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Updated: May 22, 2025
09:10
Construction and Characterization of External Cavity Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics
Published on: April 24, 2014
27.5K
Vertical-short-cavity laser with a guided-mode-resonance external mirror
Optics Letters
|March 14, 2025
Summary
A novel cavity-resonator-integrated guided-mode resonance mirror (CRIGM) enables stable laser oscillation. This new mirror technology significantly improves wavelength stability, making vertical-cavity lasers suitable for photonic integrated circuits.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Optics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Guided-mode resonance (GMR) devices offer unique optical properties.
- Vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs) require stable wavelength operation.
- Integrating optical components onto photonic integrated circuits (PICs) presents fabrication challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate laser oscillation using a novel cavity-resonator-integrated guided-mode resonance mirror (CRIGM).
- To investigate the wavelength stability of a VECSEL incorporating a CRIGM.
- To assess the suitability of CRIGM technology for surface-mounting on PICs.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a CRIGM with narrowband reflection-phase variation.
- Construction of a vertical-external-short-cavity laser using the CRIGM and a gain mirror.
- Experimental measurement of oscillation wavelength stability under varying air-gap lengths.
Main Results:
- Successful demonstration of laser oscillation in a VECSEL with a CRIGM.
- Observed stable oscillation wavelength around 1045 nm despite a 0.35 μm variation in air-gap length.
- Achieved a one-order-of-magnitude reduction in wavelength dependence on air-gap length compared to multilayer mirrors.
Conclusions:
- CRIGM technology enables highly wavelength-stable VECSELs.
- The reduced wavelength sensitivity enhances positioning tolerance for fabrication and operation.
- This insensitivity makes CRIGM-based VECSELs ideal for surface-mounting on photonic integrated circuits.
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