title: Real-time dynamic calibration of a tunable frequency laser source using a Fabry-Pérot interferometer.
abstract: We report on a method for real-time dynamic calibration of a tunable external cavity diode laser by using a partially mode-matched plano-concave Fabry-Pérot interferometer in reflection geometry. Wide range laser frequency scanning is carried out by piezo-driven tilting of a diffractive grating playing the role of a frequency selective mirror in the laser cavity. The grating tilting system has a considerable mechanical inertness, so static laser frequency calibration leads to false results. The proposed real-time dynamic calibration based on the identification of primary- and Gouy-effect type secondary interference peaks with known frequency and temporal history can be used for a wide scanning range (from 0.2 GHz to more than 1 GHz). A concave spherical mirror with a radius of R = 100 cm and a plain 1% transmitting mirror was used as a Fabry-Pérot interferometer with various resonator lengths to investigate and demonstrate real-time calibration procedures for two kinds of laser frequency scanning functions.
authors.affiliation: Wigner Research Centre for Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mandula
authors.affiliation: Wigner Research Centre for Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Zsolt
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kis
authors.affiliation: Wigner Research Centre for Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Konkoly-Thege Miklós út 29-33, H-1121 Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Krisztián
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lengyel