Targeting low coherence optical coherence tomography, large-scale printing and telecom applications, researchers at the University of Central Florida's Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers have developed a flexible multilayer, diamond-shaped external cavity amplifier.
The device uses a radio frequency signal to mode lock the output. The diamond shape and associated small apertures reduce astigmatism associated with diode lasers. It offers 17-nm tunability around 850 nm from a CW diode laser and generates powers of 400 mW in 5.6-ps pulses.
When the amplifier is used in conjunction with a Fabry-Perot etalon with two polarizing filters, its reduced gain narrowing can generate up to 21 individual frequencies above 3 dB within a single pulse, which is comparable to many 1550- and 1310-nm diode lasers used in telecom industry. Theoretically, this could enable data transmission rates of 1 Gb/s, according to researcher Peter Delfyett.