Wide range tuning of external cavity bent-waveguide laser diode

Abstract

Bent-waveguide laser emitting around 1550 nm was tuned by external grating (in Littrow configuration) at temperatures from 300 K down to 80 K and at hydrostatic pressures up to 2.2 GPa. The tuning range achieved with grating was significantly reduced at lower temperatures. The tuning range achieved by pressure and grating was 390 nm (from 1220 to 1610 nm). In this range the emission power of the laser was above 30 mW with narrow emission line and the side-mode suppression ratio above 30 dB. Our results were interpreted by calculating the pressure and temperature dependence of gain spectra determined from a nonparabolic 8×8 kp model.