Abstract

For fiber communication, there is a strong demand for lasers with an output wavelength that can be adjusted and precisely controlled. For example, tunable lasers are in demand to act as spares for fixed wavelength devices in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems. In the future, tunable sources may actually replace fixed wavelength sources, and will also be required for optical networking. Tunable lasers are also widely used in spectroscopy applications, for example chemical trace analysis using atomic absorption spectroscopy, in which the laser light detects elements which have resonant lines within a particular region of the spectrum.

© 2001 IEEE