Cavity length control for Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers with μm precision

Simon Lotz, Christin Grill, Madita Gob, Wolfgang Draxinger, Jan Philip Kolb, Robert Huber*

*Corresponding author for this work
1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

In highly dispersion compensated Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers, an ultra-low noise operation can only be achieved by extremely precise and stable matching of the filter tuning period and light circulation time in the cavity. We present a robust and high precision closed-loop control algorithm and an actively cavity length controlled FDML laser. The cavity length control achieves a stability of ∼0.18 mHz at a sweep repetition rate of ∼418 kHz which corresponds to a ratio of 4×10-10. Furthermore, we prove that the rapid change of the cavity length has no negative impact on the quality of optical coherence tomography using the FDML laser as light source.

Original languageEnglish
JournalBiomedical Optics Express
Volume12
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)2604-2616
Number of pages13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 05.2021

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