Automated heterodyne method to characterize semiconductor based akinetic swept laser sources

An automated heterodyne method is proposed to characterize sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector (SG-DBR) lasers in terms of their lasing output wavelength, side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) and output power. Such lasers are the core of akinetic all-semiconductor based swept sources for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate the technique and obtain a broader optical and electrical understanding in DC and AC operation. A JDSU Agile SG-DBR laser was characterized and found to have a tuning range ≈ 60 nm, a center wavelength λc = 1540 nm and average lasing power of 10 mW. The result of the AC characterization is a ‘tuning dictionary' that contains 379 tuning points (10 μs per tuning point).

[1]  L.A. Coldren,et al.  Monolithic tunable diode lasers , 2000, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[2]  Michael Crawford,et al.  Long coherence length and linear sweep without an external optical k-clock in a monolithic semiconductor laser for inexpensive optical coherence tomography , 2012, Photonics West - Biomedical Optics.

[3]  Reiko Yoshimura,et al.  Tuning of successively scanned two monolithic Vernier-tuned lasers and selective data sampling in optical comb swept source optical coherence tomography. , 2013, Biomedical optics express.

[4]  B. Corbett,et al.  Heterodyne Method for Time Resolved Spectral Analysis of Fast Laser Wavelength Switching , 2009, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[5]  Harald Sattmann,et al.  Phase-stable swept source OCT angiography in human skin using an akinetic source. , 2016, Biomedical optics express.

[6]  Angelika Unterhuber,et al.  Optical coherence tomography today: speed, contrast, and multimodality , 2014, Journal of biomedical optics.

[7]  W. Drexler,et al.  Akinetic all-semiconductor programmable swept-source at 1550 nm and 1310 nm with centimeters coherence length. , 2014, Optics express.

[8]  J. Schuman,et al.  Optical coherence tomography. , 2000, Science.

[9]  Jason Ensher,et al.  All-semiconductor high-speed akinetic swept-source for OCT , 2011, 2011 Asia Communications and Photonics Conference and Exhibition (ACP).

[10]  B. Szafraniec,et al.  Coherent optical spectrum analyzer , 2002, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[11]  M. Amann,et al.  Tunable Laser Diodes and Related Optical Sources , 2005 .

[12]  G. Morthier,et al.  Control of widely tunable SSG-DBR lasers for dense wavelength division multiplexing , 2000, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[13]  A. Fercher,et al.  Measurement of intraocular distances by backscattering spectral interferometry , 1995 .

[14]  T Yoshimura,et al.  Simultaneous measurements of three-dimensional reflectivity distributions in scattering media based on optical frequency-domain reflectometry. , 1998, Optics letters.

[15]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical coherence tomography using a frequency-tunable optical source. , 1997, Optics letters.

[16]  A. Fercher,et al.  In vivo human retinal imaging by Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. , 2002, Journal of biomedical optics.

[17]  Thomas Klein,et al.  High-speed OCT light sources and systems [Invited]. , 2017, Biomedical optics express.

[18]  Michael Bernacil,et al.  SGDBR single-chip wavelength tunable lasers for swept source OCT , 2008, SPIE BiOS.

[19]  R. Leitgeb,et al.  Twenty-five years of optical coherence tomography: the paradigm shift in sensitivity and speed provided by Fourier domain OCT [Invited]. , 2017, Biomedical optics express.

[20]  A. Fercher,et al.  Wavelength-tuning interferometry of intraocular distances. , 1997, Applied optics.

[21]  A. Fercher,et al.  Performance of fourier domain vs. time domain optical coherence tomography. , 2003, Optics express.

[22]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical frequency-domain reflectometry using rapid wavelength tuning of a Cr4+:forsterite laser. , 1997, Optics letters.