Monitoring and active stabilization of laser injection locking using beam ellipticity

Abstract

We unveil a powerful method for the stabilization of laser injection locking based on sensing variations in the output beam ellipticity of an optically seeded laser. The effect arises due to an interference between the seeding beam and the injected laser output. We demonstrate the method for a commercial semiconductor laser without the need for any internal changes to the readily operational injection locked laser system that was used. The method can also be used to increase the mode-hop free tuning range of lasers, and has the potential to fill a void in the low-noise laser industry.