Abstract: An external cavity laser assembly in which the laser chip is within a hermetically sealed package and the external cavity is outside the hermetic package. A collimating lens in a screw threaded mounting is disposed outside the hermetic package, the screw thread permitting focussing. The cavity is turned by rotation and translation of a grating, the position of which is electrically controlled via piezoelectric stacks. Thermal expansion of the stacks is compensated by mounting the grating on a rod of suitable material (e.g., ceramic) which also serves to reduce the cavity length while allowing maximum piezoextension. In a second embodiment the assembly is a tunable laser amplifier, with a grating being driven in a similar manner to provide the tuning.