; a base in the interior space of the housing; a wedge-shaped support; a beam splitter supported by the wedge-shaped support and positioned in the interior space in the path of the laser beam for producing a first beam directed to the optical output interface, and a second beam; and a photodiode disposed in the path of the second beam for determining the emitted intensity of the laser beam; wherein the photodiode is positioned on the base and below the beam splitter.