M. Tawfieq^1,2, J. Fricke¹, C. Stölmacker¹, P. Della Casa¹, P.E. Andersen², B. Sumpf¹, and G. Tränkle¹

Published in:

Appl. Opt., vol. 60, no. 7, pp. 1864-1870 (2021).

Abstract:

Lasing emission at multiple wavelengths can be used in different sensing applications and in optical telecommunication. In this work, we report a six-wavelength distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser, emitting around 976 nm with six ridge waveguide (RW) structures, where individual DBR gratings are combined into a common front section. These six elements are individually addressable and biased one at a time for individual wavelength selection. The drawback of this RW combination is observable in spatial characteristics where higher-order modes are supported. We addressed this issue by using a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system that combines the six-wavelength MO laser with a tapered PA. Through this configuration, the PA acts as a spatial filter of the MO beam, providing a nearly diffraction-limited beam with M²_1/e²<1.5. In addition, the described MOPA system provides output powers around 4 W with spectral single-mode operation, with up to 9.36 nm of thermal wavelength tuning. We believe that the described MOPA configuration can be used in different applications, such as absorption spectroscopy.

Topics:

Bragg reflectors, Laser arrays, Laser sources, Light sources, Master oscillator power amplifiers, Optical amplification

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