Stretching-tunable external-cavity laser locked by an elastic silicone grating

We demonstrate wavelength locking of a diode laser at 760 nm with feedback from an elastic transmission grating in the Littrow configuration. The laser was in a single longitudinal mode with a side-mode suppression of 20 dB. By stretching the grating the laser could be tuned over a few nm. The grating was fabricated in a silicone elastomer (polydimethylsiloxane) by a moulding technique, and coated by a thin layer of Ti and Au to achieve an increased diffraction efficiency needed for efficient locking.