Wavelength-stabilized broadband light source

Abstract

A light source module () with integrated wavemeter components () for stabilizing the output power and wavelength of a superluminescent diode or other broadband semiconductor light source () outputting a broadband output beam. A portion of the source output beam is directed to an optical edge filter () with a cross-over wavelength lying within the bandwidth of the output beam. The edge filter () divides the light it receives into a short-wavelength component and a long-wavelength component. These two components are then directed onto respective photodetectors () that output respective signals to a wavemeter controller. The controller adjusts the drive current and/or temperature of the source to maintain the mean wavelength of the source's output beam at a set constant value according to a control parameter determined from a combination of the photodetector signals such as their ratio or the ratio between their difference and sum.