A 1.5- mu m laser package frequency-locked with a novel miniature discharge lamp

Abstract

The authors report a packaged distributed feedback (DFB) laser frequency-locked to the Kr 1s/sub 2/-2p/sub 8/ transition at 1.54782 mu m using a novel miniature discharge lamp. This transition is not only close to the wavelength where typical single-mode optical fibers show minimum attenuation but also gives a large optogalvanic signal. This lamp generates more than an order of magnitude larger optogalvanic signal for the same input power than conventional indicator lamps of comparable size. The frequency stability of the laser package is better than 2 MHz, and the fiber-to-laser coupling loss (<2 dB) is very stable against temperature fluctuations and mechanical vibrations.