Abstract

An electrostatically deformable membrane has been used to vary the cavity length of a Nd:YAG microchip laser, thereby tuning its optical frequency. Frequency tuning of as much as 6 GHz and tuning rates up to 20 kHz have been initially demonstrated using a 5-mm-wide membrane at a laser wavelength of 1.3 pm. Measurements on a 10-mm-wide membrane resulted in 8 pm of deflection for a 200-V voltage ramp, which indicates the potential for wavelength tuning a microchip laser >10 nm.

© 1996 Optical Society of America