Santec Corporation

Daikou Tei

Naoyuki Mekada

Masaharu Okada

Masahiro Kawasugi

In order to realize an optical attenuator which has an attenuation factor independent of the wavelength of incident light, a glass substrate is used in an attenuator plate, and the glass substrate is formed in a tapered section so that its incident and exit planes may not be parallel to each other. On one side thereof, a metal film corresponding to the attenuation factor is formed. Also one side of the glass substrate is covered with an antireflection coating for canceling the wavelength dependence of the metal film. Thereby ripple of attenuation factor due to wavelength can be eliminated, and the wavelength dependence may be minimized.

Optical attenuator and optical attenuator module

The light emitted by a laser diode 1 is entered into a beam splitter 5, and its reflected light is given to an optical band pass filter 8. The light passing through the optical band pass filter 8 is received by a photo diode PD1. The light once reflected by the optical band filter 8 and passing through the beam splitter 5 is received by a photo diode PD2. The reception ratio of the photo diodes PD1, PD2 is calculated in output ratio calculator 9. By controlling the emission wavelength of the laser diode 1 so that its ratio may be constant, laser light of high precision and stable wavelength is emitted.

Laser light source apparatus

A wavelength locker 4 is provided at one light beam exit end of a laser diode 1. The wavelength locker 4 incorporates an interference optical filter 3, and photo diodes PD1, PD2 for detecting its transmitted light and reflected light. A thermistor 15 and a temperature detector 14 for detecting the temperature of the interference optical filter 3 are provided. Calculating the output ratio of the photo diodes PD1, PD2, the wavelength is controlled so that the correction value by the temperature of the output ratio may be a specified value. The laser diode 1 and wavelength locker 4 are sealed in an optical module 11, and mounted on a substrate together with other blocks. Thus is obtained a laser light source apparatus composed in a simple and small constitution within a emission possible wavelength range of laser light source and capable of emitting stably.

The light emitted by the laser diode 1 is put into an interference optical filter 5. The light passing through the interference optical filter 5 and the reflected light are respectively received in photo diodes PD1, PD2. Their output ratio is calculated by an adder 13, a subtracter 14, and a divider 15, and a wavelength signal is obtained. The difference of the output ratio and reference value is detected as error signal by an error detector 16, and the emission wavelength of the laser diode 1 is controlled so that the error signal may be zero.

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Seto, Japan

Daikou Tei