Mode-hop-free electro-optically tuned diode laser

A tunable external-cavity Littrow diode laser, with an intracavity electro-optical crystal, which combines a large mode-hop-free tuning range with high tuning speeds and high tuning accuracy, has been designed. A mode-hop-free single-mode tuning range of 50 GHz at 793 nm with an output power of 60 mW and tuning speeds of 1.5 GHz/mus is demonstrated. The instantaneous linewidth is smaller than 300 kHz. Generally mode-hop-free tuning is obtained when the elongation of the cavity is proportional to the cavity length measured anywhere across the beam. This elongation is achieved with an intracavity crystal in which the thickness, and thus the electric field inside it, varies across the beam. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.