Self-injection locking of a distributed feedback laser diode using a high-finesse Fabry-Perot microcavity

Abstract

Optical microcavities have been widely used in nonlinear optics, quantum optics, and laser technologies. Here we demonstrate the self-injection locking of a distributed feedback diode laser using home-made high-finesse Fabry-Perot microcavity. The Fabry-Perot microcavity is fabricated from an x-cut lithium niobate crystal with highly reflective coatings. Frequency pulling effect can be observed for a successful locking, and results in a single-longitudinal mode lasing with narrow linewidth. The lasing wavelength and output power are found robust to the laser-diode current and temperature variations, in comparison to the free-running case. We further characterize the laser linewidth with beat note measurement with a high-performance external cavity diode laser, with beat-note linewidth of 601.85 kHz. This results shows a new method for laser frequency stabilization in a simple setup, and may find applications in telecommunication and spectroscopy.