Patent ID: 7054517

Claim:
An optical apparatus, comprising: a planar optical waveguide having at least one set of locking diffractive elements and at least one corresponding means for routing an optical signal, the planar optical waveguide substantially confining in at least one transverse spatial dimension optical signals propagating therein; and at least one corresponding laser, wherein: each corresponding laser is positioned so as to launch a corresponding laser optical signal into the planar optical waveguide so that the corresponding laser optical signal is successively incident on the diffractive elements of the corresponding locking diffractive element set; each locking diffractive element set routes within the planar optical waveguide a fraction of the corresponding laser optical signal back to the corresponding laser, with a corresponding locking transfer function, as a corresponding locking optical feedback signal, thereby substantially restricting the corresponding laser optical signal to a corresponding laser operating wavelength range determined at least in part by the corresponding locking transfer function of the corresponding locking diffractive element set; and each corresponding routing means routes within the planar optical waveguide, between the corresponding laser and a corresponding output optical port with a corresponding routing transfer function, at least a portion of that fraction of the corresponding laser optical signal that is transmitted by the corresponding locking diffractive element set.