Coherence transfer in an akinetic swept source OCT laser with optical feedback

We theoretically investigate the influence of optical feedback onto the dynamics of a semiconductor swept source laser. In particular, we show that optical feedback can be used to lock the phase of the successive lasing modes of a multi-section semiconductor laser commonly used for optical coherence tomography (OCT) applications. We also identify two different regimes called sliding frequency self-mixing and sliding frequency mode locking. The second regime demonstrates sub-nanosecond sliding frequency pulses for nonlinear optics applications.