TITLE:
Performance Analysis on a Dual External Cavity Tunable Laser ECTL Source
AUTHORS:
Ahmed Fawzy, Osama M. El-Ghandour, Hesham F. A. Hamed
KEYWORDS:
External Cavity Laser, Tunable Laser, MEMS, Optical Diffraction
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Electromagnetic Analysis and Applications,
Vol.7 No.4,
April
24,
2015
ABSTRACT: This
paper presents the diffraction effects on the performance of a dual external
cavity tunable laser source, whose external cavities are constructed by micro
electro mechanical systems (MEMS). One of the main problems in these structures
is the optical diffraction as the emitting surface of the laser diode is
usually quite limited in the transverse directions. The emitted beam diffracts
rapidly in the air and only a small amount of light is coupled back to the
source that usually limits the tuning range of the source. Device
characteristics such as tuning range, wavelength shift and sensitivity are
evaluated. New expression is used and multiple reflections inside external
cavities are considered. The simulation results have shown that single external
cavity has limited tuning range. It is shown that multiple reflections have
significant effect in our model. To get a better engineering for the dual ECTL
dimensions, diffraction effects must be taken into account.