Intra-Cavity Semiconductor Laser Tuning Using A Frequency Compensating Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter Pair

We have investigated the effect of the frequency shift associated with an acousto-optic (AO) interaction on the spectral quality of acousto-optically tuned external cavity semiconductor lasers. A ring-cavity was built and the wavelength controlled by a frequency compensating acousto-optic tunable filter pair, which allowed user control over the frequency shift of the interacting light. Laser spectra were recorded for a range of frequency shifts, and a 30 kHz driving frequency gave the optimal spectral response where the output spectral shape did not vary as a function of operating wavelength and resulted in <0.1 nm linewidths.