The invention provides a dynamically swept tunable laser system and method for measuring sensor characteristics obtained from an array of optical sensors comprising means for dividing the total wavelength sweep of the laser into different regions in any particular order where each region contains single or multiple contiguous sweep segments and where each sweep segment is referenced by a start and a stop reference and can have different lengths compared to the other sweep segments. The sensor characteristics are determined from each region swept by the tunable laser. The invention provides for the tunable laser to be adapted to operate in a quasi-continuous mode to select segments in any order. The relative sweep rates of regions can be changed such that some regions can be swept more times than other regions.

A semiconductor device manufacturing system includes: a PL evaluation apparatus that evaluates wavelengths of photoluminescent light produced by individual optical modulators on a single semiconductor wafer; an electron beam drawing apparatus that draws patterns of diffraction gratings of laser sections that adjoin respective optical modulators on the wafer; and a calculation section that receives the wavelengths of the photoluminescent light from the PL evaluation apparatus, calculates densities of respective diffraction gratings so that differences between the wavelengths of the photoluminescent light and oscillating wavelengths of the laser sections become a constant, and sends the densities calculated to the electron beam drawing apparatus for drawing respective diffraction grating patterns on the respective laser sections.

A method for forming optical devices. The method includes providing a gallium nitride substrate member having a crystalline surface region and a backside region. The method also includes subjecting the backside region to a laser scribing process to form a plurality of scribe regions on the backside region and forming a metallization material overlying the backside region including the plurality of scribe regions. The method removes at least one optical device using at least one of the scribe regions.

A light pulse source and method for generating repetitive optical pulses are described. The pulse source includes a continuous wave (cw) laser device, an optical waveguide optically coupled with the laser device, an optical microresonator, and a tuning device. The optical microresonator coupling cw laser light via the waveguide into the microresonator, which may include a light field in a soliton state with soliton shaped pulses coupled out of the microresonator for providing the repetitive optical pulses. The laser device includes a chip based semiconductor laser, the microresonator and/or the waveguide may reflect an optical feedback portion of light back to the semiconductor laser, which may provide self-injection locking relative to a resonance frequency of the microresonator. The tuning device is arranged for tuning at least one of a driving current and a temperature of the semiconductor laser such that the microresonator may provide the soliton state.

Aspects described herein include a method of fabricating an optical component. The method comprises electrically coupling different laser channels of a laser die to different electrical leads, testing a respective optical coupling of each of the different laser channels, optically aligning an optical fiber with a first laser channel of the different laser channels having the greatest optical coupling, and designating a second laser channel of the different laser channels as a heater element for the first laser channel.

One or more embodiments are directed to laser circuits, methods and devices that include a current sensing circuit for sensing a lasing current provided to a laser diode or device. One embodiment is directed to a circuit that includes a laser device, a switching device, a current sensing circuit and a current comparator. The switching device has a first conduction terminal coupled to the laser device and a second conduction terminal coupled to a supply voltage. The switching device is configured to operatively supply a lasing current to the laser device. The current sensing circuit is coupled to the switching device and is configured to generate a sense current representative of the lasing current. The current comparator is configured to receive the sense current from the current sensing circuit, to receive a reference current, and to compare the sense current with the reference current. If the sense current exceeds the reference current, the current comparator is configured to output an overcurrent detection signal.

Laser Side Mode Suppression Ratio (SMSR) control is provided via a logic controller configured to measure an SMSR of a carrier wave upstream of a modulator and measure an Average Optical Power (AOP) of the carrier wave downstream of the modulator; transmit a bias voltage based on the SMSR and the AOP to a laser driver for a laser generating the carrier wave; and transmit an attenuation level based on the SMSR and the AOP to a Variable Optical Attenuator (VOA) upstream of the modulator. In various embodiments the attenuation level and bias voltage can rise or fall together, or one may rise and one may fall to ensure the output optical signal meets specified SMSR and AOP values.

A light source measurement apparatus includes an objective lens that collects light emitted from a light source having a plurality of light emission points, a first reflection attenuation filter, a second reflection attenuation filter, a condensing lens, a space filter, and a movable stage, in which the first reflection attenuation filter and the second reflection attenuation filter are disposed such that polarization directions are orthogonal to each other, in which the space filter has an opening through which light emitted from a measurement target light emission point among the plurality of light emission points is transmitted, and in which the opening has a shape in which a dimension of the measurement target light emission point in a fast direction is larger than a dimension of the measurement target light emission point in a slow direction.

A VCSEL can include: an electro-optic modulator between a lasing active region and a light emitting surface. The electro-optic modulator can include: an electro-optically active region; a modulator mirror region over the electro-optically active region; and at least one electrical insulator region separating the modulator mirror region into at least two separate modulator mirror cavities electrically isolated from each other, wherein each separate modulator mirror cavity and a longitudinally aligned portion of the electro-optically active region form an electro-optic modulator cavity. A method of emitting light from a VCSEL can include: emitting a laser beam from the lasing active region along a longitudinal axis; and changing a refractive index of one electro-optic modulator cavity so as to steer the laser beam from the longitudinal axis.

Laser-based spectroscopy systems and methods including a laser source that emits a beam of radiation, an optical resonant cavity having at least two cavity mirrors, and at least one beam filtering element positioned along a path of the beam external to the cavity and having a front surface, wherein the front surface is oriented such that an intersection of the beam and the surface is at an angle, such as the Brewster's angle or a pseudo-Brewster's, that reduces or eliminates reflection of a predominant polarization component of the beam by the filtering element.