Citation:Butler, T. P., Goulding, D., Kelleher, B., O’Shaughnessy, B., Slepneva, S., Hegarty, S. P. and Huyet, G. (2017) 'Direct experimental measurement of single-mode and mode-hopping dynamics in frequency swept lasers', Optics Express, 25(22), pp. 27464-27474. doi: 10.1364/OE.25.027464
A time-resolved study is presented of the single-mode and mode-switching dynamics observed in swept source vertical cavity surfing emitting lasers and swept wavelength short external cavity lasers. A self-delayed interferometric technique is used to experimentally measure the phase and intensity of these frequency swept lasers, allowing direct examination of the modal dynamics. Visualisation of the instantaneous optical spectrum reveals mode-hop free single mode lasing in the case of the vertical cavity laser, with a tuning rate of 6.3 GHz/ns. More complex mode-switching behaviour occurs in the external cavity laser, with the mode-hopping dynamics found to be dominated by the deterministic movement of the spectral filter. Evidence of transient multi-mode operation and mode-pulling is also presented. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America
This website uses cookies. By using this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with the UCC Privacy and Cookies Statement. For more information about cookies and how you can disable them, visit our Privacy and Cookies statement