Selected Multi-Wavelength Oscillation of a Semiconductor Laser in an External Cavity

Abstract

A multi-wavelength laser source is important for applications in areas such as wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), interferometry, lidar and optical data storage. Simultaneous oscillation of multipe wavelengths have been demonstrated in several methods including spatially chirped Bragg reflector vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays,1 multichannel grating cavity (MGC) laser,2 multistripe array grating integrated (MAGIC) laser,3 and multi-wavelength DFB laser array by control selective area MOVPE.4 In those devices, arrays are required for the generation of multi-wavelength oscillation. Each array element is responsible for its individual wavelength oscillation. In this work, it is demonstrated that a single-stripe Fabry-Perot laser diode is able to oscillate at selected multiple wavelengths with a wavelength separation ≥1.3 nm, several times larger than the Fabry-Perot longitudinal mode spacing.