EFFECT OF EXTERNAL CAVITY LENGTH WITH FIBER BRAGG GRATING ON SPECTRUM OF VERTICAL CAVITY SURFACE EMITTING LASER

Abstract

Subject of research. The paper presents the study of effect that external cavity length with the fiber Bragg grating has on the spectrum of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) with a central emission wavelength of 1554 nm. Fiber Bragg grating reflection coefficient was 95 % and full width at half maximum (FWHM) was 0.095 nm. Method. An interrogator was used for emission central wavelength measurement over time. We performed the study of the standard deviation and drift of the VCSEL central wavelength, both with and without an external cavity. The studied external cavity length varied from 1040 to 30 mm by decreasing the fiber length. Main results. As a result of the study, the dependence of the VCSEL spectral characteristics on the external cavity length was obtained. It was also shown that the VCSEL center wavelength variation was reduced by more than an order of magnitude, so 3σ standard deviation was 0.17 pm using an external cavity 1040 mm long, in contrast to 8 pm for the case without an external cavity. We showed the possibility of reducing the amplitude of the central wavelength drift to one-fourth, from 2 to 0.5 pm, with the use of an external cavity. Practical relevance. The study proves to be useful when creating fiber-optic distributed sensors of physical quantities with affordable cost, if the design requires the use of a highly coherent emission source.