FM noise reduction and subkilohertz linewidth of an AlGaAs laser by negative electrical feedback

Negative electrical feedback was applied to a CSP-type AlGaAs laser, reducing its FM noise at the Fourier frequency range of f⩽40 MHz. The magnitude of the FM noise was far lower than the quantum noise level of the free-running laser at 100 Hz⩽f ⩽4.4 MHz. It was as low as 1×10^-7~1×10 ^-6 that of the free-running laser at 100 Hz⩽f⩽1 kHz. The full width at half maximum of the field spectrum was reduced to 560 Hz. The major factors necessary for realizing the very low FM noise level were: (1) the laser had almost constant FM response characteristics for a wide Fourier frequency range; (2) a high-finesse Fabry-Perot interferometer was employed for highly-sensitive FM noise detection and to get higher feedback gain; (3) the reflection mode of the Fabry-Perot interferometer was employed to increase the bandwidth and efficiency of the FM noise detection; and (4) a computer simulation was utilized for optimum design of the feedback loop