Laser diode-to-singlemode fiber butt-coupling and extremely-short-external-cavity laser diodes: Analysis, realization and applications

The butt-coupling of a Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser diode and a singlemode optical fiber was realized and characterized in the near field. A novel butt-coupling model was developed and found very effective in describing all physical phenomena that occur when the butt-coupling parameters are varied over a wide range. The strong external optical feedback to the laser diode cavity that is present at extremely-short separations between the laser diode and the fiber is advantageously used to realize an extremely-short external cavity laser diode. By varying the length of the external cavity, the operational characteristics of this external cavity laser diode are controlled in a predictable and repeatable manner; a wavelength tunable laser diode source based on this effect was developed and analyzed. Another realization of an extremely short external cavity tunable laser diode, based on a closely spaced external filter with variable characteristics, was demonstrated. A potential application of the butt-coupling technique for light collection in an optical recording head is discussed. The work presented here is a research tool that can be used to facilitate the design of extremely-short external cavity laser diodes, which in many ways are technologically novel.