Optical power of VCSELs stabilized to 30 ppm/°C without a TEC

John Downing

doi:10.1117/12.2076793

4 March 2015 Optical power of VCSELs stabilized to 35 ppm/°C without a TEC

John Downing

Proceedings Volume 9381, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XIX; 938108 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2076793
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2015, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

This paper reports a method and system comprising a light source, an electronic method, and a calibration procedure for stabilizing the optical power of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and laser diodes (LDs) without the use thermoelectric coolers (TECs). The system eliminates the needs for custom interference coatings, polarization adjustments, and the exact alignment required by the optical method reported in 2013 [1]. It can precisely compensate for the effects of temperature and wavelength drift on photodiode responsivity as well as changes in VCSEL beam quality and polarization angle over a 50°C temperature range. Data obtained from light sources built with single-mode polarization-locked VCSELs demonstrate that 30 ppm/°C stability can be readily obtained. The system has advantages over TECstabilized laser modules that include: 1) 90% lower relative RMS optical power and temperature sensitivity, 2) a five-fold enhancement of wall-plug efficiency, 3) less component testing and sorting, 4) lower manufacturing costs, and 5) automated calibration in batches at time of manufacture is practical. The system is ideally suited for battery-powered environmental and in-home medical monitoring applications.

Citation Download Citation

John Downing "Optical power of VCSELs stabilized to 35 ppm/°C without a TEC", Proc. SPIE 9381, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XIX, 938108 (4 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2076793

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