Low-loss wavelength tuning of a mid-infrared Cr2+:ZnSe laser using a Littrow-mounted resonant diffraction grating

N. Vermeulen (1) , P. Wasylczyk (2) , S. Tonchev (3) , P. Muys (4) , H. Ottevaere (1) , O. Parriaux (1, 3) , H. Thienpont 1 (1)

1 Dept. of Applied Physics and Photonics (FirW-TONA)
2 Institut of experimental physics
3 LHC - Laboratoire Hubert Curien
4 Lambda Research Optics Europe

We report the first demonstration of resonantgrating- based laser wavelength tuning in the mid-infrared spectral domain and with Littrow mounting of the grating. We show for a mid-infrared Cr:ZnSe laser that this tuning technique is much more wavelength selective than prism-based tuning, while inducing very low cavity losses (around 2%), which are at least two times smaller than in the case of a standard metal grating. Furthermore, the resonant grating allows tuning the Cr:ZnSe laser over as much as 400 nm around a center wavelength of 2.38 μm. This shows the potential of employing Littrow-mounted resonant diffraction gratings for controlling and tuning the emission wavelength of lasers emitting in the mid-infrared spectral domain and other wavelength regions.

Domains: Optics [physics.optics]

N. Vermeulen, P. Wasylczyk, S. Tonchev, P. Muys, H. Ottevaere, et al.. Low-loss wavelength tuning of a mid-infrared Cr2+:ZnSe laser using a Littrow-mounted resonant diffraction grating. Laser Physics Letters, 2011, 8 (8), pp.606-612. ⟨10.1002/lapl.201110044⟩. ⟨ujm-00617603⟩