Observation of anticorrelated modal noise in a quasi-single-mode laser diode with a Michelson interferometer

Abstract

To cite this version:Jean-Philippe Poizat, Philippe Grangier. Observation of anticorrelated modal noise in a quasi singlemode laser diode with a Michelson interferometer. Journal of the Optical Society of America B, Optical Society of America, 1997, 14 (11) The light emitted by a quasi-single-mode free-running laser diode is sent through a Michelson interferometer, and the intensity noise of the outgoing light is studied with respect to the path difference between the two arms of the interferometer. The level of this noise is determined by very strong anticorrelations between the main mode and the many very weak, but noisy, longitudinal side modes. The different interference patterns of these various modes can modify the noise compensation effect, leading to a large excess noise. Phase-noise effects also come into the picture, since a Michelson interferometer tuned around a nonzero path difference is a dispersive element capable of converting phase noise into intensity noise. The observed data is in good agreement with a phenomenological model that attributes phase noise and correlated intensity noises to all the modes. The parameters of this model can be inferred from the experimental data. © 1997 Optical Society of America [S0740-3224(97)03111-1]

Simple and economic optical high-speed photo-detector ac response determination method in the 850 nm spectral range

“…• frequency noise, including self-heterodyne frequency noise, laser linewidth and relaxation oscillation, modepartition noise and multimode behaviour; • correlations between intensity and phase noise, akin to previous studies of modal noise (Poizat and Grangier 1997). VCSEL light sources of the kind used here are for instance known to have several GHz of frequency noise in the spectral region close to the relaxation oscillation peak (Agrawal and Grey 1991).…”