Abstract: A tunable laser assembly housed in a single enclosure and a method of control is described wherein the tunable laser, pump and semiconductor optical amplifier do not share a common optical axis but are all aligned to optical waveguides on an intervening planar lightwave circuit (PLC). Wavelength monitoring circuitry is included on the PLC to enable monitoring and control of the tunable laser center wavelength and optical bandwidth. The design of the PLC does not introduce perturbations into the swept-source laser output spectrum that would cause artifacts in imaging applications such as optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Abstract: A tunable laser assembly housed in a single enclosure and a method of control is described wherein the tunable laser, pump and semiconductor optical amplifier do not share a common optical axis but are all aligned to optical waveguides on an intervening planar lightwave circuit (PLC). Wavelength monitoring circuitry is included on the PLC to enable monitoring and control of the tunable laser center wavelength and optical bandwidth. The design of the PLC does not introduce perturbations into the swept-source laser output spectrum that would cause artifacts in imaging applications such as optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Abstract: A tunable laser assembly housed in a single enclosure and a method of control is described that provides high-speed monitoring and control of the spectral properties of widely tunable lasers, such as MEMS-tunable VCSELs, with an optical configuration that does not introduce perturbations into the swept-source laser output spectrum that would cause artifacts in imaging applications such as optical coherence tomography (OCT).